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Municipalities Must Reap What They Sow, Say Humanists
The American Humanist Association applauded the U.S. Supreme Court today for agreeing to hear Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, 07-665. This is a free speech and equal access case in which Summum, a religious group, seeks to display its aphorisms in the same public park where a Ten Commandments monument appears. "Fair is fair," declared Mel Lipman, a constitutional law attorney and president of the American Humanist Association. "If Pleasant Grove City, Utah, keeps its Ten Commandments monument on the pretext of Supreme Court rulings that allow such religious expressions on public property when included with others, then Pleasant Grove City will have to allow others. On the other hand, if the city is willing to give up its Ten Commandments monument, then it can reject the Summum monument." In court cases allowing Ten Commandments monuments and creche displays on public property, the critical factor has always been that the monument or display must be sufficiently mixed with other elements. But attorneys for Pleasant Grove City argue, "Government bodies are now sitting targets for demands that they grant 'equal access' to whatever comparable monuments a given group wishes to have installed, be it Summum's Seven Aphorisms, an atheist group's Monument to Freethought or Rev. Fred Phelps's denunciations of homosexual persons." "This is correct," stated American Humanist Association Executive Director Roy Speckhardt. "When the religious right fought hard for placing the Ten Commandments and creche displays on public property, they forgot to be careful what they wished for. In our brief to the Supreme Court, the American Humanist Association warned against allowing religious displays on public property." In 2004, in a Van Orden v. Perry amicus brief filed by the American Humanist Association on behalf of itself and over a dozen religious and secular organizations, it was pointed out that "Posting the Ten Commandments on public grounds constitutes government endorsement of certain religious sects to the exclusion of religious minorities and nontheists." This warned of the impossibility of accommodating every religious expression in every public forum, arguing against the very idea of government-sponsored religious displays. "Now they must reap what they have sown," concluded Lipman. "Either they get their monuments at the price of letting all others in, or they give them up--they can't have it both ways." In anticipation of a Supreme Court victory for Summum, the American Humanist Association is now pursuing the idea of placing stone monuments of Ted Turner's "Ten Voluntary Initiatives" in every public park that has a legal Ten Commandments monument. Turner received the Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association in 1990 and the organization has widely publicized the humanist principles stated in what has been nicknamed "The Ted Commandments." See www.americanhumanist.org/publications/morain/chapter-7.html for more information. LINKSee also: Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Controversy Over Religious Symbols On Public Property
Archaeologists Start Stonehenge Dig
London -- Some of England's most sacred soil was disturbed Monday for the first time in more than four decades as archaeologists worked to solve the enduring riddle of Stonehenge: When and why was the prehistoric monument built? More...See also: How Were The Egyptian Pyramids Built?
Billboard: All Religions Are Fairy Tales
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- It looked harmless enough, but the words on a billboard unnerved so many people that a popular restaurant nearby actually lost business. The billboard was on Colonial Drive near Old Cheney Highway. More...
Gay Couple Loses Benefits With Move
The couple was stunned when Ryan was dropped from the company insurance plan the two shared in New Jersey, where they were able to register as domestic partners. Idaho does not formally recognize same-sex couples. More...
Cartoon To Be Edited Out Of Anti-Quran Film
Children In Voodoo's Power
In the tiny West African country of Benin, voodoo has been practised for 10,000 years, but efforts to preserve its ancient oral traditions are exacting a harsh toll on its faithful, splitting families and pushing people deeper into poverty. More...
Sources: Iran Helped Prod Al-Sadr Cease-Fire
3 NATO Troops Killed In Afghan Blast
(CNN) -- Two British marines and a Danish soldier have been killed in Afghanistan. More...
Turkey's Rulers Face Trial Over Islamic Policies
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's top court will hear a case for a ban on the Islamic-rooted ruling party, a decision that could lead to months of political uncertainty in a nation divided over the role of religion in society. More...See also: Call It a Coup
UN Urged To Act Against Blasphemy
Convicted Islamist Terrorists Exploiting Growing Prison Gang Culture
Convicted Islamist terrorists are exploiting the growing gang culture in top security jails, fuelling fears that they are trying to radicalise other inmates and foment unrest. More...
Number Of Muslims Ahead Of Catholics, Says Vatican
The number of Muslims has overtaken that of Roman Catholics for the first time, the Vatican said yesterday. Muslims account for 19.2% of the world's population, while Catholics make up 17.4%, according to the Vatican's new statistics yearbook, which is based on figures for 2006. --snip-- The Vatican data showed that Christians as a whole, including Orthodox and Protestant groups as well as Catholics, made up 33% of the world's population. Applying the percentages to the 2006 world population of about 6.5 billion, Muslims would have made up 1.25 billion of the total, Catholics 1.13 billion and all Christians 2.15 billion. More...
Egypt: Ex-Muslims Blocked From Declaring Conversion
Christian-born converts to Islam in Egypt wishing to return to their former faith have found their way blocked by an appeal before the country's Supreme Constitutional Court. More...See also: My quest to get de-baptised
Missing NY Rev. Found At Ohio Strip Club
(AP) Police say a pastor who was reported missing from his home in western New York has been found at an Ohio strip club. More...
Faith-Healing Parents Charged In Baby's Death
Basra Fighting Death Toll Nears 300
Hindu Monks Sue RSPCA Over Slaughter Of Sacred Cow Gangotri
Hindu monks are to sue the RSPCA in protest over the killing of a sacred cow. A group of monks from Bhaktivedanta Manor Hindu temple, in Hertfordshire, yesterday served legal papers on the animal welfare charity for trespassing when they put down the temple's sacred cow Gangotri on 13 December last year. More...
Dutch Await Reaction After MP Releases Film On Qur'an
UN OKs Islamic Text Against Defamation
GENEVA -- The top U.N. rights body on Thursday passed a resolution proposed by Islamic countries saying it is deeply concerned about the defamation of religions and urging governments to prohibit it. More...
Religious Battles In Turkey
Doomsday Fears Spark Lawsuit
The builders of the world's biggest particle collider are being sued in federal court over fears that the experiment might create globe-gobbling black holes or never-before-seen strains of matter that would destroy the planet. More...
Parents' Faith Fails To Save Diabetic Girl
International Zone Under Curfew As Attacks Continue
Penalty For Pharmacist's Refusal Upheld
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- A state appeals court upheld sanctions Tuesday against a pharmacist who refused to dispense birth control pills to a woman and wouldn't transfer her prescription elsewhere. More...
Unease Rises Over Anti-Islam Film
ROTTERDAM (IPS) -- In announcing the release of his anti-Quran film, Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament, has generated a swell of media attention in the Netherlands in the past months. Politicians have urged him not to go ahead with the release of the film 'Fitna' because they say its controversial content may lead to national and international unrest. More...
FreeThoughtAction Hero Of The Day - 3/26/08
 Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) According to Wikipedia, Dawkins "is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.
"Dawkins first came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centered view of evolution and introduced the term meme into the lexicon, helping found memetics. In 1982, he made a widely cited contribution to the science of evolution with the theory, presented in his book The Extended Phenotype, that phenotypic effects are not limited to an organism's body but can stretch far into the environment, including into the bodies of other organisms. He has since written several best-selling popular books, and appeared in a number of television and radio programmes, concerning evolutionary biology, creationism, and religion.
"Dawkins is an outspoken atheist, humanist, and sceptic, and is a prominent member of the Brights movement. In a play on Thomas Huxley's epithet 'Darwin's bulldog,' Dawkins' impassioned defence of evolution has earned him the appellation 'Darwin's rottweiler.'"Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!
Police: Girl Dies After Parents Pray For Healing Instead Of Seeking Medical Help
WESTON, Wis. -- An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday. More...
Child's Death May Put Faith Law To Test
The case of a 15-month-old Oregon City girl who died for lack of medical treatment could become the first test of a state law that disallows faith healing at the expense of a child's life. More...
Denmark Charges 3 In Terrorism Case
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Prosecutors filed terrorism charges Tuesday against two alleged Islamic militants accused of preparing explosives for use in an attack in Denmark or abroad. More...
Alleged Passover Massacre Plotter Arrested
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli forces have arrested a wanted Hamas leader accused of planning one of the worst suicide attacks on Israel, the Israeli military announced Wednesday. More...
Deadline For Iraqi Militias As Clashes Intensify
BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister on Wednesday gave gunmen in the southern oil port of Basra three days to surrender their weapons and renounce violence as clashes between security forces and Shiite militia fighters erupted for a second day. Suspected Shiite extremists also unleashed rockets or mortars against the U.S.-protected Green Zone in central Baghdad for the third day this week. More...See also: Iraqi PM Gives Shiite Militias Ultimatum
Pastor Admits Stealing IDs From Flock
(AP) The former pastor of a Northumberland County church acknowledges using parishioners' personal information to obtain credit cards. More...
Oldest Known Human Fossil Found
MADRID, Spain - A small piece of jawbone unearthed in a cave in Spain is the oldest known fossil of a human ancestor in Europe and suggests that people lived on the continent much earlier than previously believed, scientists say. More...See also: Bones show humans in Europe 1.2 mln years ago: study
2008 Atheist Alliance International Convention
"Unsinkable Atheism," the 14th Annual Atheist Alliance International (AAI) Convention, will be held the weekend of September 25--28, 2008 on the beautiful and historic Queen Mary, which is permanently docked in Long Beach, California. More...
Celebrities, Religious Liberty Heroes Headline National Simulcast For Church-State Separation
Actors, musicians and comedians will join church-state activists from across the country March 26 to put church-state separation on the national agenda during the 2008 election season. More...
In Search Of The God Particle
The biggest experiment in particle physics, the Large Hadron Collider, starts this summer in Switzerland. The goal is to find signs of an elusive particle called the Higgs boson-also known as the "God particle" because it might ultimately lead to a grand theory of the universe. What impact will the experiments have on our ideas of the cosmos and our place in it? More...
Harbingers Of Disaster Gather
BEIRUT -- Dark clouds loom on Lebanon's horizon. In the streets, young men gather weapons. Off the Mediterranean shore, U.S. warships have approached for the first time since the 1980s. The Shiite militia Hezbollah boasts that it has rearmed in preparation for the next round of conflict with Israel. Throw in a series of bombings and assassinations and a paralyzed government, and the words "tipping point" come to mind. --snip-- Political tensions in the early 1970s between Christians and Muslims mushroomed into a 15-year civil war. An Israeli invasion in 1982 devolved into an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. A 2006 Hezbollah operation to take a couple of Israeli hostages to trade for other prisoners turned into a monthlong war and an international crisis that drew in the U.S., France, the United Nations and the Arab League. More...
Peaceful Iraq Protests Spark Clashes; 50 Reported Dead
Czech Right-Wingers Help For Anti-Koran Film
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- A Czech far-right party has offered to help a Dutch lawmaker distribute an anti-Koran film on the Internet if it is banned from being released in the Netherlands. More...
Muslims 'To Outnumber Traditional Churchgoers'
The increasing influence of Islam on British culture is disclosed in research today that shows the number of Muslims worshipping at mosques in England and Wales will outstrip the numbers of Roman Catholics going to church in little more than a decade. More...
Evolution Of New Species Slows Down As Number Of Competitors Increases
ScienceDaily -- The rate at which new species are formed in a group of closely related animals decreases as the total number of different species in that group goes up, according to new research. The research team believes these findings suggest that new species appear less and less as the number of species in a region approaches the maximum number that it can support. More...
Brains Are Hardwired To Act According To The Golden Rule
ScienceDaily -- Wesley Autrey, a black construction worker, a Navy veteran and 55-year-old father of two, didn't know the young man standing beside him. But when he had a seizure on the subway platform and toppled onto the tracks, Autrey jumped down after him and shielded him with his body as a train bore down on them. Autrey could have died, so why did he put his life on the line - literally - to save this complete stranger? Donald Pfaff, the author of the new book The Neuroscience of Fair Play: Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule, thinks he has the answer. Our brains, he says, are hardwired to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Individual acts of aggression and evil occur when this circuitry jams. More...See also: We Help Friends Due To Empathy; Relatives Due To Expectation Of ReciprocityConsideration For Others Stimulates Positive BehaviorMoney Buys Happiness When You Spend On Others, Study Shows
Humanists Ask Iowa To "Stand Firm"
The Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), legal arm of the American Humanist Association, sent a letter today to the Iowa Department of Administrative Services urging Iowa to stand firm in the face of a legal challenge brought by the Association of Faith-Based Organizations (AFBO). AFBO sued the Iowa department to challenge a state regulation that excludes organizations engaged in sectarian activities from participating in Iowa's One Gift Campaign, in which the government provides resources to aid in transferring voluntary employee contributions to a recipient. "The government should not lend its resources to help transfer money to groups that may use the funds to proselytize or discriminate on the basis of religion, even if those funds come from an voluntary source," commented Bob Ritter, legal coordinator of AHLC. "The American Humanist Association strongly supports the Iowa regulation which upholds the American principle of separation of church and state." More...
Comprehensive Sex Ed May Cut Teen Birth Rate
NEW YORK - Comprehensive sex education that includes discussion of birth control may help reduce teen pregnancies, while abstinence-only programs seem to fall short, the results of a U.S. survey suggest. Using data from a 2002 national survey, researchers found that among more than 1,700 unmarried, heterosexual teens between 15 and 19 years old, those who'd received comprehensive sex ed in school were 60 percent less likely to have been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant than teens who'd had no formal sex education. Meanwhile, there was no clear benefit from abstinence-only education in preventing pregnancy or delaying sexual intercourse, the researchers report in the Journal of Adolescent Health. More...
FBI: Bodies Of Kidnapped U.S. Contractors Found
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The remains of two U.S. contractors who were kidnapped in Iraq have been found, FBI officials said Monday. More...
At Least 5 Killed In Raid By Somalia's Islamic Militants
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Witnesses say insurgents have briefly overrun a police station after three hours of fighting killed at least five people, just one day after the Somali prime minister began new peace efforts. More...
Man Slain Over Purported Witchcraft Use
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) -- Three suspects brutally killed a man whom they accused of using witchcraft to put an "evil-eye" spell on one of their relatives, officials on Mexico's Caribbean coast said Monday. More...
Easter
According to Wikipedia, "Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. It is believed by the Christians to be the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred on the third day after his crucifixion around AD 33."In fact, it might be said that Christianity stands or falls based on whether or not the resurrection of Jesus actually occurred. The "evidence" is sketchy. The primary "evidence" comes from so-called "New Testament" biblical texts. We do not have the original copies of these texts. The earliest sufficiently complete copies we have come hundreds of years after the supposed events. They are fragmentary and are copies of earlier copies, which are themselves copies of earlier copies, and so on, to an unknown degree removed from the originals. Comparisons of the various copies that we do have show variations between them and indicate that copying errors occurred. The sudden appearance of new sections of text in later copies (text that doesn't appear in any earlier copies) indicate that some things were added later and were most likely not contained in the original versions. This opens up the possibility that additions were made before the earliest copies available to us as well. Even the originals, from which the flawed copies are derived, were written decades after the supposed events took place. None of them were likely written by actual eye-witnesses, so they are second-hand accounts at best. They are likely even further removed from the supposed events than that, either based on prior writings that are lost to us and/or oral traditions that were passed down over time. [The reliability of stories passed down orally is suspect to anyone who has ever played the game "Telephone."] Additionally, the original authorship of the various texts is either entirely unknown or speculative. The various texts that we are left with are in conflict with one another in many of their details regarding the events that supposedly took place. They also sometimes apparently conflict with what we know about the history, culture, or traditions of that time, place, and people. They include accounts that are suspiciously similar to other earlier stories that were told about other god-men that we now consider mythological, and these accounts claim various extraordinary and supernatural events taking place that most of us would consider wild, outrageous, and even unbelievable were they to be told about something happening in today's world with no more evidence than what we have here. Even if we assume that Jesus existed and that the whole story wasn't an invention, distortion, or in any way embellished, that the written translations were more or less uncorrupted and somewhat accurate translations from the original texts, and that the original texts were based on accurate reports of more or less uncorrupted and somewhat accurate oral accounts given in good faith by actual eye-witnesses (which is quite a lot to assume), there is still the possibility that the witnesses were mistaken or deceived. So we have flawed translations of conflicting reports by anonymous authors who were relaying second-hand hearsay-accounts of wild, extraordinary, and supernatural events given by unsophisticated witnesses, who were possibly duped, mistaken, or lying (if the authors themselves weren't fabricating or embellishing), and that are suspiciously similar to earlier stories circulating at the time which we now consider unbelievable mythology. This kind of "evidence" would be laughed out of any court of law today. It is certainly not much to base your life on. Occum's Razor and common sense suggest that there are any number of other more rational/natural explanations for these accounts of supposed events than the one Christians believe. I think it unlikely that most Christians would even believe it, if they were presented with this evidence for the first time as adults and not brought up to believe it as children when they were most impressionable. In some ways it seems strangely appropriate to celebrate this day with painted hard-boiled eggs, chocolate, and bunny rabbits. I mean, if we are going the irrational route, why not? At least it is a more pleasant combination than celery, grasshoppers, and motor oil.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster Appears On The Courthouse Lawn In Crossville Tennessee
"If you allow one belief, then you must equally allow all others who request. The door was opened last year when the County allowed Jesus sculptures to be placed on the Courthouse steps and the Courthouse lawn. Now Cumberland County must welcome all requests equally. I expect our Courthouse lawn to become an open forum for personal expression. Our county property now looks Cheesier than ever. Got any Parmesan?"More...
Prominent Muslim Becomes Catholic On Easter
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Italy's most prominent Muslim commentator converted to Roman Catholicism on Saturday during the Vatican's Easter vigil service presided over by the pope. More...
Dozens Dead In Wave Of Iraq Violence
Al Qaeda's No. 2 Reportedly Orders Defense Of Palestinians
(CNN) -- A new statement attributed to al Qaeda's No. 2 figure, Ayman al-Zawahiri, calls on Muslims to attack Western interests in defense of the Palestinians in Gaza. More...
Dutch Anti-Koran Film's Web Site Shut Down
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- The Web site where Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders was promoting his not-yet-released anti-Koran film has been suspended by its U.S. hosting service. More...
Christianity And Islam Race For Prominence At Olympic Park
The Olympics is meant to promote solidarity -- but the 2012 Games has become a question of faith for some in East London as Christianity and Islam vie to become the most visible religion around the 500-acre park. More...
Sydney Archbishop Warns Against Occult Forces
In his Easter message this weekend, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen has warned of the occult. More...
Star Explodes Halfway Across Universe
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The explosion of a star halfway across the universe was so huge it set a record for the most distant object that could be seen on Earth by the naked eye. --snip-- The 7.5 billion light years away far eclipses the previous naked eye record of 2.5 million light years. One light year is 5.9 trillion miles. More...
The 21st Century Pagans Of Dorset
Druids, witches and shamans make their way to Stonehenge for equinox. More...
Pilgrims Crowd Holy Land For Good Friday
(AP) Thousands of Christians from all over the world crowded the stone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City to mark Good Friday, retracing the route Jesus took to his crucifixion. More...
What Causes Earth's Seasons?
Nicolai Copernicus (1473-1543) radically changed our understanding of astronomy when he proposed that the sun, not Earth, was the center of the solar system. This led to our modern understanding of the relationship between the sun and Earth. We now know that Earth orbits the sun elliptically and, at the same time, spins on an axis that is tilted relative to its plane of orbit. This means that different hemispheres are exposed to different amounts of sunlight throughout the year. Because the sun is our source of light, energy and heat, the changing intensity and concentration of its rays give rise to the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. More...
63-Year-Old Solves Riddle From 1970
JERUSALEM - A mathematical puzzle that baffled the top minds in the esoteric field of symbolic dynamics for nearly four decades has been cracked -- by a 63-year-old immigrant who once had to work as a security guard. --snip-- Margolis said the solution could have many applications. "Say you've lost an e-mail and you want to get it back -- it would be guaranteed," he said. "Let's say you are lost in a town you have never been in before and you have to get to a friend's house and there are no street signs -- the directions will work no matter what." More...
Early Life On Earth: Lots Of Sex And No Predators
Bin Laden Message: Iraq Is 'Perfect Base'
(CNN) -- Al-Jazeera broadcast on Thursday an audiotape on which a voice identified as Osama bin Laden declares "Iraq is the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine." The voice calls on "Muslims in neighboring countries" to "do their best in supporting their mujahedeen brothers in Iraq." "My speech to you is about the siege of Gaza and the way to liberate it," he said. More...See also: Report: World ignoring Iraqi refugee crisis
7 Killed In Raid By Somalia's Islamic Militants
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Insurgents briefly overran two government bases Thursday after hours of fighting killed at least seven people, including a 7-year-old boy, witnesses said. More...
Filipinos Warned On Crucifixions
Health officials in the Philippines have issued a warning to people taking part in Easter crucifixion rituals. They have urged them to get tetanus vaccinations before they flagellate themselves and are nailed to crosses, and to practise good hygiene. More...
Is Religion Influencing Your Health Care?
New York -- Some 14 percent of physicians in the U.S. will favor their religious beliefs over the well-being of their patients and refrain from administering procedures that their religion is opposed to, says a study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. "These physicians won't tell the patient that these procedures -- such as abortion, contraception, contraception for teenagers without parental consent and terminal sedation -- even exist," says Dr. Richard Sloan, professor of Behavioral Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University Medical Center, New York. "They won't tell patients that they have legal options in those areas and they won't refer these patient to other physicians who will deliver those procedures." "With 14 percent of physicians influenced by, and acting on, their religious beliefs, that translates to about 40 million Americans treated by those physicians," Dr. Sloan adds. And that's not counting the other ways in which religion creeps into health-care delivery, such as the belief that prayer will aid a patient's recovery. "The claims for a scientific basis for the impact of religious devotion on health is a complete misuse of science -- and evidence of junk science," the professor states. Dr. Sloan, the author of Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, will discuss, at the March 27th meeting of the New York City Atheists association, how serious ethical issues are raised by these attempts to bring religious practices into clinical medicine. The intrusion of religion into medicine raises ethical issues of manipulation, coercion and invasion of privacy -- not to mention actually causing harm -- "all of which are completely antithetical to the role that physicians are supposed to play in clinical medicine," Dr. Sloan says. Come and ask Dr. Sloan how we can achieve a totally scientific and unbiased health care delivery system in this country. WHEN:Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. WHERE:SLC Conference Center 352 Seventh Ave. (Bet. 29th & 30th St.) 16th floor New York, NY COST:$5: donation toward the cost of our conference room. For More Information:Jane Everhart Director of Communications New York City Atheists 212-879-2687 Kenneth Bronstein President New York City Atheists 212-535-7425 --- Earlier: Washington State Has The Right To Require Pharmacists To Fill Doctors' Prescriptions, Says Americans UnitedHumanists Join Legal Brief in Pharmacist ControversyRelated: Go public if you have any ethical qualms, doctors ordered by GMCDoctors' Orders
Faith+Values: Godless Masses?
Those gathering in Minneapolis next weekend for the American Atheists' national convention won't stand out. In fact, chances are they'll look just like your neighbors and co-workers. More...Click HERE for details about the event.
Organic Molecule Detected On Distant Planet
Scientists have detected the presence of an organic molecule in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet for the first time, NASA announced today. More...
Death Toll Rises To 50 In Iraq Bombing
13 Hurt In Yemen Attack
(CNN) -- The American Embassy in Yemen was the target of a mortar attack Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said, contradicting a suggestion from the Yemeni government the attack targeted a school where 13 were injured. More...
PA Urges Palestinians To 'Return'
Landslide Victory For Iran's Conservatives
Conservatives in Iran celebrated winning a near-landslide victory in parliamentary elections, gaining an expected 70 per cent majority in the 290-seat assembly and retaining the control that they have held over parliament since 2004. More...
Theocracy Rejected
Frank Schaeffer, John Whitehead and Cal Thomas have repudiated the theocratic movement they once led. More...
Secular Activists Say Nonbelievers Forming Groups
WORCESTER -- Activist secular college students from the Boston area said here last night that campus secularism is on the rise even if most nonbelievers are unlikely to advocate against the supernatural and are unsure what to call themselves. More...
Intelligent Design Could Slip Into Science Class
TALLAHASSEE -- The religiously tinged evolution-questioning theory of Intelligent Design could more easily be brought up in public-school science classrooms under a proposed ''academic freedom'' legislation being pushed by conservative lawmakers. More...See also: Intelligent design politics, not science, professor says
Atheist Objects To $1 Million For Burned-Out Church
College Paper Apologizes For Controversial Religious Cartoons
(NBC) -- The Cavalier Daily apologized Sunday for offending University of Virginia students after it published a pair of controversial religious cartoons last week. It all started Thursday morning when students opened the paper and saw a cartoon of Jesus on the cross making jokes like he's in a stand-up comedy show. More...
Arthur C Clarke, Writer And Futurist, Dies At 90
Arthur C Clarke, the pioneering science fiction author and technological visionary best known for the novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died at his home in Sri Lanka, aged 90. More...See also: Arthur C. Clarke to have secular funeral
German Court Upholds Muslim Headscarf Ban In Schools
A court has ruled that a ban on Muslim teachers wearing headscarves in schools was legal. It said that teachers who covered their heads violated their obligations to keep religious expression out of the classroom. More...
Secrecy About Anti-Koran Film Worries Dutch Govt
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Secrecy about the content and release date of a film about the Koran by a Dutch right-wing politician is making the job of the security services more difficult, the justice minister said on Wednesday. More...
Vatican In Saudi Talks On Building Churches
The Vatican has been holding secret talks with the Saudi Arabian authorities on building churches in Muhammad's homeland, according to one of Pope Benedict's most senior Middle East representatives. Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hashem said: "Discussions are under way to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom. We cannot forecast the outcome." More...
Turkish Court To Consider Call To Ban Ruling Party
Turkey's constitutional court said yesterday it was considering a request to ban the ruling party for allegedly trying to turn the country into an Islamic state by stealth. More...
Congregation In Fear After Faith-Hate Attack On Canon
Muslim World Launches New Cartoon War
The entire Muslim world may start a new cartoon war in the near future. It will be no less radical and irreconcilable than the one in 2005. The first signs of confrontation between the Muslims and the West are obvious. In Afghanistan, thousands of people are burning European flags in the streets, Danish politicians are not allowed in Iran, while Saudi hackers are breaking into European sites and calling to boycott Western goods. More...See also: Cartoonist vows to sell Muhammad row drawing
Couple Die While 'Fleeing' Saudi Religious Cops
Brothel Shame Of Moral Enforcer
Atheists Claim Censorship By Billboard Company
The group that asked Hudsonville to remove God from the city's mission statement says it is having a hard time placing a billboard espousing its position. More...
God's Cure For Gays Lost In Sin
Former residents say separation contracts, a ban on physical contact and teachings by an 'ex-gay' are part of Mercy Ministry's attempts to stamp out lesbianism in its flock, reports Ruth Pollard. More...
Flipping Particle Could Explain Missing Antimatter
IT IS one the biggest mysteries in physics - where did all the antimatter go? Now a team of physicists claims to have found the first ever hint of an answer in experimental data. The findings could signal a major crack in the standard model, the theoretical edifice that describes nature's fundamental particles and forces. More...
First 'Rule' Of Evolution Suggests That Life Is Destined To Become More Complex
ScienceDaily -- Researchers have found evidence which suggests that evolution drives animals to become increasingly more complex. More...
Religious Groups Want Russian Cartoon Channel Shut Down
Christian and Muslim groups are demanding that 2X2 be shut down because it airs cartoons, such as South Park, which they deem to be anti-religious, violent as well as promoting homosexuality. More...
Responding To The "Hitler Argument"
It's an inescapable feature of any debate with a believer. Like a sorcerer summoning fearsome demons to attack his enemies, the theist will call forth the shades of those terrible guardians of the Abyss: Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot. They were atheists, therefore godlessness can lead to atrocities far worse than the Inquisition and the Crusades. Whether we like it or not, it's going to come up. How can we respond? Clearly arguing that Stalinism is not the result of too much rationality and critical thinking, or that Hitler was a Christian (or represented himself as one) is not effective. Like an indestructible killer from a slasher movie, the Hitler Argument just keeps getting back up for a sequel. I propose that the best way to deal with this argument is to turn it against its wielder: Believer: "Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, I INVOKE THEE!" *thunderclap* Thinker: "Can I take it from your use of this argument that you are opposed to things like genocide, mass rape, and torture?" Believer: "Of course! In fact, unless you want to be on the slippery slope to Stalin, you need belief in a higher power to provide you with a solid basis for morality." Thinker: "So these things are wrong in principle, correct?" Believer: "Yes, and the only way something can be wrong in principle is if there's a Supreme Moral Lawgiver. Otherwise it's all subjective, right? Checkmate!" Thinker: "Could you please turn in your Bible to Numbers 31 and read verses 17 and 18 aloud for us? Believer: "'Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.' But you see, God had a perfectly good reason for this--" Thinker: "Oh, I'm sure you think it's entirely justifiable. Now, if we believe the teachings of tender Jesus meek and mild, what is your Moral Lawgiver doing with all of those Jews from the Holocaust now that Hitler is done with them? Considering that few if any of them accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before they died..." Believer: "Um..." Thinker: "I think we're all familiar with the historic Christian doctrine of Hell. Namely, that those who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior must depart into everlasting fiery torment. Those Jews, and any victims of the other dictators who didn't believe the right things are now trapped in an eternal concentration camp where the torture just goes on and on and on and on, forver and ever and ever and ever and ever. The first ten trillion years are only the beginning. So, what was it you have against Hitler, Stalin and the rest?" The fact of the matter is that if the Abrahamic deity existed, he would be a totalitarian despot in the mold of the believers' favorite atheists. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to phrase it the other way around. For nearly two thousand years before any modern totalitarianism raised its ugly head, the Christian West looked forward to the establishment of a totalitarian state as an ideal. In the "Kingdom of Heaven," there is an Absolute Ruler who knows all, sees all, controls all and punishes all. There is no dissent. All rebels and enemies are herded together into a vast place of torture. Everyone dresses the same[1] and lives only to praise the Leader.[2] As Christopher Hitchins so eloquently puts it, a celestial North Korea. With this as the prevailing concept of the perfect society, is it any surprise that as belief in its eschatological fulfillment in Heaven began to wane, that people might try to create the ideal here on Earth? Here's a clue: Most people know that Hitler sought to create a "Thousand Year Reich." Now, why would Hitler want his empire to last a thousand years, rather than five thousand or ten thousand or forever? Wouldn't he at least want his Reich to endure longer than the Pharaohs and the Romans? Is there some place in our Western cultural heritage that speaks of an ideal regime that lasts a thousand years? Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
--Revelation 20:6 Speaking of the Book of Revelation, it isn't secularists who have wet dreams about the apocalyptic destruction of Planet Earth and the genocidal slaughter of most of the population.[3] Unlike the vast majority of modern secularists, believers still uphold the totalitarian ideal, provided it's under the management of their god. With a straight face, they can explain to you how they believe that torture, mass rape, and genocide are in fact the will of a Being of absolute moral perfection, preserved for the ages in his "holy" Word. Not merely forgiveable or excusable or even justifiable, but worthy of unending praise. If the believer wishes to pose as an indignant enemy of totalitarianism, then s/he has an obligation to join us in rejecting the totalitarian ideal, which is embodied first and most fully in the "sacred" texts of the Abrahamic religions. NOTES: 1. Revelation 6:11, 7:9 2. Revelation 4:1-11 3. Case in point: the Left Behind series.
FreeThoughtAction Hero Of The Day - 03/16/08
 James Madison (March 16, 1751 - June 28, 1836) According to Wikipedia, Madison was "an American politician and fourth President of the United States of America (1809-1817), was one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States. Considered to be the 'Father of the Constitution', Madison played a bigger role in designing the 1787 document more than anyone else. In 1788, he wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, still the most influential commentary on the Constitution. As a leader in the first Congresses, he drafted many basic laws and was responsible for the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and thus is also known as the 'Father of the Bill of Rights'. As a political theorist, Madison's most distinctive belief was that the new republic needed checks and balances to limit the powers of special interests, which Madison called factions. He believed very strongly that the new nation should fight against aristocracy and corruption (especially of British origin), and was deeply committed to creating mechanisms that would ensure Republicanism in the United States." Some Madison quotes: "Democracy does not need the church, or the clergy."
"A just government, instituted to perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy."
"That diabolical, hell-conceived principle of persecution rages among some, and to their eternal infamy the clergy can furnish their quota of imps for such a business."
"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; in many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient allies."
"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."
"I must admit moreover that it may not be easy, in every possible case, to trace the line of separation between the rights of religion and the Civil authority with such distinctness as to avoid collisions and doubts on unessential points. The tendency of a usurpation on one side or the other, or to a corrupting coalition or alliance between them, will be best guarded by an entire abstinence of the Government from interference in any way whatever, beyond the necessity of preserving public order, and protecting each sect against trespass on its legal rights by others."
"The civil government ... functions with complete success ... by the total separation of the Church from the State."
"Religion flourishes in greater purity without than with the aid of government."
"And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion & Govt will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."
"Who does not see that the same authority, which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects? That the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever."
"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries."
"This freedom arises from that multiplicity of sects, which pervades America, and which is the best and only security for religious liberty in any society. For where there is such a variety of sects, there cannot be a majority of any one sect to oppress and persecute the rest."
"Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history."
The Great Tantra Challenge
On 3 March 2008, in a popular TV show, Sanal Edamaruku, the president of Rationalist International, challenged India's most "powerful" tantrik (black magician) to demonstrate his powers on him. That was the beginning of an unprecedented experiment. After all his chanting of mantra (magic words) and ceremonies of tantra failed, the tantrik decided to kill Sanal Edamaruku with the "ultimate destruction ceremony" on live TV. Sanal Edamaruku agreed and sat in the altar of the black magic ritual. India TV observed skyrocketing viewership rates. More...
Indians Blinded Looking For Vision Of Mary
 KOTTAYAM, India (UPI) -- Reports in India of a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary in the sky have led about 50 people to blind themselves by staring at the sun. More...
Americans Injured In Pakistan Bombing
(CBS/AP) A bomb exploded in the back garden of an Italian restaurant popular with foreigners in Pakistan's capital Saturday night, killing two people and wounding 11, police said. More...
Hardliners Ahead In Iranian Poll
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Conservative opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a strong showing in Iran's parliamentary elections, according to partial results Saturday. The split could mean frictions between the president and former supporters disillusioned by his fiery, populist rule. More...
The Morality Police
The morality police try to roll back reform amid culture clash in Iran. More...
Britons Losing Religious Beliefs
ALMOST half of Britons doubt the existence of God or are confirmed atheists, research has found. The think-tank, Theos, has found that most of those who say they are Christians do not practise their religion. More...
FreeThoughtAction Hero Of The Day - 03/14/08
 Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955) According to Wikipedia, Einstein "was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely considered to have been one of the greatest physicists of all time. While best known for the theory of relativity (and specifically mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2), he was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics 'for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.' "Einstein's many contributions to physics include his special theory of relativity, which reconciled mechanics with electromagnetism, and his general theory of relativity which extended the principle of relativity to nonuniform motion, creating a new theory of gravitation. His other contributions include relativistic cosmology, capillary action, critical opalescence, classical problems of statistical mechanics and their application to quantum theory, an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules, atomic transition probabilities, the quantum theory of a monatomic gas, thermal properties of light with low radiation density (which laid the foundation for the photon theory), a theory of radiation including stimulated emission, the conception of a unified field theory, and the geometrization of physics. "In 1999 Einstein was named Time magazine's 'Person of the Century'. In popular culture the name 'Einstein' has become synonymous with genius." Einstein said he believed in Spinoza's God. Spinoza's God "is the natural world and has no personality." His use of the word "God" to decribe his religious attitude towards Nature, caused a certain amount of confusion among some people, which he later attempted to clarify. Here are some of his relevant quotes on the matter: It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.
I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.
I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.
It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere.... Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.
Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the action of people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a Supernatural Being.
Dolphin Rescues Stranded Whales
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A dolphin swam up to two distressed whales that appeared headed for death in a beach stranding in New Zealand and guided them to safety, witnesses said Wednesday. More...
Military: Al-Qaida Remains Deadly, Alive In Iraq
Happy Pi Day!
Savor A Virtual Piece Of PiSan Francisco's Exploratorium makes an irrationally big deal out of pi: For 20 years, geeks have gathered at the science museum to troop in circular processions, solve pesky puzzles, string beads and consume mass quantities of pie - all building to a peak on 3/14 at 1:59 p.m., when the time lines up to form the first six digits of the mysterious and marvelous number. This year marks a nice round number for Pi Day, an observance honoring one of the least-round numbers in mathematics. You don't even have to be at the Exploratorium to savor the 20th-anniversary celebration. Online resources, ranging from Web sites to the virtual world known as Second Life, are serving up a substantial slice of the Pi Day experience. More......and more about Pi Day HERE.
Humanists Join Legal Brief In Pharmacist Controversy
The Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), the legal arm of the American Humanist Association (AHA), participated Wednesday as a sign-on to a "friend of the court" brief prepared by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The brief was submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and sets forth the legal opinion that Washington State has the right to require pharmacists to fill doctors' prescriptions. The brief argues that two Washington State Board of Pharmacy regulations, which require pharmacies to dispense all medications in a timely manner, don't impinge upon the religious freedom rights of pharmacists and should therefore be upheld. The brief in the case of Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky asks the appeals court to kick the decision back to the district court with instructions to use a different standard for reviewing the regulations. "Pharmacists know what they're getting into when they take the job," commented Bob Ritter, legal coordinator of the AHLC. "Though pharmacies should accommodate religious beliefs when possible, the rights of the patient to receive needed medication takes precedence. Moreover, the regulations don't target any particular religious belief, as secular pharmacists are required to fill prescriptions also. So the idea that pharmacists are being negatively singled out due to their religion doesn't hold true." The regulations were put in place by the pharmacy board after it became aware of pharmacists in Washington and other states refusing on religious grounds to fill prescriptions for medicines such as birth control and the morning-after pill. However, as noted in the brief, regulations appropriately accommodate pharmacists' religious beliefs by allowing them to have a colleague at the same store fill the prescription (if the other pharmacist is willing to do so). The brief argues that the regulations don't single out religious beliefs, and requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions is a religiously-neutral regulation. The American Humanist Association was involved in reviewing the Americans United-written brief and recommending changes. LINKEarlier: Washington State Has The Right To Require Pharmacists To Fill Doctors' Prescriptions, Says Americans United
Space Rocks Brought Life's Raw Material
Nobody knows how life on Earth began, but the primordial soup likely got a lot of its ingredients from space. Scientists have discovered concentrations of amino acids in two meteorites that are more than ten times higher than levels previously measured in other similar meteorites. Amino acids are organic molecules that form the backbone of proteins, which in turn build many of the structures and drive many of the chemical reactions inside living cells. The production of proteins is believed to constitute one of the first steps in the emergence of life. More...See also: Saturn probe snaps close-up of mystery moon
Lutheran Group: Marriage Only Man-Woman
NEW YORK - A task force drafting a statement on sexuality for the nation's largest Lutheran group said Thursday that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples. More...
Hard-Liners Expect To Dominate Iran Election
QOM, Iran - Ali Farahani smiles as he talks about Iran's parliament elections Friday. The young cleric in this spiritual center of the Islamic revolution says the vote will sweep the country closer to hard-liners' ideal of the Islamic state. More...
Reprieve For Gay Iranian Asylum Seeker
Britain granted a gay Iranian teenager a reprieve on Thursday from deportation to Iran, where he says he could be hanged for his homosexuality. More...
Al Qaeda Posts Photos Of Austrian Hostages
(AP) Al Qaeda's branch for North Africa on Thursday set a three-day deadline to meet conditions for the release of two Austrian tourists it claimed to have kidnapped in Tunisia last month. More...
Hussein's Iraq And Al Qaeda Not Linked, Pentagon Says
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military's first and only study looking into ties between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda showed no connection between the two, according to a military report released by the Pentagon. More...
U.S. Is Sent Severed Fingers Of Iraq Kidnap Victims
Story Highlights:FBI says DNA checks out as victims'; source says DNA came from fingers Death toll from Baghdad parked car bomb rises to 15; 65 injured Kidnapped archbishop found dead in Iraq More...
Priest's Sentence Extended In Rwanda Genocide Case
ARUSHA, Tanzania (AP) -- A U.N. tribunal has extended the sentence of a priest to life in prison after upholding his war crimes conviction for ordering militiamen to burn and bulldoze a church with 1,500 people inside during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. More...
EU Concerned By Growing Use Of Religious Defamation Laws Worldwide
Bishop Accuses Gays Of 'Conspiracy' Against The Catholic Church
A Catholic bishop has accused the gay community of leading a "conspiracy" against Christianity by allying itself with Holocaust survivors. The Bishop of Motherwell, Joseph Devine, says a "homosexual lobby" has aligned itself with minority groups, including Holocaust survivors, to gain persecuted status. --snip-- In an attack on openly gay actor Sir Ian McKellen the bishop said: "I saw actor Ian McKellen being honoured for his work on behalf of homosexuals, when a century ago Oscar Wilde was locked up and put in jail." More...See also: Ban anti-Catholic books in schools, says bishop
Still Time To Sign Up
The Countdown has begun for the American Atheists National Conference, March 21-23 in Minneapolis, MN. Speakers include: * RICHARD DAWKINS ~ Professor at Oxford University, author of numerous books including The Selfish Gene and the new best-seller The God Delusion. * LAWRENCE KRAUSS ~ Theoretical physicist, astronomer, author of several books including The Search for Dark Matter in the Universe and The Physics of Star Trek. * ELLEN JOHNSON ~ President of American Atheists, Executive Director of the Godless Americans Political Action Committee.* ROBERT LANHAM ~ Dubbed "The Margaret Mead of the North American Weirdo," Bob is author of several best-sellers including The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right. * DR. JACK ELLER ~ Noted anthropologist, author speaking on his book Religion is not what you believe; How Religion works without belief or meaning to Colonize Experience. * MARY STANTON ~ Historian and author of Freedom Walk, a book about white postal worker and Atheist Bill Moore who was murdered during his famous civil rights walk from Chattanooga to Jackson, Mississippi. * RENEE SALM ~ Historian and researcher, speaking on The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus. * GREYDON SQUARE ~ Rap artist who promotes rationality and freethought through hip-hop -- and he is completing his degree in physics! * EDDIE TABASH ~ Attorney, civil rights and First Amendment activist speaking on The Threat of the Religious Right to our Modern Liberties. * LOIS UTLEY ~ Director of the MergerWach Project, a national initiative working to protect patients' rights and access to care from the threat of faith-based healthcare restrictions. She speaks on Medicine and Morality: How Religious Restrictions Can Affect Your Health Care. The venue is the spectacular Minneapolis Marriott City Center located downtown at 30 S. 7th St. in Minneapolis. There is a special convention room rate of only $99 per night! That rate begins two days prior to the convention and extends for two days following the event -- this allows you to arrive early or stay late and make a mini-vacation of the Conference weekend. You must make your reservations directly with the hotel, however, and mention that you are with the American Atheists Conference. Check out http://www.atheists.org/conference for more details, and to register.
Washington State Has The Right To Require Pharmacists To Fill Doctors' Prescriptions, Says Americans United
A Washington State Board of Pharmacy regulation that requires pharmacies to dispense all medications in a timely manner does not trample on religious freedom rights and should be upheld, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told a federal appeals court. More...
Beauty Ad Banned After Christian Outcry
A TV ad campaign featuring lingerie-clad women praying for beautiful hair has been banned by the advertising watchdog because it might offend Christians. The series of three TV ads, created by ad agency TBWA Manchester for beauty firm ghd, had an overall religious theme using the strapline "Ghd. A new religion for hair". More...
Church Gunman's Letter Shows Him Angry, Confused About God
DENVER -- Sometime before his deadly rampage at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, gunman Matthew Murray penned a letter addressed to God in which he poured out his frustration and confusion over his faith and ranted about the hypocrisy of Christians. --snip-- "I didn't even ask to be born. Jesus, where are you? Do you even care these days ?... Why didn't you ever answer my cries for help? Why do I have to be hurt by so many Christians?" he asked. More...
Tampa Televangelists Draw Senate Scrutiny
Two U.S. Senators sent out a new round of letters today to some of the nation's most high-profile televangelists, urging them to turn over key financial records. The Senators told the ministries that they want to know how their "non-profit organizations are structured and operate," amid allegations that some of the televangelists have misused church funds to enrich themselves. More...
Iraq Rocket Attack Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers
(CBS/AP) Three American soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in southern Iraq on Wednesday, bringing to 12 the number of soldiers who have been killed in Iraq over the past three days. More...See also: Iraq Violence Sees Spike
Violence Follows Hamas Appeal For Calm
(CBS/AP) The Hamas prime minister called publicly Wednesday for a period of calm with Israel, laying out conditions that would end attacks on Palestinian militants, open Gaza's borders and lift economic sanctions. But shortly after the appeal by Ismail Haniyeh, Israeli troops opened fire on a car in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and killed four Palestinian militants, clouding the prospects for a cease-fire. This violence comes after an earlier arrest raid in the West Bank Wednesday morning where Israeli troops killed an Islamic Jihad militant in a pre-dawn gun battle, according to Palestinians and the Israeli military. More...
Suicide Bombings In Lahore Kill At Least 31
Two suicide attacks killed at least 31 people and injured more than 200 in Lahore yesterday as suspected Islamist militants escalated their campaign of mayhem in Pakistan's largest cities. More...See also: Al Qaeda probed over Lahore blasts
Violence In Indian State Is Partly Fuelled By Religious Intolerance
Recent religious conflict in the Indian state of Orissa has been aided by the aggressive evangelising of missionaries from outside the region, says an official with the largest traditional Protestant denomination in northern India. More...
Gay Teenager Faces Return To Iran After Dutch Ruling
10 Million-Year-Old Fossil Found In New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A geologic mapping project led to the finding of a 10 million-year-old fossil that's now being studied at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. --snip-- It belonged to a group of large oreodonts that resembled a cross between a pig and a camel which had large heads, small trunks, rather short legs on a longish body. More...
Bill Promotes School Religion At Expense Of Education
EDMOND -- The Oklahoma House of Representatives Education Committee has just approved House Bill 2211. The bill is expected to pass the full House, and then to go to the Senate. Its authors describe it as promoting freedom of religion in the public schools. In fact, it does the opposite. --snip-- The bill requires public schools to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized. If a student's religious beliefs were in conflict with scientific theory, and the student chose to express those beliefs rather than explain the theory in response to an exam question, the student's incorrect response would be deemed satisfactory, according to this bill. The school would be required to reward the student with a good grade, or be considered in violation of the law. Even simple, factual information such as the age of the earth (4.65 billion years) would be subject to the student's belief, and if the student answered 6,000 years based on his or her religious belief, the school would have to credit it as correct. Science education becomes absurd under such a situation. More...
Afghan Death Toll Soars To 8,000 Last Year
The United Nations has delivered a grim assessment of the conflict in Afghanistan, reporting that violence increased sharply last year and resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, at least 1,500 of them civilians. More...
Bomb Strikes Bus In Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A roadside bomb in southern Iraq struck a bus on Tuesday, killing 16 passengers and wounding 22, an Interior Ministry official said. --snip-- Meanwhile, five people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide bomber slammed into a checkpoint in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said. In Baghdad, one person was killed and eight people were wounded Tuesday when a gunman shot at a minibus carrying employees from Iraq's Electricity Ministry, an Interior Ministry official said. In northern Iraq, authorities found a grave containing 20 bodies, police said. Police and a local citizens group found five children, six women and nine men in the grave, just northeast of Samarra. --snip-- Other mass graves have been found recently, including one discovered Saturday with up to 100 bodies just north of Baquba in Diyala province. More...See also: 8 U.S. troops, 14 Iraqis die in wave of insurgent bombings3 More GI Deaths Reported In IraqIraq, once secular, now dominated by religious partiesExhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al QaidaAl-Qaeda in Iraq may try for spectacular attacksIraq will not be a Qaedistan
Suicide Bombers Target Pakistan Investigators
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two suicide bombers exploded a car Tuesday at a building containing the offices of Pakistan's national investigative agency, destroying it and killing and wounding people inside. Police said 17 people died and 175 were wounded in the attack in Lahore, and three more were killed in a separate suicide bombing in an area of the city known as Model Town. All three bombers died. More...See also: At Least 24 Killed as Two Bombs Strike Pakistan
Gay Iranian Teen Loses Asylum Appeal
(CNN) -- The Netherlands has rejected an asylum plea by a gay Iranian teenager trying to escape possible persecution in his homeland. More...
Gay Priest Not Welcome At World Meeting
US Evangelical Rift On Global Warming Widens
A group of more than 40 leading Southern Baptists has widened the divisions within the powerful American evangelical movement over global warming, denouncing the denomination's stance as "too timid" and warning that its cautious response to the environment is seen around the world as "uncaring, reckless and ill-informed". More...
Saudi Woman Drives On YouTube
When Wajeha Al Huwaider gets behind the wheel of a car, it's a daring and defiant act, flying -- or driving -- in the face of Saudi Arabia's ban on female drivers. This weekend, in honor of International Women's Day and in protest of the law, she posted a video on Youtube of her driving inside the kingdom. More...
5 U.S. Troops Killed In Suicide Blast
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least five U.S. soldiers on foot patrol were killed and three others wounded in a suicide bombing Monday in Baghdad, U.S. military officials in Iraq said. More...
Death Threats Posted To Irish Fertility Clinics
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Letters containing death threats and shotgun cartridges were mailed to two Irish government ministers and officials at two prominent fertility clinics, the targets of the threats said Monday. More...
U.N. Blasts Israel For West Bank Housing Expansion Plan
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel on Monday for planning to build housing units in a West Bank settlement, saying the decision conflicts with "Israel's obligation under the road map" for Middle East peace. More...See also: In a Jerusalem Suburb, Jewish Cultures Clash
When God Goes To The Office
(LifeWire) -- Rob Skinner did not expect to find a chaplain in the office when he started his sales job at Piedmont Air Conditioning in Raleigh, North Carolina. "I was a little worried because I didn't want God shoved down my throat," says Skinner, 38, a self-described liberal Christian. More...
Vatican Lists New Sinful Behaviors
Clashing Over Church Ritual And Flag Protocol At The Naval Academy Chapel
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- On Sundays at the Naval Academy Chapel, at a few minutes past 11 a.m., the choir stops singing and a color guard carrying the academy flag and the American flag strides up the aisle. Below a cobalt blue stained-glass window of Jesus, one midshipman dips the academy flag before the altar cross, and the other dips the American flag. More...
Gravity Helps Astronomers See The Unseen
Einstein predicted that the gravity of a massive object such as a galaxy will bend light like a lens. In some cases, the lensing can image distant objects that lie behind the galaxy. Astronomers have studied such gravitational lenses for decades. Now they are ready to turn them into a powerful tool to test the latest theories of the structure and evolution of the universe. More...
Islamists Win In Malaysia
The Parti Islam se-Malaysia, whose platform calls for stonings and amputations of Muslim thieves and adulterers, has declared victory in three northern states that border Thailand. More...See also: Malaysian opposition scores upset
Evolution Scare Tactics Undermine Florida's Quest For Excellence
Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio cares so much about Florida's education standards the second of his "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future" was creating a "world class" curriculum for our students. Rubio never specifically defined what he meant in saying world class. But since the speaker began pushing lawmakers to continue the battle over teaching evolution in public schools, now we know. In Rubio's world, apparently world-class curriculum standards means undermining and ignoring the top-flight educators and scientists who spent months crafting and reviewing the guidelines to create a rigorous and appropriate science curriculum that would bring Florida's education into the 21st Century. And it means allowing science teachers to infuse science curriculum with religion - with the state's endorsement and protection. More...See also: Storms Tries To Put Evolution Up For VoteChurch of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - amen to that!
It's Daylight Science Time Again
It's that time of year, when crocuses bloom, the lawn starts to need mowing, and most Americans lose an hour's sleep setting their clocks ahead. (Remember? Spring forward, fall back.) So here are answers to your questions about the time switch -- and about sleep. More...
Mass Grave Discovered North Of Baghdad
BAGHDAD - A mass grave containing about 100 bodies was discovered Saturday in a region north of Baghdad that has seen years of intense fighting between Shiites and Sunni extremist members of al-Qaida in Iraq. More...
Iranian Teen Fears Deportation Means Death
Two gay Iranians living in Britain say they fear for their lives after their partners were sentenced to death by Iranian authorities and their requests for asylum in Britain were denied. Advocates for Mehdi Kazemi, 19, and Pegah Emambakhsh, 40, say they will face harsh physical punishment, prison, and possible execution if forced to return Iran. More...
Iraqis Protest Poor Security In Basra
(AP) Thousands of people took to the streets Saturday in southern Basra, protesting deteriorating security in a city where Iraqi forces assumed responsibility for safety last December. It was day of violence as well as political unrest in Iraq: Police in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad reported two separate bombings in which six people were killed, and officers also found 13 bullet-ridden bodies. More...
Malaysian Polls Decide Future Of Fundamentalist Islamic State
KOTA BHARU - THE future of Malaysia's only state held by the fundamentalist Islamic party was in the balance on Saturday as voters decided whether to switch to the multi-racial coalition. More...See also: Malaysian opposition scores upset
Afghans Protest Over Danish Cartoon
(CNN) -- Thousands of Afghans packed a sports stadium in the western Afghanistan city Herat Saturday to protest the reprinting of the same Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked rage in the Muslim world two years ago. More...
Catholic Church Pays $655M In Abuse Cases
THE Roman Catholic church in the United States paid out $A665 million last year for child sex abuse cases involving members of the clergy, or 54 per cent more than the previous year. More...
Criminalizing Home Schoolers
On Feb. 28, Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled that children ages six to 18 may be taught only by credentialed teachers in public or private schools -- or at home by Mom and Dad, but only if they have a teaching degree. More...
Humanists Call For Repeal Of U.S. Blasphemy Laws
Following Wednesday's action by the British House of Lords to abolish all blasphemy laws in the United Kingdom, the American Humanist Association reiterated its longstanding call to remove all such statutes wherever they appear within the United States and its territories. Though few Americans know of their existence, unenforceable blasphemy laws appear on the books in several U.S. states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming. No such federal laws exist. And in 1952, in Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against blasphemy bans of all sorts. "Laws prohibiting blasphemy are a relic of the Middle Ages and are blatantly unconstitutional," declared Mel Lipman, a constitutional lawyer and president of the American Humanist Association. "Blasphemy is a purely religious offense and hence the sole concern of religious organizations and their own members. By contrast, those people without religion, or who have religious beliefs that don't condemn blasphemy, shouldn't be affected." Ordinary citizens, however, have been affected in America's past. People who publicly used religious profanity or criticized God, Christ, Christianity or belief in a god were occasionally intimidated or criminally charged. But the last known person actually jailed for this offense, and this offense alone, was Abner Kneeland in 1838. Since then, remaining blasphemy laws have gone essentially unenforced and are now legally unenforceable. "Unenforceable statutes that remain on the books, especially unconstitutional ones, undermine public respect for the rule of law," noted Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "Beyond this, the British government has come to realize that the existence of blasphemy laws can hamper a nation's credibility when it seeks to oppose the enforcement of such laws by nations dominated by political Islam." In November Britain protested Sudan's arrest of a British schoolteacher on a blasphemy charge wherein she was accused of letting her students give the name Muhammad to a class teddy bear. But then it was pointed out that Britain still had blasphemy laws on its own books. This fact limited the impact of that nation's principled human rights stand--leading the House of Lords to vote 148-87 on Wednesday to abolish its laws against blasphemy and blasphemous libel. The proposed law next goes to the House of Commons, where passage is all but assured. Also this week, the state legislature in Massachusetts began considering a bill to remove its own blasphemy law and related religious prohibitions. Nonetheless, humanist leaders express criticism that this process has taken so long. "The lack of foresight in this issue is astounding," stated Fred Edwords, director of communications for the American Humanist Association. "Throughout the twentieth century humanists have pointed out the moral, legal and practical problems with blasphemy laws. Other secularists did so going back even to the nation's founding. Yet it requires specific extreme examples emerging from the Middle East during today's global era before enough people realize what a few moments of thought would have readily made clear. This is cause for concern." LINKEarlier: Lords Approve Abolition Of BlasphemySee also: When blasphemy bit the dust
Lawsuit Over Prayer At Graduation Ceremonies In Texas Is Settled
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and a Texas public school district have settled a lawsuit involving a policy that allowed students to vote on prayer at graduation ceremonies. More...
Utah's Secret Renews Mormonism Debate
The postcard image of Utah is a state of gleaming cities, majestic mountains and persistently smiling people. But new research shows a very different picture of the state, a snapshot of suicide and widespread depression. A recent study by Mental Health America, the country's oldest independent mental health advocacy organization, ranked Utah the most depressed state in the country. Another survey released last week by drug distribution company Express Scripts found that residents of Utah were prescribed antidepressant drugs more than those of any other state and at twice the national average. --snip-- Psychiatrists point to several factors that could contribute to Utah's high levels of depression: limited mental health resources, restricted access to treatment as a result of cost, poor quality of resources and a varied list of other factors, including an underfunded educational system and a culture deeply rooted in the Mormon faith. More...
Preacher: 'I Did Not Kill My Wife'
Matt and Kari Baker appeared to have a perfect life in Waco, Texas: a house in the suburbs, two beautiful daughters and church on Sundays with Matt at the pulpit. But that existence was shattered when almost two years ago, when Kari was 31 years old, she apparently committed suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. There was a typed unsigned suicide note. Matt, received the sympathy and compassion of his community -- until he was charged with his wife's murder. Now the 36-year-old preacher must defend himself to an increasingly doubtful congregation and prosecutor. More...
South Charlotte Pastor Charged With Sex Crime
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A pastor from a south Charlotte church is accused of soliciting sex after police arrested him in a local park. Officers arrested Robert Graff, a pastor at Saint Luke's Lutheran Church on Park Road, late Tuesday in Park Road Park. Graff is charged with crimes against nature. More...
Iraq 'Still Unstable Despite Coalition'
Iraq is still violent and unsettled despite increased efforts by coalition forces, an Australian academic said following two deadly bomb blasts in a Baghdad shopping centre. Fifty-five people were killed and many others injured when two bombs exploded in a crowded shopping area. More...Earlier: Double bombing kills at least 54 in Baghdad
Malaysia Polls Open Amid Tensions
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysians voted Saturday in parliamentary elections that could see gains for Malaysia's opposition amid anger over race and religion among minority Chinese and Indians. --snip-- The Chinese and Indians are also angry at a string of court decisions in religious disputes that have gone in favor of Malays, and Indians were infuriated by the demolition of Hindu temples by authorities last year. More...
Israel Attack Linked To Hezbollah
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The deadly attack on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem Thursday was planned by an operation with purported ties to Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group in Lebanon, Palestinian militant sources in Gaza said. More...
Bible-Obsessed Gangster Jailed For 38 Years
Manchester, England -- A fitness instructor who was obsessed with violent sex was yesterday jailed for 38 years for the murder of a teenage singer, her mother and brother. Pierre Williams, 33, raped 18-year-old Kesha Wizzart, who had been a contestant on ITV talent show Stars In Their Eyes, before bludgeoning her to death. He also sexually assaulted her mother Beverley Samuels, 36, his former girlfriend, before battering her to death with a hammer. He then killed Kesha's 13-year-old brother Fred by hitting him over the head. Police believe Williams's violent temper and jealousy in the face of Miss Samuels's rejection were compounded by religious delusions. More...
Iran's State Within A State
They were once the storm troops of the Iranian revolution, the fanatical young men who spearheaded Ayatollah Khomeini's campaign to overthrow the Shah and establish an Islamic Republic where the rule of law was based on a strict interpretation of the Koran. Nearly three decades have passed since the ayatollah returned in triumph to Tehran from exile in Paris, but many of those who were the original founders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards today hold positions of great power and influence, to the extent that many Iranians are now openly questioning whether there is any point in voting in next week's parliamentary elections. More...
Jewish Women Who Are Taking The Veil
Sarah is part of a budding movement of about 100 Jewish women in this city who have begun covering their bodies. Some cover just their hair and neck; others wrap their entire face, save their eyes, with the loose cloth. They call their head-covering a sal, refusing to acknowledge the resemblance to its Muslim twin, the hijab. In Beit Shemesh, the political line is strictly right wing, with many of the religious leaders advocating expulsion of Arabs from the biblical boundaries of the land of Israel. But the two communities may have more in common than they think. More...
Ontario Court Rejects Religious Exemption To Motorcycle Helmet Law
A devout Sikh who challenged an Ontario law requiring all motorcycle riders to wear a helmet on provincial roads has lost his court case. More...
Dutch Face 'Substantial' Terror Threat Over New Film On Islam
The Netherlands has raised its national risk level of a terrorist attack to "substantial" before the launch of a film made by a right-wing politician that is expected to be critical of the Koran. More...
Church Row Exposes Splits In Spain Before Vote
MADRID (Reuters) - When Spanish bishops advised Catholics on how to vote in next Sunday's election, Spaniards were reminded of the Church's one-time power, but also of how that power has waned. More...
Religious Group Can't Take Government Money, Humanists Say
The Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), the legal arm of the American Humanist Association (AHA), sent an information letter today to Morning Star Ranch, an evangelical training camp, advising the religious organization not to accept tax funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the purpose of "renovating facilities." "Morning Star Ranch is ineligible for government money," declared Bob Ritter, legal coordinator of the AHLC. "Therefore, if the organization accepts and spends such funds, the organization could later be required to return them." Ritter explained the legal issue. "Since Morning Star Ranch is a pervasively sectarian organization, any award of tax dollars would be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and HUD's own regulations. The government can't use tax dollars to endorse or aid religion; that is a breach of our cherished tradition of church-state separation. And religion is clearly integral to every aspect of Morning Star Ranch's programs. This is why the organization is barred from receiving government funding." More...
Grace Community Church Pastor Issued Endorsement For Shelley Sekula Gibbs
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Houston church whose pastor issued a letter of endorsement for a congressional candidate. More...
Grand Canyon Reveals Its Age-Old Mystery
Cave formations indicate natural wonder is about 16 million years old. More...
Crossing The Divide
SOLOMONS, MARYLAND - On a clear January day, Stephen Godfrey is dressed for fossilhunting: frayed baggy jeans, a puffy green vest, and a leather jacket that's seen better times. A paleontologist and curator at the modest Calvert Marine Museum here, Godfrey frequents the nearby Calvert Cliffs, which rise from the shoreline of Chesapeake Bay and hold everything from ancient shark teeth to dolphin skulls. "You start collecting them because, well, they're beautiful," he says of his beloved fossils. It was the study of fossils that, 25 years ago, set Godfrey on an anguished path. Raised in a fundamentalist Christian family in Quebec, Canada, embracing a 6000-year-old Earth where Noah's flood laid down every fossil, Godfrey began probing the underpinnings of creationism in graduate school. The inconsistencies he found led step by step, over many years, to a staunch acceptance of evolution. With this shift came rejection from his religious community, estrangement from his parents, and, perhaps most difficult of all, a crisis of faith that endures. More...
Atheist Soldier Says Army Punished Him
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A soldier claimed Wednesday that his promotion was blocked because he had claimed in a lawsuit that the Army was violating his right to be an atheist. More...
Sudan Urges Muslims To Act Against Denmark; Thousands Protest Cartoon
KHARTOUM, Sudan - President Omar al-Bashir vowed on Wednesday to ban Danes from Sudan and called for a Muslim boycott of Denmark before a crowd of tens of thousands denouncing the country at a government-backed protest against a cartoon satirizing the Prophet Muhammad. More...
Britain's Blasphemy Law No Longer Sacred
LONDON -- A funny thing happened in November when Britain launched a righteous protest over Sudan's arrest of a British schoolteacher accused of insulting Islam by letting her students name a class teddy bear Muhammad. More...See also: Humanists Call for Repeal of U.S. Blasphemy Laws
Church Steps Into Political Fray In Spain
MADRID - Spain's most prominent Roman Catholic priests have stepped into the center of a bare-knuckle election campaign here, igniting a firestorm by seeming to tell voters how to cast their ballots. More...
Religious Defamation "Is Abuse Of Rights"
GENEVA: Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday said defaming religious images or sensibilities should be seen as a breach of human rights. More...
Iran's Religious Conservatives Are Expected To Solidify Power At Polls
TEHRAN -- With eight days before Iran's parliamentary elections, there is little doubt that religious conservatives will tighten their grip on power, pushing aside some of the veteran politicians who helped found the Islamic Republic 29 years ago. More...
Dutch PM Seeks French Help Over Anti-Islam Film
PARIS (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende asked France Wednesday to show solidarity with his country if there is any fallout over an anti-Islamic film made by a Dutch right-wing politician. More...
U.S. Commander Warns On Al Qaeda Plotting
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al Qaeda terrorists may be plotting more urgently to attack the United States to maintain their credibility and ability to recruit followers, the U.S. military commander in charge of domestic defense said Thursday. More...
Masked Militiamen Enter Key Somali Town
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- More than 100 masked Islamic militiamen entered a strategic town Thursday in the latest bold move by a force defeated two years ago at the hands of Somalia's Western-backed government and its Ethiopian allies. More...
Alleged Manila Bomb Plotters Arrested
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine authorities have arrested three Middle Eastern men suspected of involvement in a plot to bomb the American embassy and three other foreign missions in Manila, officials said Thursday. --snip-- The Philippines is a key Washington ally in its global war on terrorism. It has allowed U.S. counterterrorism troops to arm and train Filipino soldiers battling al Qaeda-linked militants in the country's south, scene of a decades-long Islamic separatist insurrection. More...
Pair Of Bombs Kills 53 In Baghdad, Officials Say
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Fifty-three people were killed and 125 were wounded in two bomb attacks Thursday evening in a Baghdad commercial district, an Interior Ministry official said. More...
Gunman Kills 8 At Jerusalem Seminary
Sikhs Won't See Pope If Daggers Banned
A group of Sikhs refuse to attend a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI when he comes to the United States in April because they were ordered not to bring a dagger they are required to carry as part of their faith. More...
Danish Cartoonist's 81 Namesakes In Terror Risk
Denmark's security services have provided protection to namesakes of the Danish cartoonist behind controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. There are 82 Kurt Westergaards living in Denmark but only one of them is the man who life is under daily threat because of his caricatures of the founder of Islam. However, some of other 81 "Kurts" scattered across Denmark have also received mistaken identity death threats because they share the same name as the illustrator. More...
Woman Jailed For 'Worshipping Tea Pot'
A sharia court in Malaysia jailed a woman for joining a "tea-pot worshipping" cult. More...
Richard Dawkins' US Tour Begins This Week
The God Delusion University Tour 2008 begins this Thursday in Tempe, Arizona, and continues through the month of March. More...
Muslim Scholars, Vatican Officials Talk
VATICAN CITY -- Muslim scholars who have called for greater dialogue with Christians began two days of talks Tuesday with the Vatican to prepare for what church officials say will be a historic audience with Pope Benedict XVI. More...See also: Church exhumes Padre Pio
Afghan Attack Kills 2 NATO Soldiers, Injures 4
KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide attack on a government office guarded by Afghan and NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan left two alliance soldiers dead and four more wounded, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday. More...See also: Opium Wars
Violence Leaves Young Iraqis Doubting Clerics
BAGHDAD -- After almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach. More...
Suicide Bombers Kill 5 In Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Twin suicide bombers set off explosives at a naval college in Pakistan Tuesday, killing at least five other people and wounding at least 16, one critically, the government said. More...
Israeli Troops Return To Gaza; Overthrow Next?
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- About 25 Israeli armored vehicles rumbled into southern Gaza after nightfall Tuesday, and troops clashed with militants, Palestinian witnesses said. More...See also: Gaza Clashes Leave Infant Girl Dead
Was Moses High On Mount Sinai?
JERUSALEM -- When Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, he may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant, according to a new study by an Israeli psychology professor. More...
U.S. Fires Missiles At Somalia Terror Target
Israel Withdraws From Gaza
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Most Israeli tanks and troops pulled out of northern Gaza early Monday, and an Israel Defense Forces spokesman confirmed that the military was ending its five-day offensive operation. The attacks targeted Palestinian militants who launched dozens of rockets into southern Israel. The operations, which prompted an emergency U.N. Security Council session Saturday night, resulted in the deaths of at least 110 Palestinians since Wednesday, according to Palestinian medical sources. The Israel Defense Forces said two Israeli soldiers were killed. More...See also: Israel pulls troops out of Gaza
U.S.: Troops Find 14 Bodies Shot In The Head In Iraq
Story Highlights:Bodies of Iraqi security forces or anti-insurgents found, U.S. military reports Car bomb detonates in central Baghdad, killing 15 people Another car bomb detonates in eastern Baghdad, killing three More...
Muslim Law Board Demands Ouster Of Taslima
KOLKATA -- Demanding ouster of controversial writer Taslima Nasreen, the All India Minority Forum on Sunday accused the government of trying to protect her though she has hurt sentiments of Muslims in the country. More...
Nato Fears Over Dutch Islam Film
Orderly Universe: Evidence Of God?
Not Really, ABC News Columnist Says; It's Not Unusual for Order to Occur Naturally More...
Suicide Bomber Hits Pakistan Peace Meeting
(AP) A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday at a large meeting called by tribal elders pushing for peace in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100, witnesses and officials said. More...
Israel To Press Ahead In Gaza Offensive
US: Embattled Veterans Official Resigns
SAN FRANCISCO (IPS) - Another high-ranking George W. Bush administration official has resigned. The Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper quit Thursday amid mounting criticism over a backlog of disability claims for injured veterans that runs six months long and an appearance he made in a fundraising video for an evangelical Christian organisation where he said Bible study was more important than doing his job. More...
Students Plan Atheist Club To Challenge, Educate
To believe or not to believe, that is the question. Steve Owen, a graduate English major, is spearheading the Atheist Student Organization, a new student club at Sacramento State which will pose the question to the campus community. More...
Iraq Casualties Rise Again After Qaeda Bombs
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violent civilian deaths in Iraq rose 36 percent in February from the previous month after a series of large-scale bombings blamed on al Qaeda, Iraqi government figures showed on Saturday. More...
Taliban Leader Accused In Bhutto Assassination
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani police on Saturday formally accused the top Taliban leader in the country and four others of planning the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. More...
Israeli Airstrike Damages Hamas Premier's Office
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli aircraft hit the Gaza City building housing the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh early Sunday, heavily damaging it. --snip-- It was the fifth consecutive day in which Israeli forces launched air and ground operations against militants in northern Gaza, aimed at stopping what Israel says is a steady barrage of rocket fire into its towns. --snip-- Fifty-two Palestinians have been killed and 200 wounded since Friday in Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said, in the deadliest 24 hours of violence in more than a year. The sources said 85 people, including civilians and children, have been killed in the Jebaliyah area since the incursion began Wednesday. More...See also: Bloody Israeli-Hamas clashes escalate in Gaza
Archbishops Have 'Serious Reservations' About Blasphemy Repeal
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned the Government that they have "serious reservations" about the abolition of the blasphemy laws. More...
Ex-Islamists Start Moderate Thinktank
Two former Islamists are to launch a Muslim thinktank aimed at improving relations with the west by challenging extremist ideologies. More...
Dutch PM Issues Warning On Film About Koran
The Dutch government yesterday took the unusual step of publicly distancing itself from an unreleased film about the Koran by an anti-Islamic MP, saying the project threatened the safety of Dutch citizens abroad. More...
Germany: Gallery Shut After Muslim Threats
The authorities in Berlin closed a gallery whose exhibition included satirical works by Danish artists that caricatured the Kaaba shrine in Mecca after Muslims protested, the German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur reported, citing the local arts council. More...See also: Berlin gallery in Islam art row
Catholics Are Losing Their Religion
Ireland -- While 160 priests died in the past year, only nine men were ordained. In the same period, 228 nuns died with only two taking final vows. More...
City Council Faces Prayer Objections
The Port Huron City Council plans to make changes Monday to its policy regarding invocations before meetings after an atheist asked for permission to lead the prayer. More...
ACLU Files Suit Against Iowa Town Over Parking Regulations
LEON (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has sued the city of Leon over a parking ordinance the ALCU said bans everyone but churchgoers from parking on some public streets. More...
Religious Freedom Group Questions Grant To W. Pa. Group
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