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FreeThoughtAction Hero Of The Day - 04/30/08
Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 - February 24, 2001) According to Wikipedia, Shannon was "an American electrical engineer and mathematician, 'the father of information theory'. "Shannon is famous for having founded information theory with one landmark paper published in 1948. But he is also credited with founding both digital computer and digital circuit design theory in 1937, when, as a 21-year-old master's student at MIT, he wrote a thesis demonstrating that electrical application of Boolean algebra could construct and resolve any logical, numerical relationship. It has been claimed that this was the most important master's thesis of all time."
Opponents Of Ten Commandments Monument Suing Fargo
FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- Opponents of a Ten Commandments monument in Fargo, North Dakota, have filed a civil lawsuit against the city, asking that the granite marker be removed. More...NOTE: The article fails to mention that the quote on the monument the Freethinkers wanted to erect -- "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion" -- was by Thomas Jefferson.
Florida A Step Ahead In Funds To Faith Schools
President Bush last week called on state lawmakers across the country to remove language in their constitutions that bans the flow of state money to religiously affiliated schools -- and allies of the president's brother already are trying to do just that in Florida. More...
New Mexico Takes 3 Children From Church Compound
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- State police have removed three children from an apocalyptic church whose leader claims to be the Messiah and acknowledges having sex with some of his followers. More...See also: Kids Taken From N.M. Religious Compound
Sect's Boys May Have Been Abused Too
Gitmo Detainee Can Contact Qaeda Suspects
(AP) Osama bin Laden's former driver can ask senior al Qaeda suspects imprisoned at Guantanamo for help in his war-crimes tribunal, a military judge said Wednesday, overruling concerns that any communication between the detainees could threaten national security. More...
Female Teachers Dying On The Roads In Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Roads in Saudi Arabia are among the world's most dangerous but one type of victim stands out: female teachers who are dying at alarming rates because of long commutes through the desert to reach remote schools. The Saudi government appoints teachers to work in villages where local staff cannot fill all vacancies. But unlike their male counterparts, female teachers in this conservative Muslim country have difficulty living alone in the villages, forcing them to commute each day. More...
Officials: Sadr City Battles Killed Hundreds In April
Taliban Regaining Hold On Afghanistan, Report Says
Israeli Forces Kill Islamic Jihad Chief, Sources Say
U.S. Terror Report Cites Venezuela, Iran
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Venezuela's associations with terror states, Iran's meddling in Iraq and the resurgence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan top the concerns in a new State Department report on terrorism threats in countries around the world. More...
Catholic Italy Lacks Knowledge Of Faith
Italy professes to be a Catholic nation - but a majority of Italians do not know "even the most basic facts" about the Bible, according to a survey. More...
Teen In Bomb Plot Wanted To "Kill Jesus"
(AP) A teen accused of plotting to blow up his high school told police that he wanted to die, go to heaven and kill Jesus, federal authorities said Tuesday. More...
Polygamist Teen Has A Baby Boy
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) -- One of the hundreds of young polygamist-sect members taken into state custody gave birth Tuesday to a healthy boy while child welfare officials, state troopers and fellow sect members stood watch outside the maternity ward. More...
British Muslim 'Bullied' For Converting To Christianity
A British citizen who converted to Christianity from Islam and then complained to police when locals threatened to burn his house down was told by officers to "stop being a crusader", according to a new report. More...
Saudi Prince Orders Crackdown On Flirting
(AP) A governor in northern Saudi Arabia has ordered authorities to punish men who flirt with women in public places by cutting their hair, local media said Tuesday. More...
Iranian Official Calls Barbie 'Destructive'
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- A top Iranian judiciary official has warned against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys. --snip-- Barbie is sold wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear head scarves in public and men and women are not allowed to swim together. --snip-- Authorities in Iran launched a campaign of confiscating Barbies from toy shops in 2002, denouncing the un-Islamic sensibilities of the iconic American doll. But the campaign was eventually dropped. Also in 2002, Iran introduced its own competing dolls -- the twins Dara and Sara -- who were designed to promote traditional values with their modest clothing and pro-family stories. But the dolls proved unable to stem the Barbie tide. More...
Top Pakistan Militant Halts Talks
Detainee Driver Slovenly, Threatens Boycott
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- Osama bin Laden's driver appeared at his war crimes trial Monday looking disheveled and threatening a boycott. More...
Afghanistan's Insurgency Spreading North
Kabul, Afghanistan - The attempted assassination of President Hamid Karzai Sunday came as the latest sign of a trend worrying Western officials: that the insurgency is spreading from the Taliban stronghold of the south to the central and northern regions of the country. More...See also: Marines Strike Taliban-Controlled City
International Zone Again Under Fire
Mideast Violence Kills Mother, 4 Children
Uganda: Ban Religious Studies, Says Govt
RELIGIOUS studies should be taken out of the school curriculum, the Government has proposed. More...
Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates The Holocaust
New York, NY, April 29, 2008 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement regarding the controversial film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed misappropriates the Holocaust and its imagery as a part of its political effort to discredit the scientific community which rejects so-called intelligent design theory. Hitler did not need Darwin to devise his heinous plan to exterminate the Jewish people and Darwin and evolutionary theory cannot explain Hitler's genocidal madness.More...
Religion A Figment Of Human Imagination
Humans alone practice religion because they're the only creatures to have evolved imagination. That's the argument of anthropologist Maurice Bloch of the London School of Economics. Bloch challenges the popular notion that religion evolved and spread because it promoted social bonding, as has been argued by some anthropologists. More...
Orangutan Attempts To Hunt Fish With Spear
A male orangutan, clinging precariously to overhanging branches, flails the water with a pole, trying desperately to spear a passing fish. More...
Atheists Push Own Holidays
Fighting For God And Country
Army Specialist Hall was a turret gunner who has been deployed to Iraq twice. His Humvee came under fire - a bullet nearly killed him - but he didn't find God, and he wasn't looking... More...
Choir Director Brings Prayers For Lower Gas Prices To SF
(AP) A choir director who hopes prayer can bring down high gas prices is trying out his approach at some of the costliest pumps in the country. More...
House Takes Up Senate Evolution Bill
S.D. Landmark Under Fire Again
Last week marked the beginning of a new legal battle over the Mount Soledad Cross, which has once again fallen under criticism from opponents who claim its presence to be a gross violation of the principle of separation of church and state. The cross, which has been the subject of numerous legal battles since the 1980s, is located on federal government property. More...
Female Suicide Bomber Kills 3 At Checkpoint In Iraq
Karzai Escapes Deadly Taliban Attack
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Taliban militants opened fire at a military ceremony in the capital Sunday morning. A lawmaker, tribal leader and 10-year-old child were killed, but President Hamid Karzai escaped unhurt, according to an official and a statement from Karzai's office. More...See also: Leave Taliban Alone, Afghan President Tells West
Lesbian Wins $23,000 From Christian Group
Connie Heintz, 39, a Christian of Mennonite heritage, complained to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario after being fired on Sept. 23, 2000, when directors of Christian Horizons discovered she had been discussing her sexual orientation with co-workers, and had come to believe she was gay. More...
Atheist Soldier Claims Harassment
JUNCTION CITY, Kansas (AP) -- Like hundreds of young men joining the Army in recent years, Jeremy Hall professes a desire to serve his country while it fights terrorism. But the short and soft-spoken specialist is at the center of a legal controversy. He has filed a lawsuit alleging he's been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn't believe in God. The suit names Defense Secretary Robert Gates. --snip-- It eventually came out in Iraq in 2007, when he was in a firefight. Hall was a gunner on a Humvee, which took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said. "I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,"' Hall said. More...See also: Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats
Girl Killed In Fresh Gaza Clashes
Israeli forces have clashed with Palestinian militants during a raid on northern Gaza, hours after rejecting a truce offered by Hamas. Palestinian doctors say a 14-year-old girl died and eight other people were injured in the raid, in Beit Lahiya. More...
Suicide Bombers, Explosions Rock Iraq
Story Highlights:Suicide bomber wearing explosive vest kills six at Iraqi police checkpoint Two suicide bombers also strike in Mosul Car bomb kills two awakening council members in Baghdad Violence overnight in Baghdad's Sadr City kills eight people, Interior Ministry says More... See also: Iraq's Dance: Maliki, Sadr and Sunnis
Conservatives Claim Iran Election Win
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian conservatives have said they captured most of the 82 parliamentary seats up for grabs in Friday's runoff election. More...
Egypt Islamists' Wait For Power
It is not easy to find the headquarters of Egypt's largest opposition movement. More...
Son Of Moonies Founder Takes Over As Church Leader
Experts say Hyung Jin, the youngest of seven sons, who has five children of his own, is being groomed to secure his ageing father's legacy more than 50 years after he founded the Unification church in South Korea, declaring himself the new messiah with the aim of establishing a single world government under his leadership. More...
Government Officials Should Not Promote Dobson Prayer Task Force Events, Church-State Watchdog Group Says
Intolerant Religious Right groups are dominating observance of the National Day of Prayer and government officials should refuse to lend them support, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. --snip-- The NDP Task Force's Web site claims it is the "National Day of Prayer Official Web Site," but, in fact, the group has no official status. The Task Force states that its purposes is to "Foster unity within the Christian Church" and "Publicize and preserve America's Christian heritage." Non-Christians are usually prohibited from leading or speaking at NDP Task Force events. More...And... More... See also: National Day of ReasonGift To Life Day
FFRF Files Lawsuit Against Rio School District And Wisconsin Department Of Instruction
The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national organization of freethinkers working to keep church and state separate, today filed a lawsuit in Dane County Court seeking to force the school district in Rio, Wis., to charge rent to the Child Evangelism Fellowship Group. The evangelism group, part of an international bible-based Christian ministry seeking to convert boys and girls, regularly holds religious meetings targeting elementary students on school property at the end of the school day. The school district also sends home flyers publicizing the after-school evangelism. More...
State/Church Watchdog Makes $1,200 Bid On Holmen "Star Hill" Site
Connecticut Woman Says She Stole Hundreds Of Paintings To Prepare For Apocalypse
WATERBURY, Conn. -- A 53-year-old Waterbury woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than 150 paintings reportedly after God told her the end of the world is near. More...
Mount Vernon Schools To Hire Investigator In Bible Case
The Mount Vernon public-school science teacher who won't remove his personal Bible from the top of his desk also is accused of conducting a religious "healing session" during school and burning crosses onto students' arms. More...
Committee Hears Impacts Of Abstinence-Only
At this point, the weight of the evidence cannot be ignored, and under the glare of a congressional inquiry policymakers will have to answer tough questions about why we continue to waste millions of dollars a year on a policy that has failed to keep teens healthy and safe. More...
Bush Wants Aid For Religious Schools
"If we're helping faith-based schools, someone is going to say, 'What about the separation of church and state?'" More...
Legal Questions Follow Polygamist Raid
SAN ANGELO, Texas - The state of Texas made a damning accusation when it rounded up 462 children at a polygamous sect's ranch: The adults are forcing teenage girls into marriage and sex, creating a culture so poisonous that none should be allowed to keep their children. More...
Yemen's 8-Year-old Divorcee
She may be the world's first 8-year-old divorcee. More...
Pakistan's Cease-fire: Who Wins?
A car bomb exploded next to a police station in a northwestern city Friday, killing three people and ending a five-week lull in the deadly explosions. More...
Iraqi Oil Pipeline Blown Up Again
US General: Violence In Afghanistan Could Reach Record Levels
A top U.S. military commander says Afghanistan could see record levels of violence this year, with many Taliban attacks in eastern Afghanistan originating from across the Pakistani border. More...See also: US to Heighten Afghan Role?
Nigeria: Muslim Rioters Attack 'Blaspheming' Christians
Hundreds of Muslims took to the streets of Kano in northern Nigeria last Sunday (20 April), attacking Christians and their shops and setting vehicles on fire on claims that a Christian had blasphemed Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. More...
Bully Pulpit
SEVERAL thousand hardline Muslims protested outside President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's palace in Jakarta on April 20th demanding that he ban Ahmadiyah, an unorthodox but moderate Muslim sect founded in 19th-century India that claims around 200,000 members across Indonesia. More...
Warden 'Used Blood To Fake Madonna Tears'
A church warden has gone on trial accused of dripping his own blood on the face of a Virgin Mary statue so that she appeared to be weeping. More...
Mankind's Close Call With Extinction
Yoko Ono Sues "Expelled" Filmmakers
NEW YORK (Reuters) - John Lennon's sons and widow, Yoko Ono, are suing the filmmakers of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" for using the song " Imagine" in the documentary without permission. More...See also: Repelled by Expelled
Florida Considers Christian License Plate
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Florida drivers can order more than 100 specialty license plates celebrating everything from manatees to the Miami Heat, but one now under consideration would be the first in the nation to explicitly promote a specific religion. The Florida Legislature is considering a specialty plate with a design that includes a Christian cross, a stained-glass window and the words "I Believe." --snip-- Bullard, the plate's sponsor, isn't sure all groups should be able to express their preference. If atheists came up with an "I Don't Believe" plate, for example, he would probably oppose it. More...
Controversy Cooks Over 'Day Of Silence'
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Two groups called Thursday for Iowa schools to allow students to participate in the national "Day of Silence." More...
Parents Outraged After Islamic Group Gives Classroom Presentation
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Some high school students in a Seminole County public school got a lesson in Islam. Outraged parents at Lake Brantley High School called Channel 9 after an Islamic group visited the classroom. More...
Ex-Scientology Kids Share Their Stories
Polygamy Sect's Kids Face Tough Transition
Syria, Israel Reportedly In Indirect Talks
Israel Rejects Hamas Offer For Gaza Truce
Death Toll Mounts In Baghdad Battles
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Battles between U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and militants raged overnight and into Thursday in two Baghdad neighborhoods, leaving at least 11 dead, an Interior Ministry official said. More...
Bomb In Car Kills 2 In Northwestern Pakistan; 20 Injured
Afghan MPs May Ban Jeans And Makeup
The Afghan parliament is considering a law to ban makeup, men's jeans, long hair and couples talking in public, amid fears that the country is sliding back to Taliban-style rules and conservative power. More...
Turkey: Tens Of Thousands Demonstrate In Favor Of Secularism
Tens of thousands demonstrated in the Turkish capital Ankara last week to defend the country's secularist tradition amid simmering tensions over an attempt to ban the Islamist-rooted governing party. More...
Denmark Evacuates Embassies In Algeria, Afghanistan
The Danish Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it has evacuated its staff from embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan because of threats after newspapers reprinted a cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. More...
Rights Group: Ethiopian Forces Targeted Somali Civilians
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Amnesty International has accused Ethiopian troops in the Somali capital of "targeted killing of civilians" during a deadly raid on a mosque. More...
Algeria Passport Veil Ban Protest
One Million Pilgrims Expected To View Exhumed Body Of Padre Pio
A million Roman Catholic pilgrims are expected to file past the exhumed body of Padre Pio, which has gone on display in Italy. More...
Classroom Clashes: What Should Teens Learn About Sex?
A discussion about how to best discuss sex in the classroom brought both Knox and Siegel to Capitol Hill today, as the House Oversight and Investigations panel held a hearing on the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs. More...See also: Experts say sex abstinence program doesn't work
Food, Drugs Run Short In Sadr City, Red Cross Says
Story highlights:U.S. soldier killed in small-arms attack; U.S. death toll at 4,047 Fighting in Shiite neighborhood leaves main market in ruins, agency says Hospitals in area run out of anesthesia and dressing supplies Red Cross supplies 10,000 liters of drinking water daily to Sadr City More...
Afghan TV Stations Defy Ban On Soap Operas
(AP) Every evening, Roya Amin sits down with her husband and 2-year-old daughter in front of the television. When their favorite Indian soap opera starts, they sigh in relief. The Afghan government is trying to ban the wildly popular television dramas for being un-Islamic and interfering with children's studies. It's a sign of the growing tensions between religious conservatives and liberals in Afghanistan's post-Taliban era. More...See also: Afghan TV station defies Taleban and President Karzai and keeps Bollywood soaps on air
German Police Raid Homes Over 'Jihadist' Material
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- German police conducted a series of raids across the country Wednesday as part of their investigation into nine citizens suspected of systematically trying to convert others to radical Islam. More...
Jehovah's Witness Refuses Blood For Her Unborn Twins
A PREGNANT woman with severely anaemic twins has objected to the babies receiving a potentially life-saving blood transfusion when they are born on religious grounds, the High Court was told yesterday. More...
Judge Orders La. School District To Stop Bible Giveaways
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A federal judge ordered a public school system to stop allowing in-school Bible giveaways, saying the practice violates the First Amendment separation of church and state. More...
Lynchings In Congo As Penis Theft Panic Hits Capital
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft. More...
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