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Time Added To 2008 Allows For Longer Smooch
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Immediately before midnight a leap second -- the first for three years -- will be added to atomic clocks around the world by official timekeepers. Peter Whibberley, a senior research scientist at Britain's National Physical Laboratory, said the Earth's erratic rotation meant an extra second needed to be added. --snip-- Whibberley told British media anyone sober enough and who had a digital clock that picked up leap second information from a reliable source, would see the final seconds of 2008 as 57, 58, 59, 60, 00 -- with 60 being the extra second. More...
Olmert: No Peace In Gaza Till Hamas Rockets Stop
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed Wednesday that Israel's air assault on Gaza would not end until Hamas militants quit firing rockets into Israeli territory. More...
Record 151 US Troops Die In Afghanistan In 2008
A record 151 U.S. forces died in Afghanistan in 2008, the deadliest year yet in a seven-year war that military officials say is likely to get even bloodier in 2009, as thousands more American troops pour into the country. More...
Facial Expressions Of Emotion Are Innate, Not Learned
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Top 10 Evolution Articles
For Scholars, A Combustible Question: Was Christ Real?
An initiative of the Center for Inquiry, an Amherst-based secular think tank, and its Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER), the project is an extension of the no-less controversial Jesus Seminar, which has been convening twice annually for 23 years. More...
Role Of Religion In Presidential Campaign Heads 2008 'Top Ten' List Of Church-State Stories
Many Teens Don't Keep Virginity Pledges
Teens who take virginity pledges are just as likely to have sex as teens who don't make such promises -- and they're less likely to practice safe sex to prevent disease or pregnancy, a new study finds. --snip-- "Sex education programs for teens who take pledges tend to be very negative and inaccurate about condom and birth control information," Rosenbaum said. More...
Dozens Killed In Machete Attack In Congo
(AP) Attackers wielding machetes hacked to death dozens of people at a church in remote eastern Congo, witnesses said Monday, and the Ugandan army accused the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of the massacre. A European aid worker said more than 100 people are reported to have been killed in the attack the day after Christmas and that the Congolese military put the number dead at 120 to 150. More...
Israeli Airstrikes Kill Dozens Of Gaza Civilians
(AP) Israel's three-day aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed dozens of civilians, along with Hamas fighters, and has paralyzed life in a territory already battered by blackouts and supply shortages during 18 months of border closures. --snip-- By Monday, the death toll rose to 364, with some 1,400 reported wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials. More...See also: Israel wages 'all-out war,' pounds Hamas buildingsIranian group gets volunteers to fight IsraelDefiant Hamas Hits Israel With RocketsAcross Mideast, Thousands Protest IsraelWorld Watches As Gaza Violence FlaresGaza assault sparks protests worldwideTerror, chaos grip Gaza, U.N. official says
Taliban Terrorizes Its Way Across Pakistan
Taliban Shadow Gov't Pervades Afghanistan
Baghdad Car Bomb Kills At Least 22
(AP) A bomb tore through a busy square in Baghdad at midday Saturday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 54, the Iraqi army said, demonstrating the precariousness of the relative calm that Iraq has been enjoying for months. More...See also: Al Qaeda Suspects Loose After Jailbreak
Happy Holidays!
The holiday season comes from the winter solstice, the first day of winter, which is the shortest day of the year. Usually falling on December 21st, it has been celebrated in the northern hemisphere since prehistoric times. It was marked as the beginning of "the return of the sun" because, after that, the days start getting longer. The ancient Hebrews referred to the winter solstice as the rebirth of light, calling it Nayrot, the festival of lights. When Judah Maccabee defeated the Greeks and captured Jerusalem in 164 BCE, he rededicated the temple shrine during Nayrot, renaming the holiday Hanukkah. But because the Jewish calculation of Hanukkah is based on a lunar rather than solar calendar, Hanukkah can begin almost any time in December. The ancient Romans held their festival of Saturnalia, the feast of Saturn, at this time. It featured wild parties, gift giving, and halls decked with laurel. However, they miscalculated the solstice date, seeing it as falling variously on December 23rd to 25th. When Roman Catholicism replaced ancient polytheism, the Church found it practical to adopt the old Roman holiday, renaming it Christ's Mass. But this popular move, made in the third century, didn't meet with complete approval. Christians in the Middle East viewed their European brethren as idolaters and sun worshippers for repackaging this pagan festival as the birthday of Jesus. As Christianity spread across Europe, the various "barbarian" cultures added their own pre-Christian solstice practices to Christmas. Thus the evergreen tree was introduced by Germanic peoples; holly and mistletoe, sacred to the Druids, came from the Celts; and the Yule log and caroling were provided by the Anglo-Saxons. But some Christians condemned these trappings, especially the Christmas tree, citing Jeremiah 10:1-5 in the Bible: "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen . . . for one cutteth a tree out of the forest. . . . They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." More...See also: List of winter festivalsSol InvictusSaturnaliaYuleMithrasChristmas
HumanLight: December's Secular Holiday
While others are lighting Hanukkah candles or decorating Christmas trees, atheists and humanists are holding their own December celebrations. The secular holiday known as HumanLight began eight years ago. And while there are no set traditions, many of these gatherings use familiar rituals such as singing and candle lighting to highlight reason and human achievement. HumanLight can be celebrated anytime on or around Dec. 23. The date was chosen because it is between the winter solstice and Christmas. This past weekend, groups gathered across the country to celebrate. More...See also: Darwin Claus comes to town in US artist's atheist cards
Why Do We Believe In Santa?
ScienceDaily -- Having kids believe there's a jolly man in a red suit who visits on Christmas Eve isn't detrimental, although some parents can feel they're outright lying to their children, according to a new analysis by Serge Larivee. "When they learn the truth, children accept the rules of the game and even go along with their parents in having younger children believe in Santa," says Larivee, a psycho-education professor at the Universite de Montreal. "It becomes a rite of passage in that they know they are no longer babies." --snip-- Larivee and Senechal now want to explore a deeper question: If children attribute the same supernatural powers to Santa as they do to God, why do they stop believing in Santa, but continue their belief in God? More...
Origin Of Life On Earth: Simple Fusion To Jump-Start Evolution
Medical Conscience Rule Blends Religion And Medicine
Military Does Not Have To Credit Retiree's Religious Work, Federal Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court has ruled that a military retiree has no right to be compensated by the federal government for work he did as a youth pastor, in a case an attorney with Americans United for Separation of Church and State helped argue. More...
FFRF Urges Obama Not Only To Drop Warren, But All Prayer, From Inauguration
The Foundation is asking President-Elect Barack Obama to drop prayer and religious ritual entirely from the official ceremony, and to keep the Presidential oath secular. The Presidential oath or affirmation, as dictated in the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8, has no reference to a god, or instructions to place a hand on a bible. More...See also: "Beware of Dogma" Billboard Message Comes to Little Rock
Religious Displays To Be Debated In Court
California jurists next year will rule on the constitutionality of crosses on public land, teachers' speech rights and students' Bible clubs. More...
Church Members Dress Like Jesus To Protest Secularization Of Christmas
Scientology Refuseniks Sue Over Compulsory Workplace Courses
Alexander Godelman, former chief information officer of Diskeeper, and Marc Le Shay, former Diskeeper Automation Planning Officer, filed a joint suit of unfair dismissal at Los Angeles Superior last month alleging that the disc utilities firm made it compulsory to attend Scientology-based courses. They charge that their refusal to participate in the courses led to their dismissal. More...
Report: Two-Thirds Of Families At Texas Polygamist Sect Have Neglected Kids
SAN ANTONIO -- Nearly two-thirds of the families involved in the April raid of a polygamist sect's west Texas ranch had children who were abused or neglected, said Texas child welfare officials in a report released Tuesday. More...
In Hard Times, Houses Of God Turn To Chapter 11 In Book Of Bankruptcy
EASTON, Md. -- During this holiday season of hard times, not even houses of God have been spared. Some lenders believe more churches than ever have fallen behind on loans or defaulted this year. Some churches, and at least one company that specialized in church lending, have filed for bankruptcy. Church giving is down as much as 15% in some places, pastors and lenders report. More...
Americans Believe Religion Is Losing Clout
PRINCETON, NJ -- Two-thirds of U.S. adults today perceive that the influence of religion in American life is waning, while just 27% believe it is rising. This represents a sharp decline in the image of religion compared with only three years ago, when 50% thought its influence was on an upswing, and marks one of the weakest readings on the influence of religion in Gallup's five-decade history of asking the question. --snip-- Public perceptions about the influence of religion have varied widely over the last half-century, and may be more a reflection of changing political realities than of personal beliefs about religion. However, the new poll also finds the percentage of Americans believing that religion can answer society's problems is at an all-time low. Although still a majority, just 53% of Americans say religion "can answer all or most of today's problems." While 28% say it is "largely old-fashioned and out of date." More...
Survey Says Most Americans Believe In Multiple Paths To Salvation
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said the findings suggest "a virtual collapse of evangelical theology" that he blamed on superficial preaching in church pulpits. More...See also: How Teens Think About Religion
Most 'Do Not Believe In Nativity'
The majority of Britons do not believe the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus, a survey has suggested. More...
U.N. Assembly Again Votes Against Defaming Religion
Indian Villagers Shave, Beat 50 Women Accused Of Witchcraft
Villagers in tribal central India have allegedly beaten 50 women with sticks and cut off their hair after accusing them of witchcraft. More...
Muslim Scientists Prepare for Battle With Creationists
The next major battle over evolutionary theory is likely to occur not in the United States but in the Islamic world or in countries with large Muslim populations because of rising levels of education and Internet access there, as well as the rising importance of biology, a scientist now says. More...
Study: Secular Turks Face Discrimination, Pressure
ANKARA, Turkey: Non-practicing Muslims in Turkey are under pressure to wear headscarves, attend Friday prayers and fast during Ramadan if they want government jobs or promotions, a study has found. More...
Saudi Court Tells Girl Aged EIGHT She Cannot Divorce Husband Who Is 50 Years Her Senior
A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty. More...
Christmas Is Now Official Holiday In Iraq
Christmas In Bethlehem Festive, Gaza Violent
Fraud, Violence Threaten Planned Afghan Elections
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The IEC is reporting high turnout across the country since the drive began in October, despite insurgent threats to kill anyone who registers. Many parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan are under insurgent control. More...
Pakistani Militants Attack Convoy, Kill 3
(CBS/AP) Militants in Pakistan launched rockets at two trucks returning from delivering fuel to Western forces in Afghanistan, killing three people, an official said Saturday - the latest in a string of attacks targeting a supply route critical to the U.S. fight against the Taliban. More...
What Came Before The Big Bang? Interpreting Asymmetry In Early Universe
ScienceDaily -- The Big Bang is widely considered to have obliterated any trace of what came before. Now, astrophysicists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) think that their new theoretical interpretation of an imprint from the earliest stages of the universe may also shed light on what came before. More...And... New 'Molecular Memory' Only 10 Atoms Thick: Massive Storage Possible
'Wet' Early Universe: Water Vapor Detected At Record Distance
FFRF Exposes Twice-Daily, Mandatory Christian Prayer Imposed By Military Chaplains At Iraq Command
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison, Wis.-based national state/church watchdog, has been waiting a month for a reply to its letter to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, protesting mandatory Christian prayer and bible reading conducted by chaplains to a captive audience, as part of daily shift change briefings in the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Iraq. More...See also: There ARE Atheists In Foxholes
No Offense
In what amounts to a final poke in the eye of groups that promote abortion rights, the Bush administration has issued a long-awaited rule that protects doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to provide services that offend them. More...See also: Bush-Era Abortion Rules Face Possible Reversal
The Latest Face Of Creationism In The Classroom
Creationists who want religious ideas taught as scientific fact in public schools continue to adapt to courtroom defeats by hiding their true aims under ever changing guises. More...
Americans United Applauds Federal Court Ruling Against South Carolina's 'Christian' License Plate
State Embraces Faith-Based Programs For Ex-Cons, Homeless
Connecticut -- "There should be no taxpayer-funded evangelizing, period." More...
Pelahatchie Students Claim Girl Possessed By Devil
Bent Vows Touching Girls Not Sexual
TAOS, N. M. (KRQE) - Cult leader Wayne Bent testified Thursday he could not go against God even though he knew spiritual touching of two young, naked followers would get him in trouble. More...
Sect Leader Molested Sisters
The leader of an apocalyptic sect was convicted yesterday of criminal sexual contact with an under-age girl in an incident he called a spiritual healing exercise. More...
Vatican To Be Sued Over Sex Abuse Claims
Three men who claim they were abused by Catholic clergy in America have succeeded in naming the Vatican as sole defendant in a lawsuit and are hoping to force Pope Benedict XVI to give evidence in the case. More...
No Room At The Inn: Nativity Scene Sparks Spanish Legal Row
Terror Director, Recruiter Convicted In UK
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British man accused of being an al Qaeda recruiter was convicted Thursday of directing terrorism, the first person to be found guilty of the offense in the United Kingdom. More...
The Men Who Brought Terror To Scotland
There is little doubt that Abdulla wanted to die a martyr in the carnage and mayhem of a suicide attack on Glasgow Airport. More...
Taleban Tax
The West is indirectly funding the insurgency in Afghanistan thanks to a system of payoffs to Taleban commanders who charge protection money to allow convoys of military supplies to reach Nato bases in the south of the country. More...
Gaza Militants Ready For End Of Truce With Israel
Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers say a six-month cease-fire with Israel formally ends Friday, and Hamas and smaller armed groups won't say clearly whether they will extend it. More...
Somali Government Splits Amid Fight For Control
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The government dispute does nothing to stabilize the administration, which wields virtually no authority in the face of powerful Islamic insurgents who have taken over most of the Horn of Africa country. More...
Humanists Launch Effort On Human Rights Anniversary; Issue Statement To Be Signed By Prominent Thinkers and Activists
(Washington, D.C.) On this the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the American Humanist Association is launching its campaign to gather signatures for the organization's Resolution on Global Community and International Affairs. The first individuals being approached are the living notable signers of Humanist Manifesto III--a list that included 22 Nobel laureates in 2003 as well as filmmaker Oliver Stone, scientists Richard Dawkins and Edward O. Wilson, social critic Katha Pollitt, and environmentalist Lester R. Brown. (Go to http://www.americanhumanist.org/3/HMsigners.htm for the complete list.) The effort will then expand to other Nobelists and prominent individuals. The goal is to present the document and its list of signers to Barack Obama after his inauguration as president of the United States. The pre-released document is available online at http://www.americanhumanist.org/global.php and may be freely quoted and reproduced. More...See also: Sixty years on, human rights remain far from universal
Religious Right Stirs Up Strife In Season Of Peace, Americans United Charges
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today called on Religious Right leaders and their allies in the media to stop using Christmas as a vehicle for divisiveness. More...
Freethought Group Places Winter Solstice Sign in Illinois Capitol In Springfield
'Christian' License-Plate Controversy Moves Toward Federal Court Showdown In South Carolina
A federal district court ruling is expected soon in a South Carolina controversy over a "Christian" license plate commissioned by the state legislature. More...
Sweet Find In Search For Alien Life
Why Dogs Can Sense Fair Play
Pavlov's Neurons: Brain Cells That Are A Key To Learning Discovered
ScienceDaily -- More than a century after Ivan Pavlov's dog was conditioned to salivate when it heard the sound of a tone prior to receiving food, scientists have found neurons that are critical to how people and animals learn from experience. More...
Teachers 'Beat And Abuse' Muslim Children In British Koran Classes
Muslim children are being beaten and abused regularly by teachers at some British madrassas - Islamic evening classes - an investigation by The Times has found. More...
3 Million Muslims In Mecca For Pilgrimage
(AP) Draped in white robes to symbolize purity and the equality of mankind under God, nearly 3 million Muslims from all over the world gathered Friday in Mecca, on the eve of the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage. More...See also: Muslim pilgrims stone devil amid tight control
Iran Arrests 49 For Wearing 'Satanic' Clothing
Iranian police have arrested 49 people during a crackdown on what the Islamic republic deems "satanic" clothes. More...
Taliban Fighters Destroy Crucial Nato Supplies In Pakistan
In The Lair Of The Taliban
India's Muslims Hope To Avoid Backlash
(AP) The cleric stood before dozens of bearded men who had gathered on a crowded Mumbai street corner to honor the 171 people killed by Islamic militants. More...See also: India identifies Mumbai attackers
Atheists Want God Out Of Ky. Homeland Security
Metro Fields Hundreds Of Complaints About Bus Ads
It's not clear how many of those who complained actually ride the Metro system, as all but five complaints arrived via e-mail. One signed an e-mail as a "D.C. resident, Metro rider, and 'BELIEVER' in God," while another writer acknowledged, "I have never had the privilege to actually visit Washington, D.C." Some of the letter writers said they learned of the campaign from FOXNews.com or AOL and wrote in before the ads appeared on any buses. --snip-- The controversy has been a boon for the D.C. nonprofit American Humanist Association, which spent less than $12,000 on the bus ads. Since starting the campaign, 638 new members have signed up, spokesman Fred Edwords said. Traffic to its Web site spiked, Edwords said, and donors contributed thousands of dollars. More...
FFRF Solstice Message Returns To Wisconsin Capitol For 13th Year!
'Tis the season . . . for the Freedom From Religion Foundation's gilt "Winter Solstice" message, which returns for its 13th visit to the first-floor rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol for the month of December. More...
Bush Administration Leaves Major Mark On Faith-Based Funding, Experts Say
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- President Bush's administration and a host of court rulings have indelibly altered the way that the federal government relates to religious charities, according to an analysis by experts on the subject. More...
Arizona Supreme Court Should Rule Against School Voucher Subsidies For Religious Schools, Says Americans United
The Arizona Supreme Court should strike down two voucher programs that direct tax dollars into religious and other private schools, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. More...
Shame On The Cincinnati Zoo
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Creation Museum have made a joint marketing agreement and are selling "combo tickets" to get into both attractions for one price. The Cincinnati Zoo is promoting an anti-science, anti-education con job run by ignorant creationists. More...
Conservative Anglicans Split From US Church
Washington - A group of conservative Anglican churches in the United States split Wednesday from the Episcopal Church - as the US branch of the Anglican Communion is known - by forming their own rival province. More...
6 More Kids Seized In Evangelist Investigation
(CNN) -- Six more children connected to the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries were taken into protective custody Wednesday to determine if they have been physically or sexually abused, child welfare officials said. More...
Poll: Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Driven By Religion
The ban drew its strongest support from both evangelical Christians and voters who didn't attend college, according to results released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. More...
Mormon Homophobia: Up Close And Personal
An ex-Mormon explains how a church with mostly good values can promote hatred and intolerance. More...
Gay Bible Angers Christians
A gay version of the Bible, in which God says it is better to be gay than straight, is to be published by an American film producer. More...
Win Ben Stein's Mind
I've been accused of refusing to review Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled," a defense of Creationism, because of my belief in the theory of evolution. Here is my response. --snip-- This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions (Soviet marching troops representing opponents of ID), pussy-foots around religion (not a single identified believer among the ID people), segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, and makes a completely baseless association between freedom of speech and freedom to teach religion in a university class that is not about religion. More...
Children Of God?
There's no real evidence to suggest that religion is hardwired -- it's just wishful thinking on the part of religious academics. More...
Atheist Students Want God Out Of Speech
EDMONTON, Alberta (UPI) -- A move is afoot by Canadian student atheists and agnostics to have references to God removed from the University of Alberta's convocation ceremony. More...
Find God On The No.19 Tram To Damascus
AT the 1901 census less than 1 per cent of Australia's non-indigenous population said they had no religion. --snip-- But just over a century later at the 2006 census about a fifth of Australians said they had "no religion". More...
Vatican Thanks Muslims For Returning God To Europe
PARIS (Reuters) - A senior Vatican cardinal has thanked Muslims for bringing God back into the public sphere in Europe and said believers of different faiths had no option but to engage in interreligious dialogue. More...
'War Of Crucifix' Questions Catholic Predominance In Spain
Madrid - A decades-old row over whether crucifixes should be displayed in public buildings in a non-confessional state has erupted again in Spain. The recurrence of the "war of the crucifix" was seen by many analysts as partly reflecting a certain indecisiveness of the authorities caught between Spain's traditionally Catholic identity and an increasingly secular society. More...
Jewish Settlers Riot After Forced Removal
Pakistani Links To Terror Raise Tensions In Region
The militants who brought death and chaos to Mumbai had received months of commando training in Pakistan before launching their attacks, a revelation that will further heighten tension between the two countries. More...See also: U.S. Wants Pakistan Crackdown On Militants
Gunmen Storm Afghan Security Buildings
School Destroyed As Suicide Bombers Hit Iraqi Police Posts
Two Killed, 30 Hurt In India Bomb Blast
(AP) A bomb exploded in a train coach in India's insurgency-hit northeast on Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring another 30, a state government official said. More...
Hundreds Die As Christians And Muslims Clash Over Poll
Nigerian 'Witch Doctor' Claims To Have Killed 110 Children 'Possessed By Evil Spirits'
A man in Nigeria who claimed in a television documentary that he had killed 110 children he believed to be possessed by evil spirits has been arrested, officials said on Wednesday. More...See also: Nigeria 'child witch killer' held
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