Is this the future?

Southern Baptist Scholar Links Spouse Abuse to Wives' Refusal to Submit to Their Husbands

One reason that men abuse their wives is because women rebel against their husband's God-given authority, a Southern Baptist scholar said Sunday in a Texas church.

Bruce Ware, professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said women desire to have their own way instead of submitting to their husbands because of sin.

"And husbands on their parts, because they're sinners, now respond to that threat to their authority either by being abusive, which is of course one of the ways men can respond when their authority is challenged--or, more commonly, to become passive, acquiescent, and simply not asserting the leadership they ought to as men in their homes and in churches," Ware said from the pulpit of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas.

Commenting on selected passages from the first three chapters of Genesis, Ware said Eve's curse in the Garden of Eden meant "her desire will be to have her way" instead of her obeying her husband, "because she's a sinner."

"What that means to the man, Ware said, is: "He will have to rule, and because he's a sinner, this can happen in one of two ways. It can happen either through ruling that is abusive and oppressive--and of course we all know the horrors of that and the ugliness of that--but here's the other way in which he can respond when his authority is threatened. He can acquiesce. He can become passive. He can give up any responsibility that he thought he had to the leader in the relationship and just say 'OK dear,' 'Whatever you say dear,' 'Fine dear' and become a passive husband, because of sin."

"Ware said God created men and women equally in God's image but for different roles."

"He has primary responsibility for the work and the labor and the toil that will provide for the family, that will sustain their family," he said. "He's the one in charge of leadership in the family, and that will become difficult, because of sin."

Ware also touched on a verse from First Timothy saying that women "shall be saved in childbearing," by noting that the word translated as "saved" always refers to eternal salvation.

"It means that a woman will demonstrate that she is in fact a Christian, that she has submitted to God's ways by affirming and embracing her God-designed identity as--for the most part, generally this is true--as wife and mother, rather than chafing against it, rather than bucking against it, rather than wanting to be a man, wanting to be in a man's position, wanting to teach and exercise authority over men," Ware said. "Rather than wanting that, she accepts and embraces who she is as woman, because she knows God and she knows his ways are right and good, so she is marked as a Christian by her submission to God and in that her acceptance of God's design for her as a woman."

It must be really hard to be a Fundy, getting up every morning and figuring out how to stick your head up your butt.

Never give up on a moose

Iran to dig 320,000 graves for enemy soldiers

a Revolutionary Guards brigadier-general, said that in order to “respect the enemies’ dead soldiers” there were plans for volunteers to dig 320,000 graves for them in border areas.

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The Bush Regime steps up its secret moves against Iran

"Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran"

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Some Proof that Marijuana is a Powerful Medicine

Scientists prove that beta-caryophyllene, a chemical found in marijuana, soothes the immune system, increases bone mass, and blocks pain signals -- without causing euphoria or interfering with the central nervous system.

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Cancer 'Cure' In Mice To Be Tested In Humans

The treatment will involve transfusing specific white blood cells, called granulocytes, from select donors, into patients with advanced forms of cancer. A similar treatment using white blood cells from cancer-resistant mice has previously been highly successful, curing 100 percent of lab mice afflicted with advanced malignancies.

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Catheter Forced Up Penis After DUI Arrest

"When a man who was suspected of drunken driving in Longview refused to give blood and urine samples he was taken to a hospital.

His lawyer says he was held down kicking and screaming for a blood draw. And a tube was inserted into his bladder to withdraw the urine.

He sued Cowlitz County. A settlement was reached Friday in which he was paid $15,000, without authorities admitting they did anything wrong…"

I'm All for reducing DUIs, but is this going too far?

Can You Hear Me Now?

In the past I have often been embarrassed by people and or events in my home state of Ohio and in particular my home town of Cincinnati. But this incident has definitely pushed the envelope. Check this out:

"An Ohio man tried his hand at getting away from the police after allegedly using a cell phone camera to capture images of a naked woman at a tanning salon. The first search failed to yield any proof, but a second, more thorough search proved that the arm of the law is long enough to yield results, with the cell phone finally retrieved from his nether regions. Strange why he didn’t bother to delete the damning images instead of taking the chocolate highway route."


This takes"Talking out of your butt" to a whole new level!

Catholics Venerated Dog Bones For 1500 Years

...."With the Holy Innocents, they are the only personages of the pre‐Christian era to enjoy a general cult in the West, while in the East both patriarchs and prophets were honoured in this way. The history of the supposed relics of the Machabees is obscure: it is not known either when or by whom they were brought to Rome, where they were housed in the church of St. Peter's Chains. Modin and Antioch, according to Jerome, also claimed their relics. In the 1930s it was discovered that the 7bones at Rome believed to be theirs were in reality canine remains; so they were immediately withdrawn from the veneration of the faithful. Their feast, formerly on 1 August, was suppressed in the revision of the Roman calendar (1969)."

Texas Supreme Court rules church can't be sued in exorcism

A divided Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of a former Colleyville church Friday, saying church members who were involved in a traumatic exorcism that ultimately injured a young woman are protected by the First Amendment.

In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God staff’s efforts to cast out demons from Laura Schubert presents an ecclesiastical dispute over religious conduct that would unconstitutionally entangle the court in church doctrine.

Schubert described a wild night in 1996 that involved casting out demons from the church and two attempts to exorcise demons from her. The incident left Schubert physically bruised and so emotionally scarred she later tried to commit suicide. She was 17 at the time.

Justice David Medina, writing for the majority, said that while Schubert’s argument regarding physical injuries might be tried without mentioning religion, her case was mostly about her emotional or psychological injuries from a religious activity that was sanctioned by the church.

For the court to impose any legal liability for engaging in a religious activity "to which the church members adhere would have an unconstitutional 'chilling effect’ by compelling the church to abandon core principles of its religious beliefs," Medina wrote.

"Religious practices that might offend the rights or sensibilities of a non-believer outside the church are entitled to greater latitude when applied to an adherent within the church," Medina wrote.

He went on to say that when claims involve "only intangible, emotional damages allegedly caused by sincerely held religious belief, courts must carefully scrutinize the circumstances so as not to become entangled in a religious dispute."

Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, in a stinging dissenting opinion, wrote that the majority opinion is at times "imprecise and overbroad" and imposes an "erroneous standard" that would allow a church to simply claim a "religious motive" to avoid being sued.

He wrote that this "sweeping immunity" is inconsistent with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and that the First Amendment "guards religious liberty; it does not sanction intentional abuse in religion’s name."

"This overly broad holding not only conflicts with well-settled legal and constitutional principles, it will also prove to be dangerous in practice," Jefferson wrote.

"Texas courts have been and will continue to be confronted with cases in which a congregant suffers physical or psychological injury as a result of violent or unlawful, but religiously sanctioned, acts," he wrote.

Since the incident, Pleasant Glade has merged with another Colleyville church.

The Schuberts moved to Georgia and were not available for comment Friday. William Wuester, their attorney, also was unavailable for comment.

David Pruessner, the attorney for the church, said he was delighted to win a case that has been a part of his life for more than a decade.

While he may not agree with what the church did, that doesn’t mean it can be sued, he said.

"I personally don’t agree and would not let one of my daughters face that kind of emotional pressure," Pruessner said. "But you can’t sue a church because you find things they do emotionally disturbing."

Laying on hands

Schubert’s account of what happened over several days at the Pleasant Glade church in June 1996 is harrowing.

Schubert and her brother were involved with church activities while their parents were out of town.

On Friday evening, during preparations for a youth group garage sale, the atmosphere became "spiritually charged" when another youth said he saw a demon.

Under direction of the youth minister, the youth frantically anointed everything in the church with holy oil until, at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, the minister told the exhausted youth that they had finally been successful.

At the Sunday evening worship services, Schubert collapsed. Church members "laid hands" on her and forcibly held her arms crossed over her chest, despite her demands to be set free.

She reportedly cried, yelled, kicked, sweated and hallucinated while also making guttural noises.

She was released after she calmed down and replied with requests to say the name Jesus.

The following Wednesday, during a weekly youth service, Schubert reportedly began to act in the same manner. She curled into a fetal position and asked to be left alone. Church members thought she was in distress and held her down in a "spread eagle" position with youth members holding down her arms and legs.

During the incident, she suffered carpet burns, a scrape on her back and bruises on her wrists.

Her father, Tom Schubert, himself an Assembly of God pastor and missionary, questioned what happened at the church.

His daughter experienced angry outbursts, weight loss and self-mutilation and eventually dropped out of high school her senior year. She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

'Freedom to believe’

The family eventually sued the church, saying that their daughter had been abused and falsely imprisoned, but the 2002 trial never touched on the religious aspects of the case. The church’s attorneys told a Tarrant County jury that Schubert’s psychological problems were caused by traumatic events she witnessed while her parents were serving as missionaries in Africa.

A jury found the church and its members liable and awarded Schubert $300,000 for mental anguish, but the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth cut $122,000 from the verdict for loss of future income.

In the church’s appeal to the state Supreme Court, it raised the question of whether the Fort Worth appeals court erred when it said Pleasant Glades’ First Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion do not prevent the church from being held liable for mental distress triggered by a "hyper spiritualistic environment."

Justice Medina said that the court does not mean to imply that "under the cloak of religion, persons may, with impunity," commit intentional wrong, such as sexual assault or a minister having an affair with someone in marriage counseling, and get away with it.

"Freedom to believe may be absolute, but freedom of conduct is not, and 'conduct even under a religious guise remains subject to regulation for public safety,’ " Medina wrote.

Pruessner, the church’s attorney, agreed, saying that church members were simply trying to help Schubert and that there wasn’t any evil intent.

"This was clearly a religious controversy, and I don’t see how anyone can argue that they were seizing on religion as a get-out-of-jail-free card," Pruessner said. "I disagree vehemently with the spiritual beliefs of the church and how they handled it; it doesn’t mean they are legally liable."

JW Child molester sentenced 45 Years to Life

A Murrieta man used his daughter's slumber parties to satisfy his perverted desires, a judge said Friday, then ignored calls for mercy and sentenced the 50-year-old father to a prison term of 45 years to life.

"The court has little doubt that if released he will move immediately to molest little children," Judge F. Paul Dickerson III said. "The court feels there are other victims out there who have not come forward."

Dickerson said he was compelled to impose the harshest penalty, given the pain defendant Gilbert Simental inflicted on the girls and the peril he would pose to children if released.

Prior to sentencing, defense attorney Miles Clark and eight of Simental's friends and relatives asked the judge to be lenient with Simental, repeatedly describing him as a good man who made a bad mistake.

"Continuing to love in the face of something terrible . . . that's what is important, that we continue to love one another," Simental's 22-year-old son, Alex Simental, said. "I ask for your mercy."

Later, the father of the two victims expressed anguish and rage that his daughters were sexually violated by a family friend.

Prior to the trial, the case broke new legal ground in California about when statements made to clergy members are deemed confidential, prosecutor Burke Strunsky said.

"This case makes a bold statement to any religious organization that we are not going to allow you to abuse confidentiality privileges in order to suppress the confessions of child molesters," said Strunsky. "The stakes are way too high."

Elders John Vaughn and Andrew Sinay balked at testifying against Simental, when subpoenaed by Strunsky. They cited the confidentiality afforded by the penitent-clergy privilege.

Louisiana passes first antievolution "academic freedom" law

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has signed the Louisiana Science Education Act into law, singling out evolution, origins of life, and global warming for criticism. Let 1,000 Dover trials bloom!

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In Heaven with Fred Phelps or in Hell with George Carlin?Sorry Fred, I'm sticking with my man George.

MORE AT ATHEISTNATION.NET

Gas station attendants call police when patron tries to pay with pennies!

DENVER (AP) - Talk about squeezing every penny at the gas pump.

Denver police say clerks at a gas station had a run-in with a man who insisted on paying for his fuel with $10 in pennies on Thursday.

The clerks said they were too busy with other customers and vendors making deliveries to accept the sackful of cents. They said the man was insistent and became offensive, so they called police and referred to him as an "unwanted person."

The man left before police arrived. Police say he was driving a satellite TV truck.

I thought as long as it's "Legal Tender" ,aren't you obligated to accept the payment?

Pot contains anti-inflammatory that won't get you high but could treat Crohns,cancer,glaucoma and others

Researchers say that another cannabinoid, called beta-caryophyllene, or (E)-BCP, is already found in food items like black pepper and oregano, and could treat pain, nausea, and other ailments without getting patients high.

Scientists said that (E)-BCP could potentially be a "New model [compound] for drug design." By targeting the CB-2 receptor, found in tissues throughout the body but not in the brain, as opposed to the CB-1 also targeted by THC, (E)-BCP reduces inflammation without psychotropic effects.

Disney's Wall-e Anti Fat People and Anti Republican?

Early reviewers of the new potential summer blockbuster are indicating the the new movie has a decidedly anti Bush era slant. Even quoting the pro war "stay the course'' republican mantra. And that weren't enough all humans in the future are all pudgy ,flying wheel chair, video watching ,web surfing couch potatoes.

"Many of the early early reviews, including mine, have noted this may offend Disney's target audience... it turns out that large people have been blogging angrily about "Wall-E'' since at least November. "Will general audiences (which form the bulk of Pixar’s demographic), upon seeing a fat blob 'drinking liquified food from Big-Gulp-esque cups, and forever surfing (and chatting) on chair-mounted video screens' think 'Oh, wow, so that’s what gravity does to humans!' or 'Wow, so that’s what the obesity epidemic will do to humans!' says a post at The F Word. Gripes a writer at Fatshionista: "this is so INCREDIBLY disappointing. I feel personally betrayed by Pixar right now.''"

"Poop Gun" to be used at Democratic Convention?

Political activists planning protest rallies at the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver have their stomachs in knots over a rumor about a crowd control weapon - known as the “crap cannon” - that might be unleashed against them.

Also called “Brown Note,” it is believed to be an infrasound frequency that debilitates a person by making them defecate involuntarily.

Mark Cohen, co-founder of Re-create 68, an alliance of local activists working for the protection of first amendment rights, said he believes this could be deployed at the convention in August to subdue crowds.

“We know this weapon and weapons like it have been used at other large protests before,” he said.

George would have loved this

Westboro Baptist Church
(WBC Chronicles - Since 1955)
3701 SW 12th St. Topeka, Kansas 66604 785-273-0325 GodHatesFags.com
Religious Opinion and Bible Commentary on Current Events
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
NEWS RELEASE
GOD KILLED POTTY-MOUTH COMEDIAN
GEORGE CARLIN,
AND CAST HIM FORTHWITH INTO HELL.
George Carlin is now in Hell, and it is irrelevant that George Carlin boasted that
he did not believe in Hell when he lived on earth. Be assured, Carlin believes
in Hell now. Like the rich man the Lord Jesus told about in Luke 16, who died;
"and in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments. And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus (the beggar on earth), that
he may dip the tip ofhis finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented
in this flame." Lk. 16:23,24. When told that he could not have a drop ofwater,
for ever, though tormented in flames, he begged for somebody to rise from the
dead and preach to his kinfolk, lest they also die and come to this place of
torment. George Carlin - the filthy blasphemer - the obscene potty-mouth
skeptic, agnostic, and profane atheist - who had nothing but disdain for God and
the Bible all the days of his tragic life - is now, at this minute and for ever
writhing and screaming in exquisite pain - pleading for mercy from that God he
flipped off while performing for HBO for lucre. Carlin made lots of money
making fun of God; now he must deal with God - face to face - for ever. "The
Lord thy God repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will
not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face." Deut. 7:10.
When Carlin died yesterday (June 22) he split Hell wide open at once; as it is
written: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it
stirreth up the dead for thee. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou
also become weak as we? The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover
thee." Isa. 14:9,10. Two fellow perverts scrambled to report the news, both of
whom will no doubt in due time join Carlin and his buddies in Hell; to wit:
Lying Propagandist Keith Olbermann; and fellow filth-monger Jerry Seinfeld.
All these and more are typical, antichristic American loud mouths and spin-
doctors. Westboro Baptist Church exists to publish Gospel Truth, and to
thereby expose Satanic lies. George Carlin is in Hell. Deal with it. You will
soon join him. America is Doomed. We will picket George Carlin's funeral.
Amen.


I can think of no finer tribute to George Carlin, We'll miss ya Bro!

"Finding Nemo" Causes Clownfish To Become Endangered

Finding Nemo This is probably not what the filmmakers over at Pixar had in mind when they made "Finding Nemo," but since the film's release in 2003, the population of clownfish in the wild has been on the decline and it may be put on the endangered list.

Why? According to the Times Online article, demand of the fish as pets from children who loved the film increased sharply after the film's release, leading to over-harvesting of the coral reefs for these tiny clownfish.

Sad milestone for Turkey: 1,000 honor killings in 5 years

The Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Directorate issued a report on “honor killings,” which contains discouraging findings, daily Radikal reported Friday.

In Istanbul, at least one person dies every week because of honor killings according to the report, which is the most comprehensive in its field. The number of murders committed for honor in the last five years has exceeded 1,000. The murderers are treated as heroes in prisons and they do not regret their crimes.

“The Report on Honor Killings” was presented by the president of the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Directorate, professor Dr. Tahsin Fendoğlu, at a meeting called “Women and Participation: Problems and Solutions.” According to the report, the number of honor killings was 150 in 2002, while it rose to 220 in 2007. Occurrence of honor killings is inversely proportional with education levels. Not only women but also men fall victim to honor killings. Besides, around 9 percent of the murders are committed by children.

The report declares that metropolitan cities are leading crime scenes of honor killings. In the last five years, 167 people were murdered in Istanbul. Ankara followed with 144, İzmir with 121, and Diyarbakır with 69. The crimes were mostly perpetrated by people with origins in eastern Turkey. The report states that the number of honor killings in Istanbul increased to 53 in 2007 from 27 in 2006.

JW flash back #10,411,The M&M debacle

All of these JWs Hanging out at the Inn is bringing back all kinds of memories. Like the time one of the elders announced from the platform that Christians should not eat M&Ms. You know those little chocolate covered delights that just about everyone loves. (I swear on a stack of "Origin of the Species" this is true)So what did those little candy covered chocolate confections do to incur the wrath of Jehovah's people? Someone started to a rumor that M&Ms contained blood. That's right blood! JW's were tossing out bags and boxes of M&Ms. Some I think even might have bought some and threw them out just to show how theocratic they were. The afore mentioned elder actually wrote a very official sounding letter to the makers of M&Ms. They actually replied! The vice president of customer relations of the Mars candy Co. wrote to assure the unsettled masses of JWs every where that there never was and never would be any blood products or byproducts in M&m candies.(I bet they got a good laugh about it)

Of course anyone with a lick of sense would know that the chances of there being blood in M&Ms is about as likely as thousand dollar bills fly out of my butt. But I was one of the brainwashed back then and actually was thinking at the time"Gee no more M&Ms". This happened right around 1966 I think. Does any body remember this besides me?

Sign me:

Gratefully free in Dayton

Emoose out

The Invasion of the JW Zombies

The air is abuzz with an influx of Jehovah's Witnesses gathering for one of their conventions. Now I for one have nothing(at least for the most part) personally against the individual Witnesses. Some of them are actually quite nice. And I hope at least a few of them will wake up and smell the metaphorical coffee.But being the evil kind of guy that I am doesn't stop me from fantasizing about a few nasty pranks. Such as: Oh I see you've reserved rm 103, You know we just re-did that room so it's extra nice. See what happened was the Church of Satan just had their convention here last month and they got a little carried away, We had a "Devil" of a time getting all that goat's blood off the walls so we just had to repaint. You should have seen the hassle we had getting all of the chicken feathers out of the drains. So any way,the local freelance exorcist we hired swears almost all of the demons are gone now and hardly anybody complains about the poltergeist activity anymore.
So you just have a lovely peaceful stay and sleep tight!

Scientists: It Once Rained on Mars

Drizzle once fell on Martian soil, according to a new geochemical analysis by Berkeley scientists, though the rain probably stopped several billion years ago.

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Teen Arrested Just Because He Wore a 'Blasphemous T-shirt'

An Australian teenager who wore a T-shirt by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth that reads 'Jesus is a c**t' has been charged with offensive behaviour. Above the offensive slogan a nun is depicted masturbating. A 16-year-old was arrested on Monday for wearing the shirt and was charged with offensive behaviour.

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US woman sues over exploding thong

A 52-year-old US woman has filed suit against Victoria's Secret claiming that an attempt to spice up her underwear drawer ended in corneal trauma after a "decorative metallic piece" flew off an example of the lingerie giant's "Sexy Little Thing" low-rise v-string as she was slipping into the come-hither apparel and gave her an eyeful.That's according to the Smoking Gun, which notes that Los Angeles Department of Transportation traffic officer Macrida Patterson's lawsuit, presented on 9 June in Los Angeles Superior Court, is seeking unspecified monetary damages over the "design problem".

George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism

"....Several Italian newspapers cited Vatican sources suggesting that Mr Bush may be prepared to convert. One source told Il Foglio, an authoritative newspaper, that "Anything is possible, especially for a born-again Christian such as Bush."

He added that while the Holy See deplored the war in Iraq, "on ethical matters he has always had a line that is practically identical to that of the Vatican." Mr Bush has spoken out against gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research. He proposed amending the US constitution to "fully protect marriage" as the "union of man and woman as husband and wife".

He has repeatedly made clear his admiration for Benedict and has even claimed to have read some of the pope's theological books....."

"A source close to the Vatican said that Mr Bush was the most "Catholic-minded" president since John F Kennedy"

Killer dad said he had to 'get the demons' out

-- A 27-year-old grocery store worker who police say punched and kicked his 2-year-old son to death on a country road calmly told motorists who stopped at the scene that he had to "get the demons" out of the boy, two witnesses said Monday.

Sergio Casian Aguiar of Turlock told people who urged him to stop late Saturday that the boy was "trash," the witnesses said. He asked for a knife at one point and, at another, said, "Look how they make toys now."

And when a Modesto police officer jumped off a helicopter and ordered Aguiar to stop at gunpoint, he raised his middle finger and continued his attack.

Officer Jerry Ramar, standing in a cow pasture behind an electric fence, shot Aguiar once in the forehead, the witnesses and police said. Aguiar died at the scene.

"Good shot, thank God," said Deborah McKain, a 51-year-old resident of nearby Crows Landing who pulled up to the beating scene on a cracked two-lane road while on her way home from dinner in Turlock, 10 miles to the northeast. "That guy needed to die."

The reason a father with no criminal record would commit such a brutal killing was still a mystery on Monday. Authorities do not know whether Aguiar was drunk or on drugs, and toxicology reports on him and his son will not be available for three to four weeks, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Royjindar Singh.

The boy was beaten so savagely that DNA tests will be needed to confirm his identity, Singh said. His name has not been released.

Islamic Terrorists Behead 3 Christian Girls

They were decapitated and their heads found in bags on the steps of a church and along the road to a police station with the message, “We will murder 100 more Christian teenagers and their heads will be presented as presents.” Their bodies were discarded at different locations. One girl survived.

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Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol

Silicon Valley is experimenting with bacteria that have been genetically altered to provide renewable petroleum. ..the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil. Using genetically modified bugs for

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Finally a church I could get behind! The Church of Reality

Our World View is Real Reality
We are Realists practicing Realism
Winning Souls for Darwin!








The Church of Reality is a religion based on the practice of Realism, which means believing in everything that is real. Our motto is, "If it's real, we believe in it." Since no one knows all of reality, the Church of Reality is a religious commitment to the pursuit of reality the way it really is. We think about thinking. We wonder about wondering. We try to understand the understanding of understanding.

Darwin be praised!

Marry or be fired, Iranian firm tells its staff

IRAN. A major Iranian state-owned company has told its single employees to get married by September or face losing their jobs, the press reported yesterday.

“One of the economic entities in the south of the country has asked its single employees to start creating a family,” the hardline Kayhan daily reported.

The paper did not mention the name of the company but the reformist Etemad newspaper said that the firm is the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Company, which covers Iran’s giant gas and petrochemical facilities on the shores of the Gulf.

“Unfortunately some of our colleagues did not fulfil their commitments and are still single,” Etemad quoted the company’s directive as saying.

“As being married is one of the criteria of employment, we are announcing for the last time that all the female and male colleagues have until 21 September to go ahead with this important and moral religious duty.”

The giant energy zone of refineries is located on Iran’s Southern coastal energy hub Assalouyeh where temperatures reach 50 degrees in Summer, hardly a place for families. The workers are usually young males seeking to earn a good income and the decree appears aimed at making them marry to ensure they eschew sexual temptations during their stay away from home.

Students kicked off Facebook for eating a cat

The students, from the Danish School of Journalism in Aarhus, posted 30 pictures of themselves cooking and eating the animal.

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Florida Woman Fired For Laughing

Darra Kollios, who works at the Trinity Grill in New Port Richey, said her boss approached her in front of a customer with one of the oddest requests she's ever heard."I had a customer at the bar and the owner came up to me and said, 'Please stop laughing,' Kollios said. "We giggled -- the guy at the bar and myself. And then I said, 'Are you serious?' And he said, 'Yes, if you laugh again, you will have to go home."Kollios said she was then fired on the spot.Kollios said she was shocked by her employer's actions."I will say that I don't have an odd laugh," Kollios said. "I did ask a few people but it's not."The restaurant owner said a customer did not complain about the laughing. However, he prefers the restaurant to be quiet and cozy and Kollios' laugh prevented that from happening.Under Florida law, employees are considered "at will," which means they may be terminated for any reason as long as they're not under contract and it doesn't involve age, sex or race discrimination.

We may all be space aliens!!!!

A meteor being examined in Australia has been found to carry DNA sequences we all have.We ARE the Aliens....WOO

read more | digg story



This is another one of these stories that seems to explains much.

Parents of sextuplets given blood lose their religious court fight

VANCOUVER - A B.C. court says a child's right to life trumps a parent's charter right to guide their medical treatment in the case of four sextuplets taken from their Jehovah's Witness parents.

B.C. Supreme Chief Justice Donald Brenner has ruled that seizing the four surviving infants to administer blood transfusions, contrary to their parents' religious beliefs, was medically necessary.

"It is difficult to see how the charter rights of the parents, which they say entitle them to determine the course of medical treatment for their children in this case, could trump the (section) 7 charter rights of the infants to receive medical treatment to prevent their serious personal injury or death," Brenner concluded in a judgment released Friday.

Two of the six babies died shortly after they were born in Vancouver's Children's Hospital in January 2007, and the remaining four were taken into the custody of the province to be given the transfusions. A prohibition against blood transfusions is a tenet of the Jehovah's Witness faith.

Shane Brady, the lawyer for the unnamed couple, told the court during a hearing last February there was no medical emergency requiring a blood transfusion for these children.

"The children's vital signs were within the acceptable range," he said.

Brady brought in expert witnesses to say that new medical treatment showed the children would not have needed medical intervention.

Each baby was returned to the parents shortly after receiving its blood transfusion, but the parents followed through with an appeal to the B.C. Supreme Court.

Brenner pointed out in his ruling that he had no real remedy to offer the parents.

"Even if I were to conclude that the lower courts erred..., I could not grant any meaningful remedy with respect to the blood transfusions," he wrote in his ruling.

Physicians who testified on behalf of the government said they believed the children's hemoglobin levels were dangerously low and that the children needed infusions of blood.

Brenner noted that more studies are underway that may establish it's safe to allow an infant's hemoglobin level to go under the currently accepted threshold, but until that happens he said doctors in the sextuplet case made the right decision.

"In this case it is apparent the health of these babies was extremely compromised. I accept the evidence of Drs. Smyth, Soliman and Whyte that the blood transfusion administered to (baby) E on January 27 was medically necessary."

The parents claimed the court acted unfairly by rushing the hearing in a location away from their home.

Brenner disagreed again with that argument.

"Given the short-fused nature of these proceedings ... the traditional procedural fairness criteria in circumstances where children are at risk of imminent death or serious or permanent injury, formal rules around venue should be capable of relaxation."

Brady said at the time of the hearing that the four surviving children were all healthy after passing their first year, considered a milestone for premature babies.

Behold the Atheist Apocalypse

Oh the Horror!

U.S. Commission Finds Troubling Texts at Virginia-Based Saudi Academy

McLEAN, Va. — Textbooks at a private Islamic school in northern Virginia teach students that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam, according to a federal investigation released Wednesday.

Other passages in the school's textbooks state that "the Jews conspired against Islam and its people" and that Muslims are permitted to take the lives and property of those deemed "polytheists."

The passages were found in selected textbooks used during the 2007-08 school year by the Islamic Saudi Academy, which teaches 900 students in grades K-12 at two campuses in Alexandria and Fairfax and receives much of its funding from the Saudi government.

The academy has come under scrutiny from critics who allege that it fosters an intolerant brand of Islam similar to that taught in the conservative Saudi kingdom. In the review, the panel recommended that the school make all of its textbooks available to the State Department so changes can be made before the next school year.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a panel formed by Congress, last year recommended that the school be closed amid concerns that it promotes violence and too closely mimics the conservative Saudi educational system.

$543,236,299,998 Spent on Iraq as of 4:22 pm CST Today !

Before the war, White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsay estimated the cost at $100 to $200 billion. So the White House got rid of him and "re-estimated" the cost at $50 to $60 billion. It's now over $500 billion.

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Mainstream media yawns as Kucinich offers impeachment

On Monday evening, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) took to the floor of the House of Representatives to read out 35 articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush in an almost five-hour marathon. Kucinich's action made an immediate splash on the Internet, but the mainstream media were far more reticent in their coverage.

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Jesus came to Britain?

According to author, Glyn Lewis' tome 'Did Jesus Come To Britain?', Christ did indeed pay the 'mountains green' of England a visit - and that too just a few years before his crucifixion.

Lewis' conclusion that Jesus sailed to England on a trading ship is based on stories from local legends, architectural evidence from two ancient churches and letters from earliest historians.


The key, he says, lies in Christ's family. More specifically, his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, who was a metal trader who travelled to Europe.

"Joseph of Arimathea almost certainly came here to buy tin in Cornwall and copper and lead in Somerset. In the Bible Joseph of Arimathea approached Pontius Pilate for Jesus's body after the crucifixion," the Daily Express quoted Lewis, as saying.

He also points out that this establishes the closeness between the two as according to the law at the time, only a close relative could have claimed the body.

You can't use the word rape at a rape case?

It’s the only way Tory Bowen knows to honestly describe what happened to her. She was raped. But a judge prohibited her from uttering the word “rape” in front of a jury. The term “sexual assault” also was taboo, and Bowen could not refer to herself as a victim or use the word “assailant” to describe the man who allegedly raped her...

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Don't you just love Christian tolerance?

Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Deadly Threat in Tanzania

Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.

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Calif. clerk stopping marriages to resist ruling

SAN FRANCISCO - As same-sex couples prepare to wed in California later this month, one county clerk in the conservative Central Valley plans to sidestep the state's legalization of gay marriage by not performing any ceremonies.

Ann Barnett plans to stop performing ceremonies for all couples in Kern County as of June 14. She will issue the new gender-neutral marriage licenses as required by law on June 17, but refuses to preside over any ceremony because of space and staff constraints, she said in a statement.

Barnett's announcement came after she received advice from county lawyers that she could not refuse to marry only couples of her choosing.

Couple charged in Norway for circumcising 5 girls

OSLO (Reuters) - Police in Norway have arrested a Gambian-born man and charged him and his wife with subjecting five of their six daughters to female circumcision, which is outlawed in Norway and arouses horror among many people in the West but is a rite of passage for young women in many countries, predominantly in Africa.

The youngest of the five mutilated girls, all born in Norway, is five years old, police officials said. The others are aged seven, 10, 13 and 14 and live in Gambia, national broadcaster NRK reported Hanne Kristin Rohde, head of the and vice section of the Oslo police, said on Norwegian commercial television TV 2 that the father -- a naturalized Norwegian citizen along with his wife -- was taken into custody on Friday.

The Creation Museum - America's New Mecca of Ignorance

An in-depth look at the "the crowning achievement of religious stupidity" and the anti-science ideology behind it. Includes lots of crazy pics and videos.

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Critically-ill father faces death because Jehovah's Witness wife refuses to let him have a blood transfusion

Jehovah's Wtnesses are banned from receiving blood transfusions

A father who was gravely injured by a hit-and-run car could die because he is a Jehovah's Witness.

John Edwards, 58, needs a blood transfusion but his wife Sheila insists he would not want the life-saving procedure, which is against their religious beliefs.

As a result the couple's sons, who are not Jehovah's Witnesses, could have to watch their father die.

Jonathan Edwards, 36, his brother Tom, 29, and the doctors treating Mr Edwards are powerless to act in the face of his religious beliefs.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Bible forbids them from accepting blood, either in food or for medical reasons.

Mr Edwards, a council worker, was hit by a silver Mercedes in the early hours of Wednesday morning near

his home in Southall, West London. He suffered massive internal injuries and wounds to his head, leg and arm and was taken to Ealing Hospital.

Yesterday, he was fighting for his life in intensive care.

Doctors are reported to have told Mrs Edwards, a 61-year-old retired teacher, that her husband of 37 years could die within two or three days without a transfusion.

A family source said: 'Sheila is adamant that John must not have blood. She says giving him a transfusion would be like assaulting him - and he wouldn't want to live knowing he'd disobeyed his God.

'She's in a terrible state, constantly in tears at his bedside, but she won't give in to requests from anyone.'

Dying Jehovah's Witness' wife rejects blood

The family of a Jehovah's Witness has turned down a potentially life-saving blood transfusion after he was hit by a suspected drink driver, it was reported today.

Sheila Edwards, 61, has rejected pleas to allow the medical procedure for husband John, 57, despite warnings that he could die within days, according to today's edition of The Sun.

He was critically injured when hit by a car near his home in Southall, west London on Tuesday night, it reported. The driver was said to have been breathalysed and found to be over the limit.

Mr Edwards' wife shares his faith and insists he would not want the transfusion, the newspaper said.

He had signed a form banning doctors from giving him blood in the event of an accident.

The couple's sons Jonathan, 36, and Tom, 29, do not their share their parents' faith and can only watch helplessly as he fights for life, the newspaper said.

The couple are reportedly members of the Yeading Brook congregation, which meets at the Northolt Kingdom Hall in west London. There was no answer to telephone calls there this morning.

Jules Arnould, a spokeswoman for Ealing Hospital NHS Trust, said: "I can confirm that Mr Edwards is in our hospital, but we are not going to be commenting on his case."

Jehovah's Witness Emma Gough, 22, from Telford, Shropshire, died last October after rejecting a transfusion when she had suffered internal bleeding following the birth of her twins.

An inquest in April heard that she had told a midwife that she was happy to die rather than have the procedure.

The hearing was told she would probably have lived if she had agreed to a transfusion before undergoing an operation to remove a blood clot.

She had signed an "advance directive" that she did not want to receive a transfusion.

It's Deju Vu all over again!

Are you old enough to remember the presidential election of 1960? You remember Nixon and Kennedy? How about the televised debate? Remember a haggard looking Dick Nixon that had just gotten over the flu with a bad 5 o'clock shadow and bags under his eyes? J.F.K looking like he was ready to play a round of golf or run a marathon? Never mind what was actually said. After about twenty minutes there was sweat beading up on the tricky ones upper lip. I actually thought that he might puke!

Okay, flash forward to 2008. A young, fresh dynamic looking Obama on one side of the stage and a septuagenarian McCain on the other side.

John old buddy, take my advice, Learn from history.

Jordan pushes for international anti-blaspemy laws

"Under Jordanian law, reproducing images of the Prophet Muhammad inside — or even outside the country — is illegal under the Jordanian Justice Act, the newspaper wrote.

A lawyer representing "The Prophet Unites Us," a Jordanian group angling for the prosecution, said that if the Danish journalists did not appear in Jordan for legal proceedings, the next step would be to inform Interpol and seek their arrest.

But the Danish foreign ministry said that the journalists would not be forcibly deported, as the printing of the controversial cartoons is not a punishable offense in Denmark.

Jordanian courts have not issued an indictment, but lawyers are hoping the case will help establish an international law against slandering religion, according to Danish reports."

Man Falls After Receiving Spirit, Sues

Claims church liable for injuries sustained during healing service

JUNE 5--Last June, Matthew Lincoln was attending an evening service at his nondenominational Tennessee church when he approached the altar where a visiting minister was offering individual prayers for parishioners. Assigned "catchers" were present on the altar in case congregants fainted, fell, or otherwise lost control. When the minister, Robert Lavala, slightly touched his forehead, the Knoxville-area man "received the spirit and fell backwards." Except nobody was there to catch him, Lincoln charges in a $2.5 million lawsuit filed yesterday against Lakewind Church and its pastors. Lincoln, 58, claims that he fell backwards, striking his head against the "carpet-covered cement floor," according to the Circuit Court complaint, which was first reported by Courthouse News Service. A copy of Lincoln's lawsuit can be found below. Since he already suffered from a "degenerative disc disease of his neck and back," Lincoln, a former church board member, contends the fall exacerbated the pre-existing condition and has caused him "severe and permanent" injuries. As a result of the fall, Lincoln, a recording engineer, claims that he is no longer able to care for his disabled daughter. Lincoln alleges that Lakewind and its pastors were "negligent in not supervising the catchers to be sure that they stood behind the person being prayed for...should they have a dizzying, fainting, or falling in the spirit as had occurred on many occasions before." Lincoln's lawyer, J.D. Lee, told TSG that the church's insurer, Zurich of North America, rejected an insurance claim, asserting that Lincoln should have realized that no catchers were situated behind him.

I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

Martian Bigfoot?

Algerian Christian converts fined for illegal worship

Four Algerian Christians have been given suspended jail terms and fines for worshipping illegally.

The case has provoked accusations in the West of religious repression in the largely Muslim country of 33 million - a charge the government denies.

But Christian groups point to the ordered closures of some churches.

The state-appointed Higher Islamic Council said Protestant evangelicals are secretly trying to divide Algerians to colonise the country.

L. Ron Hubbard's 5 Most Impressive Lies (Besides Scientology

Some things are self-evident: Murder is wrong, kindness is good and 75 million years ago, a ruler of a Galactic Confederacy rounded up billions of his own citizens and shipped them to Earth (then called Teegeeack), tied them to volcanoes and used hydrogen bombs to blow up their bodies. Adultery is bad. Lying is wrong.

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The Anti-Rape Condom

The anti-rape condom is a “condom”-like device that has an inner lining of tiny plastic teeth meant to stop a rapist in his tracks. The device can be inserted into a woman’s vagina with an applicator and is rumored to feel no different than any ordinary tampon. The “condom” in question has two main objectives. The first is to stop the rape...

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John Hagee:The Anti-Christ is Gay and Jewish! Just like Hitler

On March 16, 2003, on the eve of the United States' invasion of Iraq, Pastor John Hagee took to the pulpit to warn of the coming Antichrist. In his sermon, "The Final Dictator," Hagee described the Antichrist as a seductive figure with "fierce features." He will be "a blasphemer and a homosexual," the pastor announced. Then, Hagee boomed, "There's a phrase in Scripture used solely to identify the Jewish people. It suggests that this man [the Antichrist] is at least going to be partially Jewish, as was Adolph Hitler, as was Karl Marx."

This "fierce" gay Jew, according to Hagee, would "slaughter one-third of the Earth's population" and "make Adolph Hitler look like a choirboy."

Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79

Legendary singer known for homemade guitar, dark glasses, black hat. Sad day for rock n roll fans.

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Teacher tortures, kills boy

Multan, Pakistan - A blind seven-year-old student at an Islamic school in eastern Pakistan has died after his teacher punished him for not learning the Qu'ran, police said on Friday.

Muhammad Atif was hung upside down from a ceiling fan and severely beaten by his teacher, Qari Ziauddin, at the seminary or madrassa in Vihari, near Lahore on Thursday, they said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had ordered an inquiry into the death, an official statement said.

"The prime minister has expressed his deep sorrow and concern over the tragic death of Muhammad Atif, who reportedly died as a result of corporal punishment by his teacher," the statement said.

Police said the teacher had been arrested on charges of torturing and murdering the boy.

Religion of peace my Ass.

Christian preachers face Hate Crime Charges in Britain

The evangelists say they were threatened with arrest for committing a "hate crime" and were told they risked being beaten up if they returned. The incident will fuel fears that "no-go areas" for Christians are emerging in British towns and cities, as the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, claimed in The Sunday Telegraph this year.

Arthur Cunningham, 48, and Joseph Abraham, 65, both full-time evangelical ministers, have launched legal action against West Midlands Police, claiming the officer infringed their right to profess their religion.

Mr Abraham said: "I couldn't believe this was happening in Britain. The Bishop of Rochester was criticised by the Church of England recently when he said there were no-go areas in Britain but he was right; there are certainly no-go areas for Christians who want to share the gospel."

Say it's not so Doctor Who!

Doctor Who to boost church popularity

EPISODES of TV show Doctor Who have been examined by church leaders in Britain as part of an attempt to make Christianity more appealing to teenagers.

A conference of Church of England vicars watched a handful of episodes from the sci-fi series to study its religious parallels, particularly its themes of evil, resurrection and redemption.

Similarities between the Doctor and Christ, as well as whether the evil Daleks are capable of changing, were also examined.

"There are countless examples of Christian symbolism in Doctor Who , which we can use to get across ideas that can otherwise be difficult to explain,'' The Sunday Telegraph in Britain quoted Andrew Wooding, a spokesman for conference organising group Church Army, as saying.

A Guide to Christian Clichés and Phrases

My favorite:

“What’s God doing in your life?”

Translation: “I’m getting ready to judge you.”
Acceptable Response: “I’m conquering pride and lust!” Or, “Oh, Jesus, Jesus, I love Jesus my beautiful King and Savior!”
Unacceptable Response: “God’s been teaching me about how much evidence there is for evolution.”

Creation Museum turns 1 year old

Creation Museum heads into its second year

Since it opened May 28 last year, more than 400,000 people have visited the $27 million, 60,000-square-foot museum, which presents a literal interpretation of the Bible, including the belief that God created the world in six days 6,000 years ago.

This is very sad.

I think I made the list at least twice!

Remember what Mark Twain said: Heaven for the weather, Hell for the company.

Women Fight For Right To Join Al Qaeda

Muslim extremist women are challenging al Qaeda's refusal to include - or at least acknowledge - women in its ranks, in an emotional debate that gives rare insight into the gender conflicts lurking beneath one of the strictest strains of Islam.

That's right, women have the right to be just as stupid as men!

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You are not going to believe this.

And of course this happened not only in my home state of Ohio, my home town of Cincinnati and my old neighbhorhood of College Hill:

COLLEGE HILL - Dr. Fredric J. Baur was so proud of having designed the container for Pringles potato crisps that he asked his family to bury him in one.

His children honored his request. Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest - in his grave at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield Township.

Dr. Baur, a retired organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Procter & Gamble, died May 4 at Vitas Hospice. The College Hill resident was 89.Later in his career, Dr. Baur became a compliance specialist for P&G. "He had a worldwide reputation in plant sanitation and traveled all over the world inspecting plants," said his daughter, Linda L. Baur, of Diamondhead, Miss. He also lectured, edited books, and wrote several publications and articles.

But the Pringles can - a tube-shaped container designed to hold the salty, stackable, saddle-shaped chip - was his proudest accomplishment, his daughter said. He received a patent for the package as well as the method of packaging Pringles in 1970.

Iraqi 'Honor Killing' Mother Gunned Down

– The ex-wife of an Iraqi man who beat, choked, and stabbed their 17-year-old daughter to death over an innocent crush on a British soldier has been gunned down, the Guardian reports. Leila Hussein had been staying in a series of safe houses while arrangements were being made to flee the country. She was shot to death by three men in a car as aid workers walked her to a taxi that would have taken her to Jordan.