The Web's New Gold Mine: Your Secrets

The Web's New Gold Mine: Your Secrets A Journal investigation finds that one of the fastest-growing businesses on the Internet is the business of spying on consumers. First in a series...
By JULIA ANGWIN
JULY 30, 2010

Hidden inside Ashley Hayes-Beaty's computer, a tiny file helps gather personal details about her, all to be put up for sale for a tenth of a penny.

The file consists of a single code-4c812db292272995e5416a323e79bd37 -that secretly identifies her as a 26-year-old female in Nashville, Tenn.

The code knows that her favorite movies include "The Princess Bride," "50 First Dates" and "10 Things I Hate About You." It knows she enjoys the "Sex and the City" series. It knows she browses entertainment news and likes to take quizzes.

"Well, I like to think I have some mystery left to me, but apparently not!" Ms. Hayes-Beaty said when told what that snippet of code reveals about her. "The profile is eerily correct." the rest

• Tracking technology is getting smarter and more intrusive. Monitoring used to be limited mainly to "cookie" files that record websites people visit. But the Journal found new tools that scan in real time what people are doing on a Web page, then instantly assess location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions. Some tools surreptitiously re-spawn themselves even after users try to delete them.

• These profiles of individuals, constantly refreshed, are bought and sold on stock-market-like exchanges that have sprung up in the past 18 months.

Cutie: Former Catholic priest shares events that led him to seek ordination in the Episcopal Church

BY CARLA HINTON
Oklahoman
July 31, 2010

A former Roman Catholic priest now serving in the Episcopal Church was enthusiastically embraced by members of an Oklahoma City Hispanic congregation during his recent visit.

At a church dinner July 22 at Imperial Banquet Hall, 4701 S Shields, Cutie spoke candidly about the controversy that swirled around him a little more than a year ago.

An international scandal erupted in May 2009 when a Mexican celebrity magazine printed pictures of the popular priest in a passionate embrace with a woman, Ruhama Canellis, on a Florida beach. Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy that prohibits them from sex and marriage. the rest image

Vicar facing prison for conducting 360 illegal migrant marriages in Sussex church

By Sam Greenhill and James Mills
30th July 2010

A Church of England vicar was found guilty yesterday of carrying out the biggest fake wedding scam Britain has ever seen.

The Reverend Alex Brown abused his position to marry 360 illegal immigrants to complete strangers.

Armed with a marriage certificate, the immigrants were then able to hoodwink the Home Office into giving them a visa to stay in Britain as a 'spouse', with access to education, healthcare and benefits. the rest

Vicar tells churchgoers to swear more

A CHURCH of England vicar told his flock to get more "streetwise" and swear more.
July 31, 2010

Reverend Michael Land told his congregation at the St Mary the Virgin church in the village of Burghill, in western England, they should adopt bad language because it is how Jesus would have spoken, London’s Daily Telegraph reports.

The Church risked becoming out of touch with ordinary people if its clergy did not become "streetwise" and failed to use earthy language, he said.

"The church must be more streetwise and use language most people use today,” Rev. Land, who is retired but still preaches, said. the rest

“People view Jesus through tinted spectacles and place him on a pedestal.

Devotional: I want Thy plan, O God, for my life...

I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. May I be happy and contented whether in the homeland or on the foreign field; whether married or alone, in happiness or sorrow, health or sickness, prosperity or adversity - I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. I want it; oh, I want it. ...Oswald J. Smith image by Christian Haugen

Christ Church files appeal to state Supreme Court

July 29, 2010
By Savannah Morning News

Leaders of Christ Church in Savannah have asked the state's top court to review a July 8 Court of Appeals decision that the church's historic downtown property belongs to the Episcopal Church.

On Wednesday, Christ Church officials appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court a recent ruling of the Georgia Court of Appeals upholding Judge Michael Karpf’s decision issued in October 2009 against Christ Church and in favor of the Diocese of Georgia and The Episcopal Church.

That decision upheld the plaintiff’s argument that Christ Church holds its property in trust for the Diocese and the national church, based on a 1979 national church canon. the rest photo by Raymond Dague

Planned Parenthood Plans to Spend $1 Million to Save Pro-Abortion Barbara Boxer

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 29, 2010
Sacramento, CA

(LifeNews.com) -- Carly Fiorina, the pro-life Senate candidate in California, is presenting pro-abortion Sen. Barbara such a tough challenge that Planned Parenthood says it plans to raise and spend $1 million attempting to save the seat of its closest ally in the Senate.

"I believe in the sanctity of life. I believe life begins at conception," Fiorina has said in a television interview.

She added, "In my particular case, my mother-in-law was told to abort her child, who became my husband. She chose something different, obviously, and that made all the difference in her life and mine and certainly his."

Those pro-life views run counter to the way in which Boxer has defended everything from taxpayer funding of abortions to partial-birth abortions in the Senate, refusing to vote for or allow even the most modest abortion limits most Americans support. the rest

Churches may face fines for wireless mics

Jul 30, 2010
by Erin Roach

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Churches could face six-figure fines if they continue to use wireless microphones that operate within a spectrum the Federal Communications Commission has set aside for public safety entities.

"Certain wireless microphones have operated in frequencies that are needed for public safety. When these microphones were first designed, the frequencies they used were in between the frequencies that television stations used to broadcast television programs," the FCC explained. the rest

Churches Not Considered Desirable Or Necessary

July 29th, 2010
Author Joel Oster

Have you heard the joke, “if con is the opposite of pro, then congress is the opposite of progress?” While there might be several examples supporting the truth of this statement, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act (“RPUIPA”), passed by Congress, is not one of them.

RLUIPA is an example of Congress actually doing well by churches and protecting them from overzealous zoning officials. Churches were being pushed out of cities and counties. For example, they were being told they could not locate in the business district because church use was supposedly inconsistent with generating a revenue stream for the city. But on the other hand, churches were also told they could not locate in residential areas on the theory that church use caused traffic and noise issues so it was inconsistent with residential use as well. Churches had a real uphill battle on their hands just to locate within any part of urban and suburban areas. the rest

But a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of appeals in River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois, threatens to gut the protections of RLUIPA. In this case, the River of Life church bought a building in a commercial district to hold its church services. When the church bought the property, the following uses were automatically permitted: art galleries, gymnasiums, meeting halls, lounges and taverns, along with several other uses. In addition, the following uses were allowed with a permit: museums, day care centers, schools of any kind, community centers, and live entertainment venues.

But, the city prohibited any and all church use in the district! What possible reason could the city have for prohibiting a church, which teaches moral values to the citizenry, while allowing community centers and live entertainment venues?

China Becomes Second Biggest World Economy

Friday, 30 Jul 2010

China has overtaken Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Depending on how fast its exchange rate rises, China is on course to overtake the United States and vault into the No.1 spot sometime around 2025, according to projections by the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and others.

China came close to surpassing Japan in 2009 and the disclosure by a senior official that it had now done so comes as no surprise. Indeed, Yi Gang, China's chief currency regulator, mentioned the milestone in passing in remarks published on Friday. the rest

Kenya: Church: Anglicans free to vote 'Yes' or 'No', as Catholics insist on 'Red'

By David Ochami and Gerald Gichura
posted July 30, 2010

Anglican Church of Kenya leadership freed its faithful to vote on the Proposed Constitution according to their consciences, while the Catholic Church gave its final verdict — an uncompromising ‘No’.

The two churches spoke out hours to the national prayer day for the referendum at Holy Family Minor Basilica, Nairobi, beginning 10am today. Archbishop of the Catholic Church Nairobi, John Cardinal Njue who spoke on behalf of bishops from its dioceses, said the only reason faithful should floor the draft was because it opens a door to abortion.

"On this ground alone and to reject the imposition of fundamentally anti-life law, we urge Christians to vote ‘No’ to this draft,’’ said a statement he released, prosecuting the church’s case against the proposed laws.

But Anglican Archbishop Reverend Eliud Wabukala, on the other hand, issued a statement whose release appeared choreographed with the Catholic’s, saying whereas its opposition to the contentious clauses stand ACK faithful were free to vote according to their individual preferences. the rest

Australian Anglican Archbishop: Atheist can be ethical

PERTH Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft has clashed with his Catholic counterpart over Julia Gillard's atheism.
Amanda O'Brien
From: The Australian
July 31, 2010

He warned it was "unhelpful and untrue" to suggest the Christian faith had a monopoly on moral integrity.

The Anglican leader cautioned against making simplistic assessments of religious beliefs in an election context and said Ms Gillard had assured the electorate she would respect people with religious convictions.

"Any statement which portrays the Christian faith as having some type of exclusivity to be the sole arbiter on matters of moral integrity and just policy-making are unhelpful and untrue," Archbishop Herft told The Weekend Australian. the rest

Episcopal Committee Is Working on Gay Rite

By RICHARD PARKS
July 29, 2010

Armed with a new $400,000 grant and the support of the Episcopal Church, a Berkeley seminary is convening priests from across the country to craft the liturgical rite for same-sex couples to receive religious blessings.

A nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization providing local coverage of the San Francisco Bay Area for The New York Times. To join the conversation about this article, go to baycitizen.org.
The new rite, which will take years to complete, will most likely consist of a series of original prayers, Bible readings and two essays: one on the theological meaning of same-sex blessings, and one advising priests who administer the new rite. If approved, the new blessing would be just the third addition to Episcopal liturgy since 1979.

“This is very significant,” said the Rev. Ruth Meyers, chairwoman of the church’s Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, who is heading the effort. “It does acknowledge a fuller participation of gays and lesbians in the life of the church.”

The Episcopal Church approved the development of “theological and liturgical resources” for the blessing of same-sex relationships at its 2009 convention, citing “changing circumstances in the United States and other nations.” It then partnered with the Berkeley seminary, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, which last month received a grant from the Arcus Foundation, a gay rights organization in Kalamazoo, Mich., to coordinate the effort. the rest

LINES IN THE ANGLICAN SAND: A Sociological Analysis

Commentary
By Canon Gary L'Hommedieu
7/29/10

In a meeting late last week the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion Office ruled out the use of biblical dialogue in refusing to discipline The Episcopal Church for its flagrant violation of Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1.10, which has been cited by the Primates as the norm for defining human sexuality in the Anglican Communion.

Both the 2004 Windsor Report and the now circulating Anglican Covenant presuppose the authoritative, normative status of Resolution 1.10. By the Standing Committee's action, what appeared to be a boundary marker, albeit a disputed one, turns out to be a mirage.

Mr. Dato' Stanley Isaacs, an attorney and a Standing Committee member from the Province of Southeast Asia, proposed that TEC be "be separated from the Communion" because of "sexuality issues," most recently the consecration of a second practicing homosexual bishop, and this in the midst of announced plans by American dioceses to prepare rites of blessing for same sex unions. Both matters were specifically forbidden by a unanimous agreement of the 2007 Primates' Meeting in Dar es Salaam, even signed by the American Presiding Bishop. By the explicit language of the Windsor Report such actions constitute "walking apart" from the Anglican Communion.

St. Paul prescribed a type of dialogue when believers deviate from behaviors considered normative for the Christian community. It's called go away and come back when you've changed the behavior. Then we'll talk. In the meantime it's not clear here what we're talking about.

The Standing Committee has decided, in effect, that the boundaries of the Anglican Communion must be moved to accommodate the deviant party. Resolution 1.10 is now relegated to the archives of the Lambeth Conference and can in no way be interpreted to represent the morality of the Anglican Communion, even if a vast majority pays it lip service. This is not meant to be a provocative statement but a social fact. the rest at Virtueonline

"...The overwhelming opinion was that separation [of TEC from the Anglican Communion] would inhibit dialogue on [the sexuality issue] and other issues among Communion Provinces, dioceses and individuals and would therefore be unhelpful...." (Anglican Communion Office, minutes of the Standing Committee, July 26, 2010)

Church Times: Standing Committee blocks move to expel US

`Jesus' saves Broward storekeeper from a robbery

A remorseful robber left a Broward County cellphone store empty-handed after talking religion with the cool-headed manager.
BY JAMES H. BURNETT III
July 30, 2010

Nayara Goncalves already experienced one of the ``biggest moments'' of her life: becoming a Christian.

The second came last Friday, when the 20-year-old cellphone store manager put her good works to good use -- persuading a would-be armed robber to put away his gun and leave her store in the name of the Lord.

Every moment of the more than five-minute exchange between a calm Goncalves and the nervous, unidentified robber was captured on a store surveillance camera.

The robber walked into the MetroPCS store at 1543 S. Cypress Rd. in Pompano Beach around 10 a.m July 23, wearing a dark cap and jacket and holding an umbrella.

He exchanges pleasantries with Goncalves, asking whether she was keeping dry, then asks to see a phone.

Moments later, he reaches into his coat, apparently showing her a gun. He apologizes: ``I really hate to do this. . . . Don't be scared.''

``I'm not scared,'' replies Goncalves, a devout Christian who was working alone. She calmly walks back to her cash register, telling the man, ``You can do whatever you want, but I'm just going to talk to you about Jesus, my God, before you leave.'' the rest-video

Devotional: Faith is not a feeling...

Faith is not a feeling. It is not even the feeling that something is going to happen in answer to our prayers . Faith may be easier to exercise when such feelings are present. Nevertheless, feelings of that sort never constitute faith. Faith is a response on our part, the obedient response of our wills to who God is and what He says. ...John White image by pamelaadam

Details of 100 million Facebook users published online

Users' personal information cannot now be made private, security consultant says
msnbc.com
posted July29, 2010

The personal details of 100 million Facebook users have been collected and published online in a downloadable file, meaning they will now be unable to make their publicly available information private.

However, Facebook downplayed the issue, saying that no private data had been compromised.

The information was posted by Ron Bowes, an online security consultant, on the Internet site Pirate Bay.

Bowes used code to scan the 500 million Facebook profiles for information not hidden by privacy settings. The resulting file, which allows people to perform searches of various different types, has been downloaded by several thousand people.

This means that if any of those on the list decide to change their privacy settings on Facebook, Bowes and those who have the file will still be able to access information that was public when it was compiled. the rest

Details of 100m Facebook users collected and published
"In a statement to BBC News, Facebook said that the information in the list was already freely available online."

Yes, Elite Colleges Are Biased Against Poor Whites

July 28, 2010
Posted by John Leo

If damaging evidence against affirmative action turns up in a pro-affirmative action book, the author often explains it away as misunderstood or exaggerated. This has happened once again, this time to a book that made no splash when it was published last October, but drew attention here at Minding the Campus in criticism that spread to Ross Douthat's column in The New York Times, Pat Buchanan's syndicated column and now Time magazine.

The book is No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, a careful study of admission practices at eight unnamed elite colleges by Princeton sociologist Thomas J. Espenshade and a research associate, Alexandria Walton Radford. Writing here on July 12th in an article headlined, "How Diversity Punishes Asians, Poor Whites and Lots of Others," Russell K. Nieli of Princeton wrote that the book reported an immense admissions disadvantage to Asians (because admissions officers think there are already too many in the best colleges) and poor whites, who are penalized by favoritism, not only for blacks and Hispanics, but also for whites with middle-class and upper-class backgrounds. None of the criticism that greeted Nieli's article has focused on the anti-Asian bias. All of it has dealt with the slim chances of poor whites at the most selective colleges. the rest

An Antidote to the 'Acting White' Phenomenon: Segregated Schools?
Back in the day, African-American kids didn't think it was a crime to be young, gifted and black...

Episcopal Head: See Diversity as Blessing

Thu, Jul. 29 2010
By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter

"If there's no conflict, it means that we're dead," said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. "There has always been push and pull in the church. It's a sign that the diversity among us is passionate and that is a gift from God, not something to be squelched."

The Seattle native was addressing Episcopalians and the wider public in the first of a series of webcast conversations, which have been designed to foster better understanding in the church and to address current issues.

Jefferts Schori had just returned from a meeting in London involving a number of Anglican primates – chief bishops of the Anglican Communion's 38 provinces – and others on the Standing Committee. During the July 23-27 meeting, committee members rejected a proposal that The Episcopal Church be separated from the rest of the global body. Cutting the U.S. church would inhibit dialogue on sexuality issues and therefore would be unhelpful, they agreed. the rest

Diversity is a blessing, she made clear on Wednesday, and her goal as presiding bishop is to help others recognize that.

Buffett, the Times, and the Weeping Abortionist

By Ken Blackwell
7.28.10

It can't be news that the Gray Lady -- the unofficial title of the New York Times -- is militantly pro-abortion. It might even be called a house organ of the abortion lobby.

But a recent lengthy story in the Times ("The New Abortion Providers," July 12, 2010) is a goldmine of information for pro-lifers about this execrable traffic.

Did you know that Warren Buffett has given $3 billion -- yes, three billion dollars -- to promote abortion here in the U.S. and around the world? Often, government officials in developing countries are under pressure to control population in order to qualify for international aid. So they pressure women in the villages to get abortions. Western Europe is especially strong in pushing for abortion in these developing countries. the rest

Congressional Research Service Report: Health Care Bill Allows Abortion Funding

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 28, 2010
Washington, DC

(LifeNews.com) -- The Congressional Research Service has released a new report verifying the analysis the pro-life movement gave about the national health care bill President Barack Obama signed into law. The CRS report affirms the national health care program will contain abortion funding despite protests to the contrary.

The report indicates one of the provisions of the ObamaCare law allowing abortion funding is the one setting up new health insurance exchanges by 2014.

Before those go into effect, states are setting up state-based high risk health insurance pools operated with federal funds to cover people with pre-existing conditions who may not otherwise qualify for most health care plans. the rest

Abortion Rights Becoming A Factor In Several State Elections

Two Christians Play Dead to Survive Attack in India

Suspected Hindu extremists accuse them of ‘forced conversion.’
Wed, Jul. 28 2010
Shireen Bhatia

NEW DELHI (Compass Direct News) – Two evangelists said they survived an attack in Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh, by playing dead last week when suspected Hindu extremists surrounded them and severely beat them.

The six assailants accused Mahindra Kharoley, 20, and 30-year-old Munshi Prasaad Bahey of “forced conversion.”

The two evangelists were bicycling to their home village of Susua following a prayer meeting at Dunda Sivni, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Balaghat district, when the attackers on two motorbikes, with their faces covered, attacked them in Bhalwa village at around 10 p.m. on July 20. The assailants did not wait for them to respond to the charges of forced conversion before they began hitting and kicking them, the evangelists said. the rest

New Russia Holiday Marked as Kremlin Boosts Church

By REUTERS
July 28, 2010

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia officially celebrated a new holiday on Wednesday marking its conversion to Christianity in 988, the latest Kremlin boost to an Orthodox Church that has grown increasingly powerful since the fall of Communism.

Rights groups have criticized the new holiday, approved by President Dmitry Medvedev in June, as undermining Russia's secular constitution and members of the country's large Muslim minority have complained that it excludes them.

Marking the anniversary, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, told state-run television: "Abandoning the historical significance of the baptism of Rus means discarding the supporting pillar of our entire civilization". the rest

Video: University makes diploma contingent on supporting gay rights

July 28, 2010
by Ed Morrissey

CNN has an interesting roundtable on the case of Jennifer Keeton, who has sued Augusta State University to keep from getting expelled for not repudiating her statements about homosexuality. Keeton expressed her biblical perspective on the subject in and out of class while working toward a degree in counseling, and the school mandated a “remediation plan” that appears to have required her to renounce her Christian doctrine in order to gain a diploma from the school. The school has responded that a bias against homosexuality would disqualify Keeton from certification, a position that would put most Christians in Keeton’s position.

Does this amount to a “thought police”? A religious test for education? Or does Keeton’s lack of diversity appreciation really make her unqualified for a degree and career in counseling?
the rest-interesting video discussion here

Another video:

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Expiration of Bush Tax Cuts Would Cost Families Thousands in 2011, Study Shows

July 28, 2010
FoxNews.com

Millions of families will be faced with thousands of dollars in tax increases if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire at the end of the year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

A preliminary report obtained by Fox News shows that several tax increases would hit hard if Congress does nothing to minimize the damage before Dec. 31.

The study found that raising just the lowest income tax rate from 10 percent to 15 percent would cost 88 million taxpayers an average of $503 next year. the rest

Devotional: Do you think, Christian, that you can measure the love of Christ?

Do you think, Christian, that you can measure the love of Christ? Think of what His love has brought you--justification, adoption, sanctification, eternal life! The riches of His goodness are unsearchable; you will never be able to tell them out or even conceive them.

Oh, the breadth of the love of Christ! Shall such a love as this have half our hearts? Shall it have a cold love in return? Shall Jesus' marvelous lovingkindness and tender care meet with but faint response and tardy acknowledgment? O my soul, tune your harp to a glad song of thanksgiving! Go to your rest rejoicing, since you aren’t a desolate (solitary, joyless, and without hope) wanderer, but a beloved child, watched over, cared for, supplied, and defended by your Lord. ...CH Spurgeon image by Scott Schram

Global south becoming more influential in church, study says

27 July 2010

A new study shows that the ‘global south’ is gaining more power in Christianity and may redefine Christian culture in the 21st century.

The study by Oxford Analytica says that church leaders from the global south, namely Africa, Latin America and Asia, are becoming more outspoken and have gained more influence in Protestant and Catholic churches globally, according to their website.

The study also notes that the global south is more traditional, and has been outspoken against liberals and progressives in both churches, their website says.

The global south shift is being referred to by mission circles as “reverse-mission agenda,” Forbes says. They note that more missionaries are coming from India, Latin America and Africa, and are heading to Europe.

The global south is also becoming more active in South Asia and the Middle East. Of note too is that many church leaders from the U.S. and Europe come from the south, and are forming the laity and clergy of Methodists, Lutheran, Episcopal and Catholic churches, Forbes said. the rest image

Bugs Bunny: 70 Years Old

By Angela Wang
Epoch Times Staff
Jul 27, 2010

Bugs Bunny, the iconic jokester rabbit, turned 70 on Tuesday. Celebrated cartoonist Tex Avery is credited with creating Bugs Bunny in 1940.

The famed rabbit made his debut on July 27, 1940, asking, “What’s up, Doc?” in a “A Wild Hare,” where he was joined up with perennial nemesis Elmer Fudd, leading Bugs to engage in years of confusing and confounding Fudd with his tricks and traps.

Bugs appeared in numerous films and cartoon shows thereafter, becoming arguably the most famous cartoon character after Mickey Mouse. TV Guide named Bugs Bunny the greatest cartoon character of all time in 2002. the rest

Albert Mohler: Marry Outside the Faith? The Logic of Christian Marriage

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Statistics indicate that a growing number of Americans are marrying someone from outside their own religious commitments. Is this a trend we should encourage? Not if you are committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The statistical trend is clear enough, but the question is more complex than may first appear. The Washington Post reported on June 6, 2010 that 25 percent of American households were mixed-faith in 2006, according to the General Social Survey. That represents a significant increase from the 15 percent of such households in 1988.

But, what does mixed-faith mean? It could mean the mixing of relatively similar Christian denominations, or it might mean the mixing of two very different systems of belief. the rest image by Jeff Belmonte

Court Upholds Dismissal of Counseling Student Who Would Not Counsel Gays

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Religion Clause

In Ward v. Wilbanks (ED MI, July 26 2010), a Michigan federal district court upheld Eastern Michigan University's dismissal of a student from its graduate program in counseling because of her objections to counseling clients on their same-sex relationships, in violation of professional counseling standards. Julea Ward's Christian beliefs precluded her from affirming relationships which she believed were inconsistent with Biblical teachings. The court concluded that the university's policy is not a speech code, but is an integral part of the curriculum. It held that in a university setting, restricting or compelling speech that occurs in a classroom as part of the curriculum will be upheld so long as it serves a rational pedagogical purpose. According to the court:

The University had a rational basis for adopting the ACA Code of Ethics into its counseling program, not the least of which was the desire to offer an accredited program. Furthermore, the University had a rational basis for requiring its students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values. In the case of Ms. Ward, the University determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs - including homosexual relationships. The University offered Ms. Ward the opportunity for a remediation plan, which she rejected. Her refusal to attempt learning to counsel all clients within their own value systems is a failure to complete an academic requirement of the program. the rest

Democrats Fail to Stop Filibuster Against DISCLOSE Act Pro-Life Groups Oppose

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 27, 2010
Washington, DC

(LifeNews.com) -- Democrats failed on Tuesday to get enough votes to stop a Republican filibuster against the DISCLOSE Act. That's the campaign finance reform bill pro-life groups oppose because they say it would place stringent limits on their ability to communicate to the public about legislation and elections.

Senate Republicans are filibustering the legislation and Democrats held a cloture vote this afternoon where they need 60 votes to be able to stop the filibuster and move towards a vote on the bill itself.

However, they were unable to peel off any Republicans to support the cloture vote and lost by a 57-41 margin. the rest

"The DISCLOSE Act seeks to protect unpopular Democrat politicians by silencing their critics and exempting their campaign supporters from an all-out attack on the First Amendment,” McCon­nell said. “In the process, the authors of the bill have decided to trade our constitutional rights away in a backroom deal that makes the Cornhusker Kickback look like a model of legislative transparency.”

Attacks on Christians in Pakistan continue

28 July, 2010

Pakistan (MNN) ― A Catholic nurse trainee nearly died following an attack by a Muslim doctor, who allegedly raped her and threw her from a hospital's fourth-floor window this month.

Compass Direct News reports that the student nurse told media and rights groups that on July 13 several Muslim men, led by Dr. Abdul Jabbar Meammon, beat and raped her, and then threw her from the window of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) to keep her from revealing the abuse.

Meammon, who had taken over a room in the all-female wing of the hospital, has a history of abusing Christian nurses, said a hospital administrator. Dr. Seemi Jamali, chief of JPMC's Emergency Department, told Compass that Meammon had been suspended from the hospital seven times for drinking alcohol on the job and other misbehavior, and that he was drunk when he assaulted Ashraf. the rest

Kansas Board May Discipline Late-term Abortion Associate of George Tiller

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 27, 2010
Topeka, KS

(LifeNews.com) -- The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts has filed an eleven-count recommendation that late-term abortion practitioner Ann Kristin Neuhaus be disciplined. Neuhaus allegedly violated the Healing Arts Act concerning abortion referrals she made to late abortion practitioner George Tiller.

In October 2006, Operation Rescue staffer Cheryl Sullenger filed a complaint with the medical board concerning an improper financial relationship between Tiller and Neuhaus that violated Kansas law. the rest

Anglican Panel Rejects Proposal to Cut Episcopal Church

Tue, Jul. 27 2010
By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter

A 15-member committee that includes the Archbishop of Canterbury recently rejected a proposal that The Episcopal Church be separated from the rest of the global Anglican Communion.

During closed sessions on Saturday, members of the Standing Committee acknowledged the anxieties felt in parts of the global body about sexuality issues but agreed that separation would inhibit dialogue on the issue and would therefore be unhelpful, according to the church body's news service.

The proposal was brought by Dato' Stanley Isaacs from the Province of South East Asia. It came months after The Episcopal Church – the U.S. body of Anglicanism – ordained its second openly homosexual bishop. The Rev. Mary Glasspool, a partnered lesbian, was consecrated as bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in May. the rest

Canadian Anglican Catholic group votes to unite with Rome

Vancouver, Canada
Jul 28, 2010

(CNA).- With “overwhelming support,” a recent meeting of leaders in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) voted to unite with the Roman Catholic Church through the Apostolic Constitution created by Pope Benedict XVI.

The ACCC, part of the Continuing Anglican Movement, is made up of more than two dozen congregations. Its Eighth Provincial Synod and Thirteenth Diocesan Synod were held simultaneously at the Rosemary Heights Retreat Center in Surrey, British Columbia.

The website VirtueOnline.org published a letter from Dean Shane B. Janzen detailing the event. the rest

Anglican faction to have a new church in capital region
By Kim Westad, Times Colonist
July 28, 2010

A new faction of the Anglican Church is to open today in Victoria, a third offshoot in the fractured church.

St. Mark's Traditional Anglican Church is to have its first service at 5 p.m. today at St. Ann's Chapel on Humboldt Street, with its own church location to be announced within the next month.
Just how many people will show up at the service and be part of the congregation isn't known. But with several local Anglican churches in the region closing and the rift in the church over the episcopal constitution, which was announced last October, there are Anglicans looking for a home, said Canon Stanley Sinclair of St. Mark's. the rest

Interview with Scott Ward about CANA court case

AnglicanTV

Devotional: The church may go through her dark ages...

The church may go through her dark ages, but Christ is with her in the midnight; she may pass through her fiery furnace, but Christ is in the midst of the flame with her. ...CH Spurgeon image by ezioman

ECLA: Nothing to see here, move along

GetReligion
Monday, July 26, 2010
Posted by Mollie

Last year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to change its doctrine to allow gay clergy in committed sexual relationships. The Associated Press ran a story about one of the consequences of that vote:

Seven pastors who work in the San Francisco Bay area and were barred from serving in the nation’s largest Lutheran group because of a policy that required gay clergy to be celibate are being welcomed into the denomination.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will add six of the pastors to its clergy roster at a service at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco on Sunday. Another pastor who was expelled from the church, but was later reinstated, will participate in the service. the rest

ASU student given remediation plan for opposing homosexual conduct

Story

A real nightmare: Bed bugs biting all over U.S.

More than 95 percent of exterminators across the country report infestations, new survey finds
by Lynn Bruno
posted July 26, 2010

Forget about fictional, glitter-skinned teen vampires. You’re far more likely to have your blood sucked by bed bugs.

The tiny, sneaky insects are spreading so rapidly across the United States that almost no region or area is unbitten, a new survey suggests. Calls to exterminators nationwide about bed bugs are up 57 percent nationwide in the last five years, according to a new survey by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky. More than 95 percent of 519 U.S. exterminators participating in the survey reported finding at least one bed bug infestation in the past year.

“Most cities have bed bug problems today,” says Michael F. Potter, University of Kentucky professor of Entymology and one of the co-authors of the study. "Any place you have a lot of people, or a lot of movement of people, you have bed bugs." the rest image

A.S. Haley: Standing Committee’s Latest Activities

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Excerpt:
According to its newly adopted articles, the "Standing Committee" is supposed "to have regard to the desirability of achieving so far as practicable regional diversity and a balance of representation between clergy and laity and between the genders." But as just listed, the Committee (of nine, not counting the Primate-elected members) has four episcopal members, two clergy members, and two lay members, of which five are men and three are women. (The ninth member, elected on the first day as described, will be identified only upon acceptance.) The listing by geography shows that none of the major African provinces of the Communion, with more than 60% of its total members, is even represented on the Committee. It follows that the current make-up of the Committee is designed to effectuate the will of a minority within the Communion.

the rest

Legal Challenges to Prayer on the Rise

By Lauren Green
July 23, 2010
FoxNews.com

Arizona school children are told they can't pray in front of the Supreme Court building ... Two University of Texas Arlington employees are fired for praying over a co-worker's cubicle after work hours ... In Cranston, R.I., a high school banner causes controversy when a parent complains it contains a prayer and demands that it be removed.

There are more legal challenges to prayer in the United States than ever before, says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist organization whose business is booming as Americans increasingly tackle church vs. state issues.

"We've never had more complaints about government prayer," Gaylor says. "We have just hired a second staff attorney in July. It's turned into a cottage industry for our attorneys." the rest

Redesigning Humans: Is It Inevitable?

7/22/2010
by Dr. Ray Bohlin

Excerpt:
I believe that being able to genetically redesign human beings is far closer than most people realize. Not only is the technology developing at an ever-increasing rate, but people are also far more willing to consider using such technologies than most would want to think.

I hope my tone in this article has indicated that I have deep reservations about this seemingly inevitable future. But why do I say this is inevitable? And why would I have reservations about taking this next step?

I believe that at least trying to alter ourselves genetically is inevitable because the technology is developing rapidly using animal models. And whatever we have done in animals, we eventually do in humans. The naturalistic worldview says quite strongly that we are just another animal species. If our understanding of our own genetics continues to increase and we gain the technology to correct our defects and faults, the naturalist says, Why not?! the rest

The Unpresidential President

Barack Obama has managed a rare feat: The longer he holds office, the more he diminishes in stature.
BY James W. Ceaser
August 2, 2010

From charisma to populism—this is the slippery slope down which Barack Obama has been sliding over the past two years. In June 2008, Obama the candidate described his nomination as “the moment when .  .  . our planet began to heal.” In June 2010, Obama the president promised his partisans he would find an “ass to kick.”

With the peculiar magic of his presidential campaign now a faded memory, Obama is shoring up support by the cruder method of divisive appeals. Long before the current (already hugely extended) campaign season began, Obama made it a practice to target opposition symbols (“the insurance industry,” “speculators,” “a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street,” the oil companies), call out and assail individual opponents (Rush Limbaugh, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner), and refer disparagingly to the Tea Party movement and Republicans in general (“this crowd”). More than a half-year before the midterm elections, he tried to revive his electoral base of “young people, African Americans, Latinos, and women” by taking a page from Al Gore’s 2000 campaign and embracing the shop-worn slogan, “I won’t stop fighting for you.”
the rest

Obama’s Lockerbie Problem
...In other words, the Obama administration, while ostensibly opposing any arrangement for al-Megrahi’s release, nonetheless favored releasing him over transferring him from a Scottish prison to a Libyan one...

Jordan: Muslim murders his 16-year-old niece in honor killing -- because she was a rape victim

July 25, 2010
Jihad Watch

In 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

"Jordanian shoots dead sex victim niece as 'honour killing,'" from Sapa, July 24 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

A Jordanian man confessed to killing his 16-year-old niece to save his family's "honour" after she was sexually assaulted, a judicial official said today.

The 43-year-old fired 30 machine-gun rounds in the direction of the girl yesterday, killing her instantly, at Deir Alla, west of the capital Amman, said the official who requested anonymity. the rest

Sweden: Attack Against the Synagogue in Malmö Revives Threat Concerns for the Jewish Community.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

In the early morning hours on Friday a large explosion was reported outside Malmö’s synagogue. The explosion is suspected to have been caused by a substantial firecracker and is seen as an attack on the synagogue. The attack can also be seen as a resurgence of the threat against the Malmö Jewish community.

Some minutes before 2am the night between July 22nd and the 23rd a big explosion was reported outside the synagogue in Malmö. Residents living close to the synagogue reported that an explosion was heard and there was also a very bright flash. Spokesperson for the police, Göran Billberg commented that the explosion most probably was due to “some kind of firecracker”, and did not characterize the explosive as a bomb.

The local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported incorrectly that no damage was done to the synagogue; in fact the explosion was so strong that several of the synagogue windows were blown out by the blast. the rest

Schools ramp up the war on traditional Christian beliefs

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Friday, July 23, 2010
JOSEPH SILVERMAN

The reputation of Notre Dame University is under attack for the second time this year because a group of students were funded by the school to attend the National Equality March for gay rights in Washington last Sunday. Pro-life and Catholic organizations criticized the school for inviting President Obama to speak at its commencement ceremony in May and receive an honorary degree.

Universities claim to be havens for diversity, but this political correctness does not guarantee freedom of thought. Tolerance is reserved for those who stick to the liberal line. Those who deviate from the approved set of views can expect to be set upon by angry student activists and reproving academic bureaucrats.

Two recent examples of "thought crime" illustrate the academy's low level of tolerance for divergent views. The University of Illinois fired nontenured adjunct professor Ken Howell from teaching and also from a job at the on-campus Catholic center for correctly stating Catholic doctrine on homosexuality. Mr. Howell had been teaching courses such as Introduction to Catholicism and Modern Catholic Thought at the school for nine years. During the spring semester, he explained in an e-mail to a student that according to Catholic doctrine, "A homosexual orientation is not morally wrong just as no moral guilt can be assigned to any inclination that a person has. However, based on natural moral law, the Church believes that homosexual acts are contrary to human nature and therefore morally wrong."

A hypercritical student radical determined this was "hate speech" and complained to religion department head Robert McKim, who fired Mr. Howell. Apparently, the professoriat will condone no deviations from political correctness regardless of the context or the facts. The unavoidable message to student activists is that they need not go to the trouble of engaging in intellectual exchanges with those who disagree with them; they simply can have the other side of a debate tossed off campus. the rest

The New Abortion Pushers

by Gary Bauer
07/24/2010

Statistically, it’s been a rough few years for the abortion-rights crowd. The numbers of abortions, abortion providers and abortion facilities have declined, and numerous polls have discovered a majority pro-life America for the first time in decades.

Perhaps worst of all, the number of medical students training to perform abortions has plummeted. As Susan Hill of the National Women’s Health Foundation told the Washington Post last year, “Our doctors are graying and are not being replaced. …The situation is grave.”

Not that pro-lifers believe this is any time to relax. Abortion remains the most common surgical procedure for American women. And many of the pro-life political gains of the last decade are being rolled back by the most pro-abortion President and Congress in history. the rest

Lutherans Offer Warm Welcome to Gay Pastors

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
July 25, 2010

With a laying on of hands, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Sunday welcomed into its fold seven openly gay pastors who had until recently been barred from the church’s ministry.

The ceremony at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco was the first of several planned since the denomination took a watershed vote at its convention last year to allow noncelibate gay ministers in committed relationships to serve the church.

“Today the church is speaking with a clear voice,” the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, one of the seven gay pastors participating in the ceremony, said at a news conference just before it began. “All people are welcome here, all people are invited to help lead this church, and all people are loved unconditionally by God.” the rest

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Flash Brindisi" at Reading Terminal Market

April 24, 2010

CANA Council 2010 Ordinations

Three priests, all military chaplains, were ordained at the closing Eucharist at CANA Council on July 24, 2010 at Church of the Epiphany in Herdon, Virginia. Pictures by Raymond Dague.

Clergy waiting to begin.

Bp. David Anderson talking with clergy before the ordinations.

Clergy lining up to process into the church

Eucharist begins

The Gospel

Archbishop Robert Duncan preaches the homily

Bp. Minns conducts the Examination for the Presbyterate

Candidates

Ordination

Orthodox Anglicans Urged to Hold Fast to Sound Teaching

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Jul. 24 2010

"The Western world has become afraid or is unwilling to acknowledge that there is right and wrong – that there is good and evil," Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, primate of the Church of Nigeria, told members of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. "The West, Nations and Church, are disinheriting their Christian inheritance."

Okoh was bringing greetings to CANA members who gathered in Herndon, Va., this week for their annual council meeting. CANA was established by the Church of Nigeria three years ago for those who were discontent with the liberal direction of The Episcopal Church – the U.S. body of Anglicanism – but who still wanted to remain tied with the global Anglican Communion.

Currently, CANA has over 90 congregations and over 230 clergy in 34 states plus the District of Columbia and Canada. Also, as a founding partner of the Anglican Church in North America – which is seen as a rival body to The Episcopal Church – CANA helped establish two dioceses in the Great Lakes Region and around Atlanta.

Bishop Martyn Minns, who leads CANA, reminded members that they are in the midst of a crisis and "a tide of pollution" threatens the church. the rest

Canon Chris Sugden, General Synod: Women Bishops

AnglicanTV

AnglicanTV: Archbishop Duncan: Anglican Insights 2010

CANA Council 2010: Friday

July 23, 2010

Raymond and I are attending CANA Council 2010 at Church of the Epiphany, Herndon, Virginia. Below are links to Bp. Minns' and Archbishop Okoh's addresses to the Council and some pictures that Raymond took today and last evening.

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh's Address

Bishop Minns Address to Council

Bp. Minns addresses the attendees

Lining up for the New Beginnings Celebration service

Bp. Minns introduces Archbishop Okoh

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh

Bishop John Guernsey

Thursday evening service led by Bp. Bena

Rep. Chris Smith to Introduce “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”

Thursday July 22, 2010
By James Tillman
WASHINGTON, DC

(LifeSiteNews.com) - Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is planning to introduce the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" on July 29. If passed, this bill would establish as permanent many of the pro-life policies that currently rely on regular congressional re-approval, and which are attached as riders to annual appropriations bills.

"This 'as needed' approach," wrote Rep. Smith in a letter to his colleagues, "usually results in a debate over abortion funding anytime Congress considers health-related legislation."

Smith’s proposed legislation would make permanent the Hyde amendment, which prohibits funding for elective abortions through any program funded by the annual Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Act. the rest

Augusta State Univ. to counseling student: change your beliefs or get out

ADF attorneys file suit after university officials require counseling student to abandon her beliefs to get a degree
Thursday, July 22, 2010

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against Augusta State University Wednesday on behalf of a counseling student told that her Christian beliefs are unethical and incompatible with the prevailing views of the counseling profession. The student, Jennifer Keeton, has been told to stop sharing her beliefs with others and that she must change her beliefs in order to graduate from the counseling program.

Augusta State ordered Keeton to undergo a re-education plan, in which she must attend “diversity sensitivity training,” complete additional remedial reading, and write papers to describe their impact on her beliefs. If she does not change her beliefs or agree to the plan, the university says it will expel her from the Counselor Education Program.

“A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. Simply put, the university is imposing thought reform,” said ADF Senior Counsel David French. “Abandoning one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree. This type of leftist zero-tolerance policy is in place at far too many universities, and it must stop. Jennifer’s only crime was to have the beliefs that she does.” the rest

Priest Under Fire for Serving Communion to Dog

Thursday July 22, 2010
By Ron Csillag
TORONTO

(RNS) -- The Anglican Church in Canada is dealing with fallout following a published report that a priest gave Communion to a dog.

One congregant has quit St. Peter's Anglican Church in downtown Toronto in protest over the June 27 incident, in which interim priest Rev. Marguerite Rea gave Communion to a man and his dog.

The Toronto Star reports that according to those in attendance, it was a spontaneous gesture intended to make both the dog and its owner -- a first-timer at the church -- feel welcome.

Peggy Needham, a lay official who was sitting near the altar, said that when it was when it was time for Communion, the man went up to receive the bread and the wine, with the dog. the rest
Hear the one about the Anglican church and the dog?

This Shepherd can't get communion

Anti-Apartheid Hero Desmond Tutu to Retire

22 July 2010
Scott Bobb
Johannesburg

South African anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu says he will retire soon from public life. Tutu, who battled to end apartheid and later to promote peace and reconciliation, announced at a news conference Thursday he would retire from public life October 7th, on his 79th birthday.

He told reporters his schedule of public appearances had grown increasingly punishing. "Instead of growing old gracefully with my family, reading and writing and praying and thinking, too much of my time has been spent at airports and in hotels," said Tutu.

He said from October he would limit his time at the office to one day per week in order to wrap up his many public responsibilities. the rest

Devotional: Everywhere and always God is with us...

Everywhere and always God is with us, near to us and in us. But we are not always with Him, since we do not remember Him; and because we do not remember Him we allow ourselves many things which we would not permit if we did remember. Take upon yourself this task - to make a habit of such recollection. Make yourself a rule always to be with the Lord, keeping your mind in your heart, and do not let your thoughts wander; as often as they stray, turn them back again and keep them at home in the closet of your heart, and delight in converse with the Lord. ...Theophan image by coolmikeol

Civil Disobedience featuring Dr. Timothy George

Comments at Stand Firm

America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution

By Angelo M. Codevilla
The American Spectator
-from the July 2010 - August 2010 issue

As over-leveraged investment houses began to fail in September 2008, the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, of major corporations, and opinion leaders stretching from the National Review magazine (and the Wall Street Journal) on the right to the Nation magazine on the left, agreed that spending some $700 billion to buy the investors' "toxic assets" was the only alternative to the U.S. economy's "systemic collapse." In this, President George W. Bush and his would-be Republican successor John McCain agreed with the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. Many, if not most, people around them also agreed upon the eventual commitment of some 10 trillion nonexistent dollars in ways unprecedented in America. They explained neither the difference between the assets' nominal and real values, nor precisely why letting the market find the latter would collapse America. The public objected immediately, by margins of three or four to one.

When this majority discovered that virtually no one in a position of power in either party or with a national voice would take their objections seriously, that decisions about their money were being made in bipartisan backroom deals with interested parties, and that the laws on these matters were being voted by people who had not read them, the term "political class" came into use. Then, after those in power changed their plans from buying toxic assets to buying up equity in banks and major industries but refused to explain why, when they reasserted their right to decide ad hoc on these and so many other matters, supposing them to be beyond the general public's understanding, the American people started referring to those in and around government as the "ruling class." And in fact Republican and Democratic office holders and their retinues show a similar presumption to dominate and fewer differences in tastes, habits, opinions, and sources of income among one another than between both and the rest of the country. They think, look, and act as a class.
the rest-long, but well worth the read!

Since marriage is the family's fertile seed, government at all levels, along with "mainstream" academics and media, have waged war on it. They legislate, regulate, and exhort in support not of "the family" --meaning married parents raising children -- but rather of "families," meaning mostly households based on something other than marriage.

Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law

Amendment Slipped Into Health Care Legislation Would Track, Tax Coin and Bullion Transactions
By RICH BLAKE
July 21, 2010

Those already outraged by the president's health care legislation now have a new bone of contention -- a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny.

The issue is rising to the fore just as gold coin dealers are attracting attention over sales tactics.

Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will amend the Internal Revenue Code to expand the scope of Form 1099. Currently, 1099 forms are used to track and report the miscellaneous income associated with services rendered by independent contractors or self-employed individuals. the rest

Starting Jan. 1, 2012, Form 1099s will become a means of reporting to the Internal Revenue Service the purchases of all goods and services by small businesses and self-employed people that exceed $600 during a calendar year. Precious metals such as coins and bullion fall into this category and coin dealers have been among those most rankled by the change.

Methodists Study the Hallmarks of Healthy Churches

Monday July 19, 2010
By ALFREDO GARCIA

(RNS) What is the key to a healthy church? United Methodists have paid big bucks to find out.

As the sour economy and aging buildings wreak havoc on church budgets, United Methodists are trying to get ahead of the problem and assess the health of their congregations in a bid to reverse declining fortunes.

The church recently concluded a study of more than 32,000 Methodist congregations across North America, seeking the "key factors impacting vital congregations." The study surveyed everybody from bishops to district superintendents to people in the pews.

Working with New York-based Towers Watson consultants, researchers constructed a "vitality index" to measure each church and concluded "that all kinds of UMC churches are vital -- small, large, across geographies, and church setting." the rest

Report: Christians Unfairly Targeted by UK Hate Laws

Tue, Jul. 20 2010
By Jenna Lyle
Christian Today Reporter

LONDON – Christians in Britain are being unfairly targeted by laws intended to prevent religious hate crimes, a new report from Civitas warns.

The report, "A New Inquisition: Religious Persecution in Britain Today," criticizes the “oppressive oddity” of judicial attempts to regulate religious hatred.

The report was researched and written for the think tank by Jon Davies, former head of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Newcastle.

He warns that although the Blasphemy Law was abolished in 2008, it has re-emerged in the guise of the hate laws. the rest

The difficulty in clearly defining when a hate crime has been committed has resulted in confusion and judges have become “surrogate theologians,” essentially establishing a “theocracy by the backdoor.”

Sweden: The Stigma of Being a Housewife

By KATRIN BENNHOLD
July 20, 2010

STOCKHOLM — When the Swedish journalist Peter Letmark tried to track down a housewife for a series on 21st-century parents in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter recently, he failed.

“Housewives,” he explained, “are a near-extinct species in Sweden. And the few who still do exist don’t really dare to go public with it.”

In neighboring Norway, the Housewives’ Association changed its name to the Women and Family Association as its membership plummeted to 5,000 from 60,000. “The reference to housewife was just too embarrassing,” said the feminist economist Charlotte Koren of the Norwegian Institute of Social Research, a former member and mother of two.

When it is no longer socially acceptable to be a housewife — or homemaker, in modern American parlance — has feminism overshot its objective? the rest

Across the developed world, women who stay home are increasingly seen as old-fashioned and an economic burden to society. If their husbands are rich, they are frequently berated for being lazy; if they are immigrants, for keeping children from learning the language and ways of their host country.

Quinnipiac: Obama Approval Drops To Lowest Point Ever

Independent Voters Turn On President Since Honeymoon
July 21, 2010

A year after President Barack Obama's political honeymoon ended, his job approval rating has dropped to a negative 44 - 48 percent, his worst net score ever, and American voters say by a narrow 39 - 36 percent margin that they would vote for an unnamed Republican rather than President Obama in 2012, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 48 - 43 percent approval for Obama in a May 26 national poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University and a 57 - 33 percent approval last July, just before the political firestorm created by opposition to his health care plan galvanized political opponents and turned independent voters against him. the rest

WSJ: A Year After Honeymoon Ends, Whites, Men and Independents Desert Obama
It was a year ago this month that President Barack Obama began losing voters. In the 12 months since, he has had legislative victories that appear – especially in the case of health care – to have cost him large amounts of both political capital and political support.

So much for that 'conversation' on race
The election of Barack Obama, America’s first black president, was supposed to be a sign of our national maturity, a chance to transform the charged, stilted “national conversation” about race into a smarter and more authentic dialogue, led by a president who was also one of the nation's subtlest thinkers and writers on the topic.

Instead, the conversation just got dumber...