Scrolling around...August 1st, 2012

Chicago church leaders roast Rahm Emanuel over Chick-fil-A stance
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has ticked off the flocks by criticizing Chick-fil-A.
Days after the big city boss blasted the chicken chain over its president's stance on same-sex marriage, an influential Baptist minister and Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago struck back. The religious leaders, who support the traditional view of marriage, were incensed at Emanuel's claim that "Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago's values."...

Military Atheist Group Unhappy With Christian Majority Chaplaincy in VA Care
The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers say it is seeking an alternative to the services provided by Christian and other faith-based chaplains in VA hospitals and hospices. The group is campaigning for more secular humanist representatives for veterans – the equivalent of chaplains for non-believers...

Egypt's beleaguered Christians worry about persecution, neglect under Morsi
The past 18 months have been particularly trying for Egypt's Christians, who have clashed with Muslims and lost a religious leader. Now they wonder what life will be like under an Islamist president...

The Economist: Powerless-India’s power cuts
...As our briefing earlier this year shows, the entire supply chain is troubled. Not enough coal is being dug up by the state monopolist, Coal India. As a result, generating companies, which own power stations, face the prospect of buying expensive imported coal, with ruinous consequences for their finances. Many are in danger of going bust. As this week’s cuts have shown, the national transmission system that shifts power around the country needs modernisation and investment—some $110 billion according to a McKinsey study...

Coming soon, “The best book ever written on abortion”
...Quite simply, this is the best book ever written on abortion. Beautifully written, this is about the consequences of Roe v. Wade, as seen through the eyes of one woman, who tells a clear and compelling story with passion but without fanaticism. On a subject that is often heavy and depressing, this is a hard-hitting yet compassionate and moving book. Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought such a narrative could be done, only now it has been done...

The State Department and International Religious Freedom
First, the good news. The latest State Department Annual Report on International Religious Freedom (IRF), released July 30, has much to recommend it. Thanks to the Internet wizards at Foggy Bottom, the entire document, which covers almost 200 countries, is easier than ever to navigate. Moreover, the Annual Report is the world’s gold standard for a comprehensive catalogue of repression, discrimination, and persecution on the basis of religion. It is widely used by scholars, the media, and policy experts — and for good reason...

KARACHI: Christian leaders have called for an impartial inquiry into the alleged poisoning of nine nurses at a government-run hospital.
Nine Christian trainee nurses at the Civil Hospital Karachi fell ill Sunday night allegedly after drinking poisoned tea prepared at their hostel. They were claimed to have been deliberately poisoned because of their faith...

Taxpayers Funding Chevy Volt Village
Taxpayers are still on the hook for the GM bailout to the tune of about $42 billion. But that hasn’t stopped the automaker from teaming up with OnStar to create a village for Chevy Volt drivers called “Pecan Street.” It’s a planned community in Texas filled with “green homes” and Chevy Volts. But the taxpayer investment doesn’t end with the GM bailout. The Department of Energy has also ponied up some cash. It’s not even a loan, it’s a grant so it doesn’t have to be paid back...