Scrolling around...August 14, 2013

Imprisoned Pastor's Torture-Related Internal Injuries Growing Worse
The Iranian family of American pastor Saeed Abedini was once again able to visit him in Evin Prison in Iran. Despite previous threats from Iranian authorities that they would cut off Pastor Saeed’s visitation privileges, he was able to spend some brief time with his family on Monday.

Unfortunately, we have learned that Pastor Saeed’s internal injuries are causing him increased pain. He has been suffering from internal bleeding—the result of intense beatings he has sustained in prison for his faith...

German Companies To Automatically Encrypt Emails
 Two of Germany's biggest Internet service providers said Friday they will start encrypting customers' emails by default in response to user concerns about online snooping after reports that the U.S. National Security Agency monitors international electronic communications...

China: A new type of anti-abortion activist emerges
SLIGHTLY built and soft-spoken, Wang Lin hardly seems the typical activist. Nor is his cause a typical one in China: abortion, brutally used over 30 years to enforce China’s strict one-child policy. On August 2nd officials announced they would “propose plans to improve” the policy, another hint that they intend to scrap it eventually.

But Mr Wang’s objections are not to the coercion; he opposes abortion itself. His stance would be familiar to Americans, but it is rare in China. Many Chinese oppose the family-planning policy, he says, but as to whether abortion is ethical or not, “most Chinese do not give it a thought”... -The Economist

16-year-old girl became infertile from Gardasil vaccine: British Medical Journal
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) Case Reports journal has reported that a healthy 16-year-old Australian girl lost all ovarian function and went into menopause after being injected with the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil.

Dr. Deirdre Little, the Australian physician who treated the girl, provides solid evidence that Gardasil caused the destruction of the girl's fertility...

Military chaplains weathering ‘front wave’ of culture shift
...Recent months have brought challenges on many fronts as chaplains face navigating their ministry in light of the military's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the U.S. Supreme Court's abolishment of the Defense of Marriage Act and other religious freedom issues facing chaplains and members of the military.

The decisions and changes mean chaplains might be asked to perform marriages for same-sex couples as well as counseling, marriage retreats and funerals. There are also concerns about whether military chaplains will be able to quote certain Scripture passages without facing disciplinary action for offending homosexuals.

"Those of you serving in the military are at the front wave of what we are eventually going to be facing all over this country," Moore told the chaplains. "You are going to be dealing with some things that every community in the United States will be dealing with in a few short years."...

IRS probing thousands of small businesses, raises eyebrows in Congress
...“We want to reassure the relatively small number of business owners who receive these letters that the IRS is requesting information based on what the taxpayer reported on the return,” officials wrote in a statement sent to On Small Business, adding that the agency is “giving taxpayers the opportunity to explain and fix errors.”

Still, some lawmakers are taking issue with the tone of the letters and their apparent implication.

“This gives the impression that the IRS is looking for more than just additional information,” House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) wrote in a letter to the agency officials, noting that the first line states “your gross receipts may have been underreported,” which he says “implies that this is a serious matter that could lead to assessments of additional tax, penalties and interest.”...