THE   FOCUS

November 09, 2008
Volume 4, Issue 45
Published by the Center For Atheism (CFA)
Editor: David Birnkrant
 
The Focus provides links to articles collected from major newspapers and magazines, and is emailed weekly.

This Week in Atheism is a cable show that discusses the articles featured below, every Wednesday at 6:30 PM (EST), Manhattan Cable station 57. 
Live streaming is available at: http://www.mnn.org.

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FEATURED ARTICLES

REGION: County clerk ceases issuing licences for same-sex couples
North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
I struggle with how I will tell my children that half of California preaches hate in the name of God, and how separation of church and state has failed us. ...
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/sandiego/z1fc40568101d0cfb882574f8007ce1bc.txt

Third of teachers believe creationism should have the same ...
National Secular Society - London,UK
Nearly a third (31.1%) of teachers agree that creationism or intelligent design should be given the same status as evolution in the classroom, according to ...
http://www.secularism.org.uk/103188.html

Protests erupt over passage of Prop 8
Socialist Worker Online - Chicago,IL,USA
Some held signs reading, "I woke up with less rights than I had yesterday" and "Separation of hate and state. No on Prop 8!" One speaker told the crowd: "We ...
http://socialistworker.org/2008/11/07/protests-erupt-over-prop-8

Legal battle continues over crosses for slain troopers
OneNewsNow - Tupelo,MS,USA
However, the American Atheist Association filed suit, claiming violation of separation of church and state -- which is not part of the US Constitution. ...
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=310078

 
 
News Articles
  (Some publications may require that you sign up for membership to view their article.)

 

ATHEISM

Atheist group brings roadside ad to Springs
Colorado Springs Gazette - Colorado Springs,CO,USA
A Wisconsin-based atheist group brought its message to Colorado Springs Wednesday in the form of a billboard proclaiming "Imagine No Religion. ...
http://www.gazette.com/articles/billboard_42928___article.html/religion_group.html

Anti-religion agenda among social media users
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
Zak Madden, a 16-year-old atheist from Battle Ground, Wash., submitted a picture to Digg last week of a Blu-Ray box for a film called "Jesus Christ: Vampire ...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/11/atheism-digg-re.html

Atheist, anti-creationist blogger comes to Guelph
Ontarian - Guelph,ON,Canada
The American culture war came to U of G last Saturday when biologist, outspoken atheist and anti-creationist blogger PZ Myers held a discussion on campus. ...
http://theontarion.ca/viewarticle.php?id_pag=2012

Uni deny rift over honour for atheist
Huddersfield Examiner - Huddersfield,UK
REPORTS of a row over a university award for Britain's most prominent atheist have been rubbished. Huddersfield University gave Prof Richard Dawkins an ...
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2008/11/06/uni-deny-rift-over-honour-for-atheist-86081-22195926/

BOOKS, FILM, THEATRE, TV, YOU TUBE

How NOT to Oppose Prop 8
PoliGazette - Netherlands
Jason, Managing Editor: First, atheism ≠ anti-theism. Maher et al are not just atheists, they are anti-theists. Try... Tully: Barack Obama and Joe Biden ...
http://www.poligazette.com/2008/11/03/how-not-to-oppose-prop-8/

Search This Blog using Google
ScienceBlogs - USA
The headline over Raw Story (a liberal news site) is: "GOP senator lobs false atheism smears in desperate attempt to hold seat." So Liddy Dole, the absentee ...
http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2008/11/freethinker_sunday_sermonette_123.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink

EVOLUTION, CREATIONISM, I.D.

Stephen Hawking to address Vatican conference on evolution
Times Online - UK
Last month, the Vatican said the theory of evolution was compatible with the Bible but there was no need for a posthumous apology to Charles Darwin, who, ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5054745.ece

Vatican evolution congress to exclude creationism, intelligent design
The Westender - Brisbane,Queensland,Australia
Speakers invited to attend a Vatican-sponsored congress on the evolution debate will not include proponents of creationism and intelligent design, ...
http://www.westender.com.au/news/222

SCIENCE

Sea Urchin Yields Key Secret Of Biomineralization
ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2008) — The teeth and bones of mammals, the protective shells of mollusks, and the needle-sharp spines of sea urchins and other marine creatures are made-from-scratch wonders of nature...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081027174634.htm

Scientists Identify Machinery That Helps Make Memories
ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2008) — A major puzzle for neurobiologists is how the brain can modify one microscopic connection, or synapse, at a time in a brain cell and not affect the thousands of other connections nearby. Plasticity, the ability of the brain to precisely rearrange the connections between its nerve cells, is the framework for learning and forming memories...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030123821.htm

A Pretty Face Can Make A Difference In Whom You Vote For
ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2008) — First it was Hillary Clinton, and now Sarah Palin. Everyone is talking about the year the glass ceiling finally cracked, if not shattered, in U.S. politics...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030203237.htm

Hubble Back In Business: Pair Of Gravitationally Interacting Galaxies In Full View
ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2008) — The Hubble Space Telescope is back in business with a snapshot of the fascinating galaxy pair Arp 147. Just a couple of days after the orbiting observatory was brought back online, Hubble aimed its prime working camera, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), at a particularly intriguing target, a pair of gravitationally interacting galaxies called Arp 147...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030102614.htm

More Hidden Territory On Mercury Revealed By MESSENGER Spacecraft
ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2008) — A NASA spacecraft gliding over the battered surface of Mercury for the second time this year has revealed more previously unseen real estate on the innermost planet. The probe also has produced several science firsts and is returning hundreds of new photos and measurements of the planet's surface, atmosphere and magnetic field...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030091153.htm

New Model Predicts A Glacier's Life
ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2008) — EPFL researchers have developed a numerical model that can re-create the state of Switzerland's Rhône Glacier as it was in 1874 and predict its evolution until the year 2100. This is the longest period of time ever modeled in the life of a glacier, involving complex data analysis and mathematical techniques. The work will serve as a benchmark study for those interested in the state of glaciers and their relation to climate change...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029104258.htm

'Living Fossil' Tree Contains Genetic Imprints Of Rain Forests Under Climate Change
ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2008) — A "living fossil" tree species is helping a University of Michigan researcher understand how tropical forests responded to past climate change and how they may react to global warming in the future...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030192853.htm

New Supercomputer Can Do 50 Trillion Operations Per Second
ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2008) — In less time than the blink of an eye, the Translational Genomics Research Institute's new supercomputer at Arizona State University can do operations equal to every dollar in the recent Wall Street bailout...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029084044.htm

SEPARATION CHURCH / STATE

Steve Young lines up against Mormon church on Prop. 8
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
It's almost like he believes there should be a separation between church and state... Way to stand up for civil rights, Steve & Barb! ...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=32216

Voters, church leader speak out against Dole's `godless' ad
The Miami Herald - FL,USA
"The separation of church and state is important to me. That was sort of a last-ditch effort to bring religion into it to try to galvanize that part of the ...
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/750819.html

Politics and the pulpit ----federal law bars endorsements
Dailyrecord.com - Parsippany,NJ,USA
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State alleged that Serratelli, in a column written for the diocese newspaper and posted on its Web site, ...
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081102/COMMUNITIES/811020334

Incumbents sweep Texas downballot races
Dallas Morning News - Dallas,TX,USA
By PAUL J. WEBER / AP If the State Board of Education next year revisits how evolution is taught in Texas schools, the same faces on the often sharply ...
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D948LIRG1.html

State education board members out to early leads
Dallas Morning News - Dallas,TX,USA
The education board will tackle science curriculum standards next year, which observers say may open the door for intelligent design supporters. ...
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D948GF500.html

Obama presidency could impact make-up of supreme court
guardian.co.uk - UK
... share his views on abortion, constitutional rights of terrorism suspects, separation of church and state, and other contentious social and legal issues. ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/05/barack-obama-supreme-court

Religious Right Power In Washington Is Greatly Diminished, Says ...
Americans United - Washington,DC,USA
Those of us who value church-state separation must remain on the alert to counter the Religious Right's next gambit." Americans United is a religious ...
http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr001=w5vdr9oms6.app13a&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=10131&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241

Obama narrows 'God gap'
Lower Hudson Journal news - West Harrison,NY,USA
... one that profoundly respects the separation of church and state and profoundly respects the religious personality and predisposition," Kula said. ...
http://www.lohud.com/article/2008811060456

One in three teachers says teach creationism alongside evolution
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
One in three teachers believes schoolchildren should be taught that creationism is just as valid as evolution, according to a survey. ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/education/secondaryeducation/3393175/One-in-three-teachers-says-teach-creationism-alongside-evolution.html

Put creationism on a par with evolution
Times Online - UK
Nearly a third of teachers believe that the theories of creationism and intelligent design should be given the same status as evolution in the classroom, ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article5102059.ece

The battle for or against Proposition 8 continues
Porterville Recorder - Porterville,CA,USA
"I voted yes because I believe in separation of church and state," Culver said. "In this case, if the proposition didn't pass, if a gay couple came to a ...
http://www.recorderonline.com/news/battle_38905___article.html/continues_proposition.html

 

MISCELLANEOUS

None
 

 
             
 
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The Center for Atheism (CFA) was established by the New York City Atheists as a separate and independent national organization to propose, develop, and be a catalyst for new national activities supporting the objectives of atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, secularists and separation-of-church-and-state advocates. 

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          Please scroll down to the third embedded You Tube clip in the article entitled "Search This Blog using Google" to find some irreverently funny comedy from our own champion of Atheism, Mr. Bill Maher.
 
 
 
 
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