THE   FOCUS

MARCH 12, 2010
Volume 6, Issue 11
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.

Comments, suggestions and subscription:
info@centerforatheism.org.


 
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. 

CFA will accept and review suggestions from individuals and other secular organizations that will foster our goals.
 
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FEATURED ARTICLES 

Faith Diary: Faith Falls Down Under 
BBC News 
By Robert Pigott The world's leading atheists are travelling to Australia this month for a conference designed to show the world that atheism is a force to ... 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8555953.stm 

ATHEISM 

Atheists, agnostics to put ads on buses 
Detroit Free Press 
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO A group of atheists and agnostics hope to spread their views through public advertisements that are to start appearing today on public ... 
http://www.freep.com/article/20100304/NEWS05/3040391/1001/News/Atheists-agnostics-to-put-ads-on-buses 

Atheist guilty over cartoons left at Liverpool airport 
BBC News 
Anti-religious campaigners have condemned the conviction of a "militant atheist" who left rude images in Liverpool Airport's prayer room. ... 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/8549613.stm 

Group seeks to prove atheists can be giving too 
Atlanta Journal Constitution 
He believes atheists and others who don't believe in a higher power are at a disadvantage when it comes to supporting various charitable causes for one ... 
http://www.ajc.com/news/group-seeks-to-prove-347238.html 

Liberals, Atheists Are More Highly Evolved? 
National Geographic 
If that's the case, Kanazawa's conclusions only make sense if, say, being liberal or atheist also makes you more sexually attractive. (Take a Darwin quiz. ... 
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100303-liberals-atheists-smarter-evolution-evolved/ 

UTSA atheist group receives widespread attention for its 'smut' exchange 
UT The Daily Texan 
The fourth annual “Smut for Smut” event, hosted by the Atheist Agenda March 1-3, offered free pornography magazines like Playboy and Penthouse to students ... 
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/state-local/utsa-atheist-group-receives-widespread-attention-for-its-smut-exchange-1.2185168 

US Governor Assaults Atheist | Latest 
Join our Action Response Team to respond quickly to atheist discrimination and church-state entanglement threats when they arise! ... 
http://www.atheistalliance.org/Latest/US-Governor-Assaults-Atheist.html 

Bibles and porn, same difference ? 
The Observers 
A stand set up by students on the college campus of the University of San Antonio, Texas, caused quite a stir last week: a group of atheist students were ... 
http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20100309-trade-bibles-porn-usa-san-antonio-university-atheism-christians-smut 

Do Liberals, Atheists Have Higher IQs? 
BusinessWeek 
By Jennifer Thomas TUESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- People who consider themselves liberals or atheists tend to have higher IQs than those who are more ... 
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/636619.html 

Equality Bill guidance on protected beliefs 'confusing' for employers 
PersonnelToday.com 
This can include humanism and atheism. In addition, a belief does not need to include a faith or worship of a god, which can cover veganism. ... 
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/03/10/54591/equality-bill-guidance-on-protected-beliefs-confusing-for.html 

US creationists unswayed by evolution exhibition 
Telegraph.co.uk 
By Virginie Montet, in Washington for AFP The group included a biology major who didn't understand the principle of evolution. Each year, a group of biology ... 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7412606/US-creationists-unswayed-by-evolution-exhibition.html 

BOOKS, FILM, THEATRE, TV, YOU TUBE 

A Species Worthy of Survival 
East Hampton Star 
By Larry Penny (03/04/2010) Evolution, special creation, and intelligent design, what's it matter? Gluons, hadrons, and the 26 defined quarkish particles, ... 
http://www.easthamptonstar.com/dnn/Arts/Book/tabid/11439/Default.aspx 

Column: Going under cover, Atheist author joins Falwell's church to try to ... 
Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com 
Her parents were atheists and political liberals, and so was she. All she really knew about conservative evangelicals was that they were trying to change ... 
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/03/column_going_under_cover_athei.html 

RICHARD DAWKINS – THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH Opera House, March 7 
Sydney Morning Herald 
Dawkins noted that, as evidence against intelligent design, giraffes, like humans, have a nerve connection from the brain to the larynx that loops through ... 
http://direct.fairfax.com.au/hserver/SITE=ONL.MH.SMH.NEWS/AREA=NEWS.SMH.NATIONAL/CTYPE=ARTICLE/PAGEID=586181/ACC_RANDOM=126169/CAT=NATIONAL/ISIFRAME=YES/AAMSZ=1X1 

EVOLUTION, CREATIONISM, I.D. 

Lemur Mistaken For 'Missing Link' in Evolution 
Before It's News 
In an article now available online in the Journal of Human Evolution, four scientists present evidence that the 47-million-year-old Darwinius masillae is ... 
http://beforeitsnews.com/news/22034/Lemur_Mistaken_For_Missing_Link_in_Evolution.html 

Creationists seek to stop the teaching of global warming 
Mother Nature Network 
(Photo: Genista/Flickr) Critics of the teaching of evolution in science classrooms are now taking up a new strategy in forwarding their legislative agenda: ... 
http://www.mnn.com/family/education-activities/stories/creationists-seek-to-stop-the-teaching-of-global-warming 

State board undergoes political shift 
ReporterNews.com 
... as some of the most socially conservative members won't return, including some who supported teaching concepts like intelligent design in science class. ... 
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2010/mar/04/state-board-undergoes-political-shift/ 

Kamloops atheist group takes issue with how creationism is taught at Kamloops ... 
Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal 
According to a local atheist group, however, evolution is the way of the world and all publicly funded schools should teach as such. ... 
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/86407677.html 

Primary Elections Tip State Education Board's Balance of Power 
KERA 
George Clayton says, among other things, he does not think the strengths and weaknesses of evolution should be taught in science class... 
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1620142/North.Texas/Primary.Elections.Tip.State.Education.Board's.Balance.of.Power 

• Darwin foes add global warming to target ... 
Hamilton Spectator 
Critics of the teaching of evolution in America's classrooms are gaining ground in some states by linking the issue to global warming, arguing that ... 
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/733394 

Controversy over evolution over in Israel? 
National Center for Science Education 
In a letter released by Israel's ministry of education on March 3, 2010, Gavriel Avital promised to follow the ministry's policy on evolution and the ... 
http://ncse.com/news/2010/03/controversy-over-evolution-over-israel-005362 

Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution 
The Associated Press 
But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, ... 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h3x1DHDjafMujXt9RNwwH6ugU9NgD9E9AOV80 

Indonesian 'hobbit' challenges evolutionary theory 
The Associated Press 
Almost overnight, the find threatened to change our understanding of human evolution. It would mean contemplating the possibility that not all the answers ... 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gEFmNjBaCy9lw5R5z1xwPVPGB3ewD9E9J5V80 

Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution 
WSBT-TV 
By Jason Overholt LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Christian-based textbooks are dominant in a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 ... 
http://www.wsbt.com/news/regional/86850452.html 

The Monkey Bible Project's Teaching Evolution Contest 
Benzinga 
The Monkey Bible Project is sponsoring a Teaching Evolution Contest to promote imaginative and scientifically rigorous teaching of evolution that is ... 
http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/b161669/the-monkey-bible-project%E2%80%99s-teaching-evolution-contest 

Creationist takes on Dawkins 
Stuff.co.nz 
... now based in the United States, has written his own introduction to Darwin's groundbreaking work on evolution, where he argues for intelligent design. ... 
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/3421162/Creationist-takes-on-Dawkins 

'Intelligent design' supporters ready for Dawkins 
3News 
By Lachlan Forsyth Richard Dawkins, the world's most famous atheist and a scathing critic of creationist arguments, has arrived ahead of a nationwide ... 
http://www.3news.co.nz/Intelligent-design-supporters-ready-for-Dawkins/tabid/423/articleID/145482/Default.aspx 

SCIENCE 

New Imaging Technology Brings Trace Chemicals Into Focus 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010) — Arizona State Univeristy scientist N.J. Tao and his colleagues at the Biodesign Institute have hit on a new, versatile method to significantly improve the detection of trace chemicals important in such areas as national security, human health and the environment... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311141211.htm 

Biologists Find Proof of First Confirmed Species of Monogamous Frog 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010) — Amphibians may be a love 'em and leave 'em class, but one frog species defies the norm, scientists have found... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311192933.htm 

Fossil Bird Eggshell Provides Source of Ancient DNA 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010) — In a world first an international team of researchers, led by Dr Michael Bunce of Murdoch University, have successfully isolated ancient DNA from fossil eggshell remains of extinct birds... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100310211824.htm 

Calculations Made by Physicist Gustav Mie in 1908 Put to Test on Single Nanoparticles 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 13, 2010) — Calculations are fine, but seeing is believing. That's the thought behind a new paper by Rice University students who decided to put to the test calculations made more than a century ago... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100312173628.htm 

Mars Dunes: On the Move? 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 13, 2010) — New studies of ripples and dunes shaped by the winds on Mars testify to variability on that planet, identifying at least one place where ripples are actively migrating and another where the ripples have been stationary for 100,000 years or more... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184156.htm 

Scientists Identify Driving Forces in Human Cell Division 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2010) — If you can imagine identical twin sisters at rest, their breath drawing them subtly together and apart, who somehow latch onto ropes that pull them to opposite sides of the bed -- you can imagine what happens to a chromosome in the dividing cell... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100310091652.htm 

Quantum Dots Spotlight DNA-Repair Proteins in Motion 
ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2010) — Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands, and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Essex and the University of Vermont who tagged the proteins with quantum dots to watch the action unfold... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311123522.htm 

SEPARATION CHURCH / STATE 

Bishops want debate with Cabral on condoms 
GMA news.tv 
But Cabral shot back, saying there is a separation of Church and State. She also said the Church is partly to blame for blocking AIDS-prevention efforts. ... 
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/185496/bishops-want-debate-with-cabral-on-condoms 

Chaplain web page subject of complaint 
MyFox Tampa Bay 
SPRING HILL - A constitutional showdown over the separation of church and state is shaping up in the Spring Hill fire district in Hernando County. ... 
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/nature_coast/308-chaplain-website-subject-of-complaint 

Osceola meeting prayer not likely to change 
Orlando Sentinel 
In 2007, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington DC group, complained. At the time, the commission agreed to invite leaders of ... 
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/os-osceola-commission-prayer-20100309,0,7084870.story 

Online extra: Wedding Bell Blues: Advocacy group to share stories of DOMA's impact 
Bay Area Reporter 
The declaration calls for the recognition of separation of church and state, Catholic teaching on social justice, and the historic denial of civil rights ... 
http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4610 

Court: 'Under God' and 'In God We Trust' are constitutional 
USA Today 
The phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on US money do not violate the Constitution's separation of church and state, ... 
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/03/court-under-god-and-in-god-we-trust-are-constitutional-/1

Roswell Council won't pray before meetings 
NorthFulton.com 
Cobb County) that held the Cobb County Commission does not violate the US Constitution and the separation of church and state by conducting prayers before ... 
http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-c-2010-03-11-182471.114126-sub_Roswell_Council_wont_pray_before_meetings.html 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse  
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN 
Fifty-six years after its founding, the church is fighting off calls by former members for a reformation... 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/us/07scientology.html?th&emc=th 


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