THE   FOCUS
centerforatheism.org
         
  
  
  
  
 
         
  

AUGUST 6, 2010
Volume 6, Issue 31
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: 
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Comments, suggestions and subscription:
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FEATURED ARTICLES 

Judge overturns Calif. gay marriage ban 
Associated Press 
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge overturned California's same-sex marriage ban Wednesday in a landmark case that could eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry in America... 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hOiMLmsztmiGlNvjNLQLw4N41h1QD9HCTGHG0 

ATHEISM 

British Government may approve independent atheist public schools 
The Underground 
Michael Gove, education secretary of the UK, said that setting up atheist schools can be considered as part of the reforms he will make in his department. ... 
http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/07/british-government-may-approve-independent-atheist-public-schools-13195 

Group urges gay priests to leave the fold 
Los Angeles Chronicle 
An Atheist advocacy group has called upon Roman Catholic priests who are gay to resign from the church and reject the Vatican's repressive teachings on ... 
http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/view/172855 

Local atheists say they 'want a seat at the table' 
Charlotte Observer 
They are members of the Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics group. Regarding the billboard, "We didn't want anything aggressive," says Molly, center, ... 
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/01/1594263/local-atheists-say-they-want-a.html 

'Godless' billboard up on I-65 
WAVE 
No one is going to drive down the road, see that billboard and say, 'oh I'm now an atheist," Hensley said. But Hensley does hope to get people talking. ... 
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=12918894 

Billboard Battle Brewing In Bible Belt 
WLKY Louisville 
By Carissa Lawson/WLKY An atheist coalition in Louisville is using a billboard to reach out to other people who don't believe. The billboard, which reads, ... 
http://www.wlky.com/news/24516076/detail.html 

The Bright side 
Chico News & Review 
“We have members who are quite concerned with civics issues—the separation of church and state, the scientific validity of school curricula and similar ... 
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1468499 

Italian atheists lobby against church bells 
Hindustan Times 
PTI An Italian atheist group campaigning for a quiet life called for tighter restrictions on church bells ringing in the Tuscan town of Pisa, ... 
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Italian-atheists-lobby-against-church-bells/Article1-582797.aspx 

Atheist billboard greets state fair-goers 
Cincinnati.com 
It will also tout "famous atheists and freethinkers and their accomplishments," Hensley said. Edwords added: "Non-religious people sometimes don't realize ... 
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100805/NEWS0103/308050091/Atheist-billboard-greets-state-fair-goers 

BOOKS, FILM, THEATRE, TV, YOU TUBE 

Freud and Lewis, God and atheism 
Sarasota Herald-Tribune 
What could have happened if the atheistic Sigmund Freud had met the newly religious British writer CS Lewis three weeks before the Viennese doctor's death ... 
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100731/ARTICLE/7311058/2055/NEWS 

VIDEO: San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders: "All of us have won the battle today" 
San Diego Gay & Lesbian News 
It is really state-sanctioned apartheid,” he said. “Our federal Constitution guarantees the separation between church and state, and today's decision ... 
http://sdgln.com/news/2010/08/04/san-diego-mayor-jerry-sanders-all-us-have-won-battle-today 

Edinburgh Review: Jim Jefferies - Alcoholocaust 
Spoonfed 
... bit will no doubt work a lot better, but on the whole, British comedy punters are more than familiar with atheist material and happy to roll with it. ... 
http://www.spoonfed.co.uk/spooners/emma-422/edinburgh-review-jim-jefferies-alcoholocaust-3472/ 

EVOLUTION, CREATIONISM, I.D. 

Zoo with creationist agenda approved for schools 
New Scientist (blog) 
Most of its educational resources seem absolutely fine - but then you look at their discussion of evolution and it all goes wrong. ... 
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/08/creationist-zoo-approved-for-s.html 

SCIENCE 

Blowing in the Wind: Cassini Helps With Dune Whodunit on Saturn's Moon Titan 
ScienceDaily (July 31, 2010) — The answer to the mystery of dune patterns on Saturn's moon Titan did turn out to be blowing in the wind. It just wasn't from the direction many scientists expected... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729205552.htm 

Unexpected Viral 'Fossils' Found in Vertebrate Genomes 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — Over millions of years, retroviruses, which insert their genetic material into the host genome as part of their replication, have left behind bits of their genetic material in vertebrate genomes. In a recent study, published July 29 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, a team of researchers have now found that human and other vertebrate genomes also contain many ancient sequences from Ebola/Marburgviruses and Bornaviruses -- two deadly virus families... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729172330.htm 

Researchers Find New Translocation; Weak Spots in DNA Lead to Genetic Disease 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — A genetics research team based at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia continues to discover recurrent translocations -- places in which two chromosomes exchange pieces of themselves. As many as 1 in 600 persons carry balanced chromosome translocations, which involve no loss or gain of DNA. Most such people appear healthy, but may have a child with abnormal chromosome composition and disabilities resulting from disrupted, extra or missing copies of genes... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729122324.htm 

How Not to Blow Up a Molecule 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — High-charge-state ions in a molecule cause strong Coulomb forces, repulsive forces that try to blow its atoms apart. But the research team's crucial finding was that a way to produce only lower charge states in nitrogen molecules is with shorter pulse lengths, even though their peak power is higher... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100625101112.htm 

Rocks on Mars May Provide Link to Evidence of Living Organisms Roughly 4 Billion Years Ago 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — A new article in press of the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters unveils groundbreaking research on the hydrothermal formation of Clay-Carbonate rocks in the Nili Fossae region of Mars. The findings may provide a link to evidence of living organisms on Mars, roughly 4 billion years ago in the Noachian period... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729203027.htm 

Brown Dwarf Found Orbiting a Young Sun-Like Star 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — Astronomers have imaged a very young brown dwarf, or failed star, in a tight orbit around a young nearby sun-like star... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729172336.htm 

Key Enzyme in DNA Repair Pathway Identified 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — Researchers have discovered an enzyme crucial to a type of DNA repair that also causes resistance to a class of cancer drugs most commonly used against ovarian cancer... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729141138.htm 

Migrating Birds Can’t Control Themselves 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — During the spring and fall migratory seasons, sparrows become significantly less capable of resisting temptation. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience investigated impulse control and sleep in white-crowned sparrows during migratory and non-migratory seasons. During migratory periods, the birds slept very little and became more impulsive, but sleep loss itself was not entirely to blame for their impulsivity... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728193559.htm 

New Pathway to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases 
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — Although their genetic underpinnings differ, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease are all characterized by the untimely death of brain cells. What triggers cell death in the brain... 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729133436.htm 

SEPARATION CHURCH / STATE 

UI offers Kenneth Howell teaching job again 
Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette (blog) 
Prussing said that separation of church and state may have come up in the discussion, but it wasn'ta major factor in the decision. "We didn't get that lofty ... 
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/religion/2010-07-30/ui-offers-kenneth-howell-teaching-job-again.html 

Commissioner Troller Floats City Hall Prayer Idea, Modeled After LHS Students 
The Ledger 
The atheist group contends, among other things, that praying during the meetings breaks down the wall separating church and state. ... 
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100730/NEWS/7305104/1134?Title=Commissioner-Troller-Floats-City-Hall-Prayer-Idea-Modeled-After-LHS-Students 

Keep church and state separate: Secular Party candidate 
The Manly Daily 
Mr Cooke, who is a member of the Atheist Foundation of Australia and the Australian Skeptics, said his connection with the northern beaches came from ... 
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/keep-church-and-state-separate-secular-party-candidate/ 

10 months after updated prayer policy, potential for lawsuit looms 
Lodi News-Sentinel 
... religious leaders have greeted the Lodi City Council with Christian blessings, a Muslim prayer and even a call to civic responsibility from an atheist. ... 
http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_d076daa3-fdb2-5944-96c4-ba74b9ab2c75.html 

Devon council takes legal action over prayer row 
BBC News 
The NSS action was prompted by Bideford atheist councillor Clive Bone, who failed to have the prayers stopped. The society claims holding prayers before ... 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-10842605 

Woodruff Outlines Prayer Policy 
News Channel 7 
At issue is whether or not the practice violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The First Amendment to the US Constitution, ... 
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/jul/27/9/upstate-county-and-city-could-face-lawsuit-over-pr-ar-630819/ 

Lakeland bolsters invocation defense 
Sarasota Herald-Tribune 
By JOHN CHAMBLISS The Lakeland Ledger LAKELAND - In an attempt to strengthen its defense against the Atheists of Florida, the city plans to remove the word ... 
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100804/ARTICLE/8041040/2055/NEWS 

Prop 8 ruling drives strong religious reactions: Outrage to joy 
USA Today 
Barry Lynn head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State cheered the downfall of the referendum, which he says was a push by lavishly funded ... 
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/08/prop-8-proposition-8-california-gay-marriage-vaugh-walker/1

Secular coalition's billboard aimed at Kentucky State Fair-goers 
Louisville Courier-Journal 
The group's booth at the fair will provide information about local groups advocating for a secular world view and separation of church and state. ... 
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100804/NEWS01/308050007 

AP Exclusive: No gay adoptions, says GOP's Angle 
The Associated Press 
Asked on the program if the separation of church and state arises out of the Constitution, Angle answered "no." She said Thomas Jefferson is often misquoted ... 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5geEpDQcWSGxRY9s6cRMeOQiCPuDgD9HDLVGO0 

Reaction to ruling muted and mixed 
Ventura County Star 
Smith said the LGBT community always considered it a violation of the separation of church and state that faith would be involved in determining state law. ... 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/aug/04/reaction-to-ruling-muted-and-mixed/ 

Tough campaigning for tiny parties 
Sydney Morning Herald 
The Seculars, who advocate a strict separation of church and state, are contesting their first election as a registered party. ... 
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/tough-campaigning-for-tiny-parties-20100805-11jw2.html 

Angle's religious zeal criticized 
Las Vegas Review - Journal 
But it also opens her to attacks of "going too far," especially for those who believe in a strict separation of church and state. ... 
http://www.lvrj.com/news/angle-s-religious-zeal-criticized-100013054.html 

Lodi council lauds open prayer policy 
Modesto Bee 
... Creamer LODI — Lodi City Council meetings have opened with Christian blessings, a Muslim prayer and even a call to civic responsibility from an atheist ... 
http://www.modbee.com/2010/08/04/1281087/lodi-council-lauds-open-prayer.html 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Surrey skeptics shame astrologers 
BCLocalNews 
Despite being an atheist, Gill still respects the tenets and customs of Sikhism, including those of the Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, a print of whom is in ... 
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/99889744.html 

Westboro member facing trial 
Omaha World-Herald 
Luckily, no one else does, and thank goodness for separation of church and state. Lady, I'm pretty sure YOU are going to hell. Phelps-Ropers eleven children ... 
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100804/NEWS97/708059860/1009364 

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