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=================================== FEATURED ARTICLES Irish atheists want to be recognized in census Irish Central “Honest to Godless” has been launched by Atheist Ireland, a group devoted to the separation of church and state in Ireland. ... http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-atheists-want-to-be-recognized-in-census-113260599.html ATHEISM 3-day world atheist conference begins Times of India TIRUCHI: The eighth World Atheist Conference was kickstarted at Tiruchi on Friday with a call to counter the negative image of atheism. ... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/3-day-world-atheist-conference-begins/articleshow/7238566.cms LifePoints: Atheist explains pain, joy of 'one-way trip' The Huntsville Times - al.com (blog) As an atheist, I see no need to "explain" suffering: Pain and suffering are a byproduct of a natural world. There is no divine purpose behind suffering. ... http://blog.al.com/living-times/2011/01/lifepoints_atheist_explains_pa.html BOOKS, FILM, THEATRE, TV, YOU TUBE Bill O'Reilly Proves God's Existence - Neil deGrasse Tyson Comedy Central Bill O'Reilly proves the existence of God, but then Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how tides change... http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/370183/january-06-2011/bill-o-reilly-proves-god-s-existence---neil-degrasse-tyson EVOLUTION, CREATIONISM, I.D. State hearing officer: Mount Vernon teacher should be fired for pushing ... Columbus Dispatch The Mount Vernon School Board put John Freshwater on unpaid leave and voted in 2008 to fire him, saying he taught creationism and intelligent design, ... http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/08/state-hearing-officer-concludes-mount-vernon-teacher-should-be-fired_.html?sid=101 University of Kentucky Religious Discrimination Case Moving Forward Yahoo! News The website Evolution News and Views, known for favoring aspects of Intelligent Design, featured a piece stating they would not consider Gaskell a ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110108/tr_ac/7564488_university_of_kentucky_religious_discrimination_case_moving_forward "Creationism's evolving strategy" National Center for Science Education Warning, in the words of her subtitle, "Five years after a landmark court ruling against 'intelligent design,' evolution opponents are still on the prowl," ... http://ncse.com/news/2011/01/creationisms-evolving-strategy-006394 SCIENCE Origin of Life on Earth: 'Natural' Asymmetry of Biological Molecules May Have Come from Space ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2011) — Certain molecules do exist in two forms which are symmetrical mirror images of each other: they are known as chiral molecules. On Earth, the chiral molecules of life, especially amino acids and sugars, exist in only one form, either left-handed or right-handed. Why is it that life has initially chosen one form over the other?... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110107145634.htm Andromeda’s Once and Future Stars ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2011) — Two ESA observatories have combined forces to show the Andromeda Galaxy in a new light. Herschel sees rings of star formation in this, the most detailed image of the Andromeda Galaxy ever taken at infrared wavelengths, and XMM-Newton shows dying stars shining X-rays into space... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110105071149.htm Health Chip Gives Instant Diagnoses ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2011) — Soon, your family doctor will no longer have to send blood or cancer cell samples to the laboratory. A little chip will give her test results on the spot... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101213071117.htm Longstanding Mystery of Sun's Hot Outer Atmosphere Solved ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2011) — One of the most enduring mysteries in solar physics is why the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110106164621.htm Telescope Calibration May Help Explain Mystery of Universe's Expansion ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2011) — Is the expansion of the universe accelerating for some unknown reason? This is one of the mysteries plaguing astrophysics, and somewhere in distant galaxies are yet-unseen supernovae that may hold the key. Now, thanks to a telescope calibrated by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Harvard University and the University of Hawaii, astrophysicists can be more certain of one day obtaining an accurate answer... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110106145305.htm British Medical Journal Declares MMR Study 'an Elaborate Fraud' -- Autism Claims Likened to 'Piltdown Man' Hoax ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2011) — The British Medical Journal has declared the 1998 Lancet paper that implied a link between the MMR vaccine and autism "an elaborate fraud."... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110106145438.htm Newly Developed Cloak Hides Underwater Objects from Sonar ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2011) — In one University of Illinois lab, invisibility is a matter of now you hear it, now you don't. Led by mechanical science and engineering professor Nicholas Fang, Illinois researchers have demonstrated an acoustic cloak, a technology that renders underwater objects invisible to sonar and other ultrasound waves... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110105152004.htm How to Soften a Diamond ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2011) — After hundreds of years, researchers at the Fraunhofer IWM in Freiburg have managed to decode the atomic mechanism behind diamond grinding. It is the hardest material in the world, and yet it can not only be used to cut other materials, but can be machined itself. Already over 600 years ago first diamonds were cut and the same technique is still used to transform precious stones into exquisite jewelry and later into unrivaled industrial tools... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101129111742.htm Is the Hornet Our Key to Renewable Energy? Physicist Discovers That Hornet's Outer Shell Can Harvest Solar Power ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2011) — As every middle-school child knows, in the process of photosynthesis, plants take the sun's energy and convert it to electrical energy. Now a Tel Aviv University team has demonstrated how a member of the animal kingdom, the Oriental hornet, takes the sun's energy and converts it into electric power -- in the brown and yellow parts of its body -- as well... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110105102725.htm SEPARATION CHURCH / STATE Army's 'Spiritual Fitness' Test Angers Some Soldiers NPR Griffith wondered, "Is the Army saying my atheism makes me unfit to serve?" "There's nothing about this assessment that indicates that you are fit or not ... http://www.npr.org/2011/01/13/132904866/armys-spiritual-fitness-test-angers-some-soldiers Wabash courthouse nativity scene at center of debate WANE Cole said the FFRF's backbone of separation of church and state is an invalid argument. "The separation of church and state is not found in any of the ... http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/wabash-courthouse-nativity-scene-at-center-of-debate City Hall defends credit given to nativity scene, solstice groups Santa Monica Daily Press Vix said the credit extended this time around to a religious display is a violation of the separation of church and state and is urging City Hall to collect ... http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2011-01-07-71070.113116-City-Hall-defends-credit-given-to-nativity-scene-solstice-groups.html Appeals Court Says War Memorial Cross Is Unconstitutional Personal Liberty Digest ... said that the cross, which sits atop a monument dedicated to war veterans, violates the Constitutional provision of separation of church and state. ... http://www.personalliberty.com/news/appeals-court-says-war-memorial-cross-is-unconstitutional-800325224/ Tax-Exempt Ministries Avoid New Regulation New York Times But the suggestion outraged groups that advocate separation of church and state. The outcome of Mr. Grassley's investigation was disappointing to those who ... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/us/politics/08churches.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Activist Questions Church Waivers KHON2 ... to make sure that it doesn't perpetuate into the future,” said Mitchell Kahle, president of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church. ... http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Activist-Questions-Church-Waivers/95eEScxNvkK8S2rQRnYqdw.cspx Court: Refusing same-sex marriage violates constitution CTV.ca This fits perfectly with the situation that we now (supposedly) have: ie the separation of church and state. The church provides a marriage bond while the ... http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110110/sask-court-of-appeal-same-sex-marriage-ruling-110110/20110110/?hub=MontrealHome Senators recommend halt to floor session invocations Honolulu Star-Advertiser Mitch Kahle, president of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of Church and State, was acquitted of disorderly conduct in November. Kahle is suing the Senate ... http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110112_Senators_recommend_halt_to_opening-day_invocations.html# Hunter bill would OK religious symbols on military monuments San Diego Union Tribune December 1991: Federal Judge Gordon Thompson Jr. rules the cross violates the state constitution's guarantee of separation between church and state, ... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/12/hunter-bill-would-allow-religious-symbols-military/# US Army's Spiritual Fitness Questionnaire Questioned For Constitutionality ... Lez Get Real By 29 December, the atheist foundation had asked Secretary of the Army John McHugh for an immediate end to the spiritual evaluation within the Global ... http://lezgetreal.com/2011/01/us-armys-spiritual-fitness-questionnaire-questioned-for-constitutionality-appropriateness/ Moment of silence may be back Chicago Tribune Two weeks later, Buffalo Grove High School student Dawn Sherman and her father, atheist activist Rob Sherman, filed suit, saying the law ran afoul of the ... http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-moment-of-silence-0114-20110113,0,1818782.story MISCELLANEOUS Religion and Representation By CHARLES M. BLOW Increasingly, the face of religion in America is fluid, fluctuant, questioning, nonconformist and in many cases unaffiliated... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/opinion/08blow.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212 |