FEATURED ARTICLES
Published by the Center For Atheism (CFA)Editor: David Birnkrant
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.
===================================
Activities of council candidates' church draw criticism
NewsOK.com
Asking the congregation to pray for political campaigns should cost the church its tax-exempt status, said Mike Fuller, president of the Oklahoma City chapter of the Americans for Separation of Church and State. "That's a violation in my opinion of the ...
http://newsok.com/activities-of-council-candidates-church-draw-criticism/article/3544301?custom_click=masthead_topten#
ATHEISM
Pluralism week leaves out nonbelievers
Student Life
Students who identify as atheist or agnostic have voiced resentment over not being included in the programming for the second annual Pluralism Week at Washington University. The week, which ends Sunday, introduced a variety of lectures and events for ...
http://www.studlife.com/news/campus-events/2011/02/25/pluralism-week-leaves-out-nonbelievers/
A Group for Secular Students Finds Its Way on a Christian Campus
Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)
But Mr. Frieda calls himself an agnostic atheist—he is willing to say that there is no God, but not that he can prove it—and he wasn't sure how that view would go over. "When the entire class agrees on a topic and you don't, it's hard to raise your ...
http://chronicle.com/article/A-Group-for-Secular-Students/126518/#
'Threats' prompt atheist rep to cancel meeting
Branford News
Live Oak — A scheduled meeting between the leader of a Lake City-based atheist group and the Suwannee superintendent of schools was canceled for fear of violence, according to Randy Lewis, director of Atheists of North Florida. ...
http://suwanneedemocrat.com/suwannee/x1709535973/-Threats-prompt-atheist-rep-to-cancel-meeting
BOOKS, FILM, THEATRE, TV, YOU TUBE
In Your Words
The Guardian
In Europe atheism or agnosticism is pretty much the majority. People who 'believe' only pay lip service to a religion, most likely only because their parents were part of that religion, they do not understand what their religion stands for or means. ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/feb/27/1
Comedy: Richard Herring at Radius, Peterborough
Peterborough Today
“I see myself as an atheist with an odd obsession. I was brought up as a Christian and believed it for a while but then I started to turn against it.” Richard first performed the Christ on a Bike 10 years ago, when he was 33. Prior to that he was famed ...
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/lifestyle/culture_2_1843/comedy_richard_herring_at_radius_peterborough_1_2452250
Broadway and Off-Broadway, 2011 cont.
Creative Loafing (blog)
So Freud's atheism is being doubly tested, by the approach of the Grim Reaper, and by the sound of air-raid sirens and bomb blasts through the city. The young and brilliant Lewis, portrayed by Mark H. Dold, enters Freud's office with a gas mask, ...
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/theclog/2011/03/02/broadway-and-off-broadway-2011-cont-2/
Book Review: CULT-URE: Ideas Can Be Dangerous, by Rian Hughes
Core77.com (blog)
Indeed, even the word meme (which Hughes uses a lot) was coined by atheist commentator Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene, and refers to the survival of the fittest of ideas in the forest of the human mind. When Internet entrepreneurs refer ...
http://www.core77.com/blog/book_reviews/book_review_cult-ure_ideas_can_be_dangerous_by_rian_hughes_18589.asp
Religious views seen in black, white
The Gamecock
Courtesy of themoviedb.org Assume for a moment you're a Christian and you meet an atheist. Would you try to convince that person to find faith in God, or would you simply assume that person is wrong and will spend an afterlife in eternal damnation ...
http://www.dailygamecock.com/mix/item/830-religious-views-seen-in-black-white
Review: Farcical 'Nora's Will' blends Mexican, Jewish themes
San Jose Mercury News
It was Nora's wish that cynical, atheist Jose suffer like this. Nothing will be done over these five days that isn't according to Nora's will. A grin-and giggle Mexican-Jewish funeral farce (and how often do you get to write THAT sentence? ...
http://www.mercurynews.com/movies-dvd/ci_17520820?nclick_check=1
'Nora's Will' buries tradition in comedic wit
Laney Tower
Rabbi Jacowitz (Max Kerlow) is the first to arrive, sparking clashes with atheist Jose, who wickedly enjoys baiting the venerable sage. According to orthodox law, a mourner must watch the body until it's put into the grave, so the rabbi sends Moises ...
http://www.laneytower.com/nora-s-will-buries-tradition-in-comedic-wit-1.2044726
EVOLUTION, CREATIONISM, I.D.
"New challenges for evolution education"
National Center for Science Education
In a new in-depth report, Scientific American asks, "Five years after the Dover trial pushed intelligent design out of public school classrooms, how has evolution instruction fared?" Featured are a new article by Lauri Lebo on how "creationists are ...
http://ncse.com/news/2011/02/new-challenges-evolution-education-006510
Dunn-backed bill slammed by ACLU leader
Knoxville News Sentinel
Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, is a backdoor means of promoting the teaching of creationism and the debunking of evolution in Tennessee schools. In a House Education Subcommittee meeting, the measure was also criticized by Jerry Winters, lobbyist for the ...
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/feb/27/dunn-backed-bill-slammed-aclu-leader/
Critical Thinking Bill Really About Evolution, Say Critics
WSMV Nashville
Lawmakers are being criticized for trying to allow criticisms of evolution and creationism to be taught in the classroom. At issue is a bill by state Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, that would prohibit teachers from being punished for analyzing the ...
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/27029408/detail.html
Dist. 128 investigating creationism claims at Libertyville High School
Chicago Daily Herald
Evolution is the scientific theory, widely credited to 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin, that man and other life-forms evolved from lesser species over the millennia. The US Supreme Court has ruled public school teachers cannot teach creationism ...
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110301/news/703019889/
Creationism still exists in the classroom
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian
Political Science Professors from Penn State University Michael B. Berkman and Eric Pultzer completed the study “Evolution, Creationism, and the Battle to Control America's Classrooms,” that surveyed 926 public high school biology teachers. ...
http://dailycollegian.com/2011/03/01/creationism-still-exists-in-the-classroom-2/
Activist says creationism is being taught in science classroom
TribLocal
By Amy Alderman TribLocal reporter Today at 11:45 am An activist claims that a Libertyville High School teacher has been violating state board of education standards by comparing creationist beliefs to evolution in the classroom. ...
http://triblocal.com/libertyville/2011/03/02/activist-says-creationism-is-being-taught-in-science-classroom/
Evolution Abroad: Creationism Evolves in Science Classrooms around the Globe
Scientific American
Image: ISTOCKPHOTO/BARTCO As the familiar battles over evolution education continue to play out in US state legislatures and school boards, other countries are facing very different dynamics. Much of the world lives outside of any law that requires ...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=evolution-education-abroad
SCIENCE
New Technology Pinpoints Genetic Differences Between Cancer and Non-Cancer Patients
ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2011) — A group of researchers led by scientists from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed a new technology that detects distinct genetic changes differentiating cancer patients from healthy individuals and could serve as a future cancer predisposition test...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222122103.htm
Etched Quantum Dots Shape Up as Single Photon Emitters
ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2011) — Like snowflakes or fingerprints, no two quantum dots are identical. But a new etching method for shaping and positioning these semiconductor nanocrystals might change that. What's more, tests at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) confirm that etched quantum dots emit single particles of light (photons), boosting prospects for powering new types of devices for quantum communications...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224091619.htm
Atomic Antennas Transmit Quantum Information Across a Microchip
ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2011) — The Austrian research group led by physicist Rainer Blatt suggests a fundamentally novel architecture for quantum computation. They have experimentally demonstrated quantum antennas, which enable the exchange of quantum information between two separate memory cells located on a computer chip. This offers new opportunities to build practical quantum computers...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110223133444.htm
Nanotechnology May Lead to New Treatment of Liver Cancer
ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2011) — Nanotechnology may open a new door on the treatment of liver cancer, according to a team of Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They used molecular-sized bubbles filled with chemotherapy drugs to prevent cell growth and initiate cell death in test tubes and mice...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222122200.htm
Solar Experts Detect Waves in Giant Magnetic Holes the Size of the UK
ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2011) — Massive waves in giant magnetic holes on the surface of the Sun have been discovered for the first time by solar scientists from the University of Sheffield and Queen´s University Belfast, something that will bring experts a step closer to unlocking the secrets of the Sun...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224103041.htm
Premature Aging Replicated in the Lab
ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2011) — The current pace of population aging is without parallel in human history but surprisingly little is known about the human aging process, because lifespans of eight decades or more make it difficult to study. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have replicated premature aging in the lab, allowing them to study aging-related disease in a dish...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110223133844.htm
Homoplasy: A Good Thread to Pull to Understand the Evolutionary Ball of Yarn
ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2011) — With the genetics of so many organisms that have different traits yet to study, and with the techniques for gathering full sets of genetic information from organisms rapidly evolving, the "forest" of evolution can be easily lost to the "trees" of each individual case and detail...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224161512.htm
Migrating Cells Flow Like Glass: Research Advances Understanding of Wound Healing, Cancer Metastasis, and Embryonic Development
ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2011) — By studying cellular movements at the level of both the individual cell and the collective group, applied physicists have discovered that migrating tissues flow very much like colloidal glass...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222092658.htm
Most Doctors Do Not Know Guidelines Well, German Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2011) — Whether doctors have knowledge of guidelines or not appears to be unsuitable as an indicator of how guidelines are being put into practice in the clinical routine, according to a new study by researchers in Germany...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110225091015.htm
SEPARATION CHURCH / STATE
'Church cannot interfere in civil aspect of marriage'
Times of Malta
One needed to affirm the principle that there was a separation between Church and State and therefore, the issue must be tackled from the juridical aspect. Speaking during the debate on the motion for holding a referendum on the introduction of divorce ...
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110225/local/church-cannot-interfere-in-civil-aspect-of-marriage
Santa in Cheboygan County -- County getting sick of it
UpNorthLive.com
Lennox recently received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which asked him to remove the Cross from his door and the Nativity Scene from his office because it's a violation of the separation of church and state. ...
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=586023
Bethel Church's plans concern residents; 2 speakers oppose Redding Convention ...
Record-Searchlight
"It seems to me this is a simple violation of church and state separation," Dixon said. Bethel Administrator Charlie Harper last week declined to elaborate about any potential agreement. He said no one from the church would participate in Tuesday's ...
http://www.redding.com/news/2011/mar/01/churchs-plans-concern-residents/
Senate passes same-sex marriage bill
So Md News
This bill simply provides the same rights and privileges to all citizens," Murphy said, adding, "If the bill didn't honor that rich tradition of separation of church and state, I couldn't support it." Murphy said his e-mails from constituents have been ...
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/03022011/rectop133107_32397.shtml
Franklin prays, ACLU sues
St. Albans Messenger
The history of the separation of church and state in the US overall is a murky one. While the establishment clause bars Congress from creating or endorsing a national religion, legal scholars, including the late US Chief Justice William Rehnquist, ...
http://samessenger.com/node/1210
Sen. Gerald Dial introduces Ten Commandments amendment
Anniston Star
But enacting this proposal would give the impression that the government endorses a particular religion and encourages following its guidelines, said Barry Lynn, an attorney with Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ...
http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/12139168-Sen-Gerald-Dial-introduces-Ten-Commandments-amendment
Ten Commandments monument headed to private property
Harrisburg Daily Register
The plan originally had been to erect a monument on Courthouse property, but talk of a lawsuit and a visit by Rob Sherman, an atheist activist, put those ideas to rest. Building Committee members agreed county money should not be sacrificed in a ...
http://www.dailyregister.com/features/x1705413073/Ten-Commandments-monument-headed-to-private-property
Optional 'moment' try fails
TribLocal
Sherman, an avowed atheist, believes the law is a way to bring prayer into the classroom. Although five members of the House committee voted in favor of making the moment optional, six votes were needed to pass it on. Durkin will not be pursuing the ...
http://triblocal.com/buffalo-grove/2011/03/03/optional-moment-try-fails/
Secular-themed concert at Fort Bragg canceled
Greenville Daily Reflector
Plans for the Rock Beyond Belief concert, which was planned to include famed British atheist Richard Dawkins as its keynote speaker, began last fall, after an event on the post called Rock the Fort. That event, sponsored in part by the Billy Graham ...
http://www.reflector.com/ap/staten/secular-themed-concert-fort-bragg-canceled-341362
MISCELLANEOUS
None
===============================================