THE   FOCUS
centerforatheism.org

December 21, 2007 Volume 3, Issue 51
Published by the Center For Atheism (CFA)

Editor: Kenneth Bronstein

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: focus@centerforatheism.org.


  THE FOCUS WILL RETURN - JANUARY 11, 2008
HAVE A HAPPY SOLSTICE
         
      Featured Articles
    Texas-Based Creationism Institute Seeks to Offer Science Education ... - FOX News
      A Texas-based institute that advocates creationism as part of science curriculums is
      seeking state approval to grant an online master's degree in science ...
 
     Military Evangelism Deeper, Wider Than First Thought
     "For US Army soldiers entering basic training at Fort Jackson Army base in 
     Columbia, South Carolina, accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior appears to
     be as much a part of the nine-week regimen as the vigorous physical and mental 
     exercises the troops must endure."

 

    ATHEISM
   Atheists erect their own holiday display - Journal Times 
    A group of local atheists aren’t happy with the nativity scene on Monument Square.
    The manger scene, which was first erected on the ...
 
   BOOKS / FILM / TV /
 
   Trumpery - Play - Darwin - Evolution - New York Times
    Darwin’s Era, Modern Themes: Science, Faith and Publication ... Yet Darwin did not 
    kill god. His theory, unchallenged in science, is the foundation on which ...
 
   EVOLUTION / CREATIONISM / I.D
 
   Whales may have evolved from raccoon-sized creature
    In the search for a missing evolutionary link to modern whales, scientists have come up 
    with an unlikely land cousin -- a raccoon-sized creature with the body of a small deer.
   
   SCIENCE
   
   ‘Virgin’ birth stem cells may offer tissue bank - Cloning and stem ...
   Human egg cells can be tweaked to give rise to valued stem cells that match the tissue
   types of many different groups of people, US and Russian researchers ...

   Nerves that sense the icy slap of an arctic wind or just a cool breeze take their orders
   from a single protein, U.S. researchers said on Monday, shedding new light on how we 
   experience cold.

   Italians crack open DNA secrets of Pinot Noir - Reuters
   Italian scientists have cracked open the genetic make-up of Pinot Noir, responsible for 
   the great red wines of Burgundy, in a breakthrough that may lead to hardier vines and
   cheaper fine wines.
 
   Scientists Weigh Stem Cells’ Role as Cancer Cause - New York Times
   A debate over an unproven hypothesis, which says cancers are fed by cancerous stem
   cells, could affect the direction of research.
 
   Universe - Laws of Nature - Physics - New York Times
   Laws of Nature, Source Unknown ... he had wanted to challenge, he said, was not the
   existence of laws, but the conventional thinking about their source. ...
 
   SEPARATION OF CHURCH / STATE
 
   Atheist Group Claims Victory – County Board Votes to End Special Salary Tax
   Exemption for Ministers Members of the clergy will now be paying salary taxes ...
 
   MISC.
    Neil Cavuto Wrongly Claims That all American Presidents Have Been ... -News Hounds
   Atheist Michael Newdow argued that yes, it should be, and Cavuto and guest Ray Flynn
   argued that it shouldn't be. Cavuto should get his facts straight the ...
 
   Seven great "medical myths" revealed - Reuters
    Reading in dim light won't damage your eyes, you don't need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy
    and shaving your legs won't make the hair grow back faster.

   Rules Sought on Retailers’ Ties to Charities 
   A Senate bill would require retailers to regulate embedded giving, the fast-growing fund-
   raising practice that involves building a gift to charity into everyday purchases.
 
   President's job isn't to save souls - Hagerstown Morning Herald
   Barry Lynn, a minister for the United Church of Christ and presently executive
   secretary for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, ...
  
 
  CONVENTIONS / MEETINGS / EVENTS
 
Darwin Day (200th Birthday) Feb. 12, 2008  
American Atheists
Mar 21- 23, 2008
 Minneapolis, MN
Madalyn Murray O'Hair (Birthday) April 13, 2008  
Gift for Life Day May 1, 2008  
Atheists  Alliance International Sept. 2008 Long Beach, Ca.
Freedom From Religion Oct. 10-12, 2008 Chicago
Gift for Life Day Nov. 4, 2008  
     
 
             

 

        CFA Program
 

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.

 

 

          Special Notices

          There are no special notices this week.

 

 

          Legislation Alerts

        
        

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Comments, suggestions, and subscriptions: focus@centerforatheism.org