Time Added To 2008 Allows For Longer Smooch

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Immediately before midnight a leap second -- the first for three years -- will be added to atomic clocks around the world by official timekeepers.

Peter Whibberley, a senior research scientist at Britain's National Physical Laboratory, said the Earth's erratic rotation meant an extra second needed to be added.

--snip--

Whibberley told British media anyone sober enough and who had a digital clock that picked up leap second information from a reliable source, would see the final seconds of 2008 as 57, 58, 59, 60, 00 -- with 60 being the extra second.

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Olmert: No Peace In Gaza Till Hamas Rockets Stop

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed Wednesday that Israel's air assault on Gaza would not end until Hamas militants quit firing rockets into Israeli territory.

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Record 151 US Troops Die In Afghanistan In 2008

A record 151 U.S. forces died in Afghanistan in 2008, the deadliest year yet in a seven-year war that military officials say is likely to get even bloodier in 2009, as thousands more American troops pour into the country.

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Facial Expressions Of Emotion Are Innate, Not Learned

ScienceDaily -- Facial expressions of emotion are hardwired into our genes, according to a new study. The research suggests that facial expressions of emotion are innate rather than a product of cultural learning.

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Humans And Chimps Register Faces By Using Similar Brain Regions

Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Top 10 Evolution Articles

Since its redesign in November, NewScientist.com is making the last 12 months' of articles free for everyone to read. Here, in case you missed them, are our top 10 in-depth articles about evolution.

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Scientific illiteracy all the rage among the glitterati

Wanted: More science and math teachers in the US

For Scholars, A Combustible Question: Was Christ Real?

An initiative of the Center for Inquiry, an Amherst-based secular think tank, and its Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER), the project is an extension of the no-less controversial Jesus Seminar, which has been convening twice annually for 23 years.

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Role Of Religion In Presidential Campaign Heads 2008 'Top Ten' List Of Church-State Stories

The role of religion in the presidential campaign tops the 2008 "Top Ten" list of top church-state stories, according to the editors of Church & State.

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Newdow, FFRF & Coalition Sue to Halt Inaugural Prayers

Many Teens Don't Keep Virginity Pledges

Teens who take virginity pledges are just as likely to have sex as teens who don't make such promises -- and they're less likely to practice safe sex to prevent disease or pregnancy, a new study finds.

--snip--

"Sex education programs for teens who take pledges tend to be very negative and inaccurate about condom and birth control information," Rosenbaum said.

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Dozens Killed In Machete Attack In Congo

(AP) Attackers wielding machetes hacked to death dozens of people at a church in remote eastern Congo, witnesses said Monday, and the Ugandan army accused the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of the massacre.

A European aid worker said more than 100 people are reported to have been killed in the attack the day after Christmas and that the Congolese military put the number dead at 120 to 150.

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Israeli Airstrikes Kill Dozens Of Gaza Civilians

(AP) Israel's three-day aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed dozens of civilians, along with Hamas fighters, and has paralyzed life in a territory already battered by blackouts and supply shortages during 18 months of border closures.

--snip--

By Monday, the death toll rose to 364, with some 1,400 reported wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.

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Israel wages 'all-out war,' pounds Hamas buildings

Iranian group gets volunteers to fight Israel

Defiant Hamas Hits Israel With Rockets

Across Mideast, Thousands Protest Israel

World Watches As Gaza Violence Flares

Gaza assault sparks protests worldwide

Terror, chaos grip Gaza, U.N. official says

Taliban Terrorizes Its Way Across Pakistan

(AP) Taliban militants are beheading and burning their way through Pakistan's picturesque Swat Valley, and residents say the insurgents now control most of the mountainous region far from the lawless tribal areas where jihadists thrive.

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Suicide Bomber Kills 34 In Pakistan

Pakistan Moving Troops Toward India

Taliban Shadow Gov't Pervades Afghanistan

The Taliban has long operated its own shadow government in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, but its power is now spreading north to the doorstep of Kabul, according to Associated Press interviews with a dozen government officials, analysts, Taliban commanders and Afghan villagers.

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14 Children Die In Afghan School Bombing

Blast Kills 2 Near Main U.S. Afghan Base

Four dead in Afghan bomb attacks

Baghdad Car Bomb Kills At Least 22

(AP) A bomb tore through a busy square in Baghdad at midday Saturday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 54, the Iraqi army said, demonstrating the precariousness of the relative calm that Iraq has been enjoying for months.

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Al Qaeda Suspects Loose After Jailbreak

Happy Holidays!

The holiday season comes from the winter solstice, the first day of winter, which is the shortest day of the year. Usually falling on December 21st, it has been celebrated in the northern hemisphere since prehistoric times. It was marked as the beginning of "the return of the sun" because, after that, the days start getting longer.

The ancient Hebrews referred to the winter solstice as the rebirth of light, calling it Nayrot, the festival of lights. When Judah Maccabee defeated the Greeks and captured Jerusalem in 164 BCE, he rededicated the temple shrine during Nayrot, renaming the holiday Hanukkah. But because the Jewish calculation of Hanukkah is based on a lunar rather than solar calendar, Hanukkah can begin almost any time in December.

The ancient Romans held their festival of Saturnalia, the feast of Saturn, at this time. It featured wild parties, gift giving, and halls decked with laurel. However, they miscalculated the solstice date, seeing it as falling variously on December 23rd to 25th.

When Roman Catholicism replaced ancient polytheism, the Church found it practical to adopt the old Roman holiday, renaming it Christ's Mass. But this popular move, made in the third century, didn't meet with complete approval. Christians in the Middle East viewed their European brethren as idolaters and sun worshippers for repackaging this pagan festival as the birthday of Jesus.

As Christianity spread across Europe, the various "barbarian" cultures added their own pre-Christian solstice practices to Christmas. Thus the evergreen tree was introduced by Germanic peoples; holly and mistletoe, sacred to the Druids, came from the Celts; and the Yule log and caroling were provided by the Anglo-Saxons.

But some Christians condemned these trappings, especially the Christmas tree, citing Jeremiah 10:1-5 in the Bible: "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen . . . for one cutteth a tree out of the forest. . . . They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."

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List of winter festivals

Sol Invictus

Saturnalia

Yule

Mithras

Christmas

HumanLight: December's Secular Holiday

While others are lighting Hanukkah candles or decorating Christmas trees, atheists and humanists are holding their own December celebrations.

The secular holiday known as HumanLight began eight years ago. And while there are no set traditions, many of these gatherings use familiar rituals such as singing and candle lighting to highlight reason and human achievement.

HumanLight can be celebrated anytime on or around Dec. 23. The date was chosen because it is between the winter solstice and Christmas. This past weekend, groups gathered across the country to celebrate.

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Darwin Claus comes to town in US artist's atheist cards

Why Do We Believe In Santa?

ScienceDaily -- Having kids believe there's a jolly man in a red suit who visits on Christmas Eve isn't detrimental, although some parents can feel they're outright lying to their children, according to a new analysis by Serge Larivee.

"When they learn the truth, children accept the rules of the game and even go along with their parents in having younger children believe in Santa," says Larivee, a psycho-education professor at the Universite de Montreal. "It becomes a rite of passage in that they know they are no longer babies."

--snip--

Larivee and Senechal now want to explore a deeper question: If children attribute the same supernatural powers to Santa as they do to God, why do they stop believing in Santa, but continue their belief in God?

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Origin Of Life On Earth: Simple Fusion To Jump-Start Evolution

ScienceDaily -- With the aid of a straightforward experiment, researchers have provided some clues to one of biology's most complex questions: how ancient organic molecules came together to form the basis of life.

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Evolution: Life On Earth Got Bigger In 2-million-fold Leaps

Archaeological Discovery: Earliest Evidence Of Our Cave-dwelling Human Ancestors

And...

Earth Not Center Of The Universe, Surrounded By 'Dark Energy': Cosmologists Report

Medical Conscience Rule Blends Religion And Medicine

The controversial new Health and Human Services rule protecting the "conscience rights" of healthcare workers has some kick to it, namely the loss of government funding and associated legal costs if a provider doesn't honor a workers' right to practice their moral or religious beliefs on the job.

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Planned Parenthood Says Midnight Regulation Jeopardizes Women's Health

Bush's Last-Minute 'Conscience' Rules Cause Furor

Earlier...

No Offense

Bush-Era Abortion Rules Face Possible Reversal

Military Does Not Have To Credit Retiree's Religious Work, Federal Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that a military retiree has no right to be compensated by the federal government for work he did as a youth pastor, in a case an attorney with Americans United for Separation of Church and State helped argue.

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FFRF Urges Obama Not Only To Drop Warren, But All Prayer, From Inauguration

The Foundation is asking President-Elect Barack Obama to drop prayer and religious ritual entirely from the official ceremony, and to keep the Presidential oath secular. The Presidential oath or affirmation, as dictated in the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8, has no reference to a god, or instructions to place a hand on a bible.

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"Beware of Dogma" Billboard Message Comes to Little Rock

Religious Displays To Be Debated In Court

California jurists next year will rule on the constitutionality of crosses on public land, teachers' speech rights and students' Bible clubs.

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Church Members Dress Like Jesus To Protest Secularization Of Christmas

Members of a church in Kansas City, Ks., are protesting the secularization of Christmas by dressing like Jesus at their jobs, malls and restaurants.

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Florida Woman Claims She Was Fired for Refusing to Say 'Happy Holidays'

Scientology Refuseniks Sue Over Compulsory Workplace Courses

Alexander Godelman, former chief information officer of Diskeeper, and Marc Le Shay, former Diskeeper Automation Planning Officer, filed a joint suit of unfair dismissal at Los Angeles Superior last month alleging that the disc utilities firm made it compulsory to attend Scientology-based courses. They charge that their refusal to participate in the courses led to their dismissal.

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Report: Two-Thirds Of Families At Texas Polygamist Sect Have Neglected Kids

SAN ANTONIO -- Nearly two-thirds of the families involved in the April raid of a polygamist sect's west Texas ranch had children who were abused or neglected, said Texas child welfare officials in a report released Tuesday.

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In Hard Times, Houses Of God Turn To Chapter 11 In Book Of Bankruptcy

EASTON, Md. -- During this holiday season of hard times, not even houses of God have been spared. Some lenders believe more churches than ever have fallen behind on loans or defaulted this year. Some churches, and at least one company that specialized in church lending, have filed for bankruptcy. Church giving is down as much as 15% in some places, pastors and lenders report.

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Americans Believe Religion Is Losing Clout

PRINCETON, NJ -- Two-thirds of U.S. adults today perceive that the influence of religion in American life is waning, while just 27% believe it is rising. This represents a sharp decline in the image of religion compared with only three years ago, when 50% thought its influence was on an upswing, and marks one of the weakest readings on the influence of religion in Gallup's five-decade history of asking the question.

--snip--

Public perceptions about the influence of religion have varied widely over the last half-century, and may be more a reflection of changing political realities than of personal beliefs about religion. However, the new poll also finds the percentage of Americans believing that religion can answer society's problems is at an all-time low. Although still a majority, just 53% of Americans say religion "can answer all or most of today's problems." While 28% say it is "largely old-fashioned and out of date."

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Survey Says Most Americans Believe In Multiple Paths To Salvation

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said the findings suggest "a virtual collapse of evangelical theology" that he blamed on superficial preaching in church pulpits.

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How Teens Think About Religion

Most 'Do Not Believe In Nativity'

The majority of Britons do not believe the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus, a survey has suggested.

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U.N. Assembly Again Votes Against Defaming Religion

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly condemned defamation of religion for the fourth year running on Thursday, ignoring critics who said the resolution threatens freedom of speech.

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Pope Accused of Stoking Homophobia After Speech

And...

Vatican Gives Galileo An Image Makeover

Indian Villagers Shave, Beat 50 Women Accused Of Witchcraft

Villagers in tribal central India have allegedly beaten 50 women with sticks and cut off their hair after accusing them of witchcraft.

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Muslim Scientists Prepare for Battle With Creationists

The next major battle over evolutionary theory is likely to occur not in the United States but in the Islamic world or in countries with large Muslim populations because of rising levels of education and Internet access there, as well as the rising importance of biology, a scientist now says.

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Study: Secular Turks Face Discrimination, Pressure

ANKARA, Turkey: Non-practicing Muslims in Turkey are under pressure to wear headscarves, attend Friday prayers and fast during Ramadan if they want government jobs or promotions, a study has found.

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Saudi Court Tells Girl Aged EIGHT She Cannot Divorce Husband Who Is 50 Years Her Senior

A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty.

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Christmas Is Now Official Holiday In Iraq

Overall security in Iraq has improved markedly in the past year, but a fatal car bombing in Baghdad on Christmas morning was a gruesome reminder that serious problems remain.

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Christmas with Baghdad's Dwindling Christians

Iraq Christians face 'bleak future'

Christmas In Bethlehem Festive, Gaza Violent

The festivities in the West Bank town contrasted sharply with Hamas-run Gaza. While revelers in Bethlehem launched pink fireworks from a rooftop, militants fired more than 80 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns and villages, sending people scrambling for bomb shelters.

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Israel moves closer to Gaza invasion

Gaza near to collapse as Israel tightens grip, says bank

Truce Ends, Rocket Barrage Strikes Israel

IDF: Militant killed firing rockets into Israel

Tourism Returns To Bethlehem For Christmas

Bethlehem Adapts To Life In Shadow Of Israeli Wall

Fraud, Violence Threaten Planned Afghan Elections

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The IEC is reporting high turnout across the country since the drive began in October, despite insurgent threats to kill anyone who registers. Many parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan are under insurgent control.

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Pakistani Militants Attack Convoy, Kill 3

(CBS/AP) Militants in Pakistan launched rockets at two trucks returning from delivering fuel to Western forces in Afghanistan, killing three people, an official said Saturday - the latest in a string of attacks targeting a supply route critical to the U.S. fight against the Taliban.

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What Came Before The Big Bang? Interpreting Asymmetry In Early Universe

ScienceDaily -- The Big Bang is widely considered to have obliterated any trace of what came before. Now, astrophysicists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) think that their new theoretical interpretation of an imprint from the earliest stages of the universe may also shed light on what came before.

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And...

New 'Molecular Memory' Only 10 Atoms Thick: Massive Storage Possible

'Wet' Early Universe: Water Vapor Detected At Record Distance

ScienceDaily -- A research group led by graduate student Violette Impellizzeri from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy has used the 100 m Effelsberg radio telescope to detect water at the greatest distance from Earth so far. The water vapour was discovered in the quasar MG J0414+0534 at redshift 2.64, which corresponds to a light travel time of 11.1 billion years, a time when the Universe was only a fifth of the age it is today.

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Where Did Venus's Water Go?

Moon's Polar Craters Could Be The Place To Find Lunar Ice, Scientists Report

Life On Mars? Elusive Mineral Bolsters Chances, Researchers Say

FFRF Exposes Twice-Daily, Mandatory Christian Prayer Imposed By Military Chaplains At Iraq Command

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison, Wis.-based national state/church watchdog, has been waiting a month for a reply to its letter to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, protesting mandatory Christian prayer and bible reading conducted by chaplains to a captive audience, as part of daily shift change briefings in the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Iraq.

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There ARE Atheists In Foxholes

No Offense

In what amounts to a final poke in the eye of groups that promote abortion rights, the Bush administration has issued a long-awaited rule that protects doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to provide services that offend them.

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Bush-Era Abortion Rules Face Possible Reversal

The Latest Face Of Creationism In The Classroom

Creationists who want religious ideas taught as scientific fact in public schools continue to adapt to courtroom defeats by hiding their true aims under ever changing guises.

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Americans United Applauds Federal Court Ruling Against South Carolina's 'Christian' License Plate

Federal Judge Blocks Issuance Of 'I Believe' Automobile Tag Featuring Cross And Stained-Glass Church Window

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Atheist may sue if law on Las Vegas officiants won't change

Atheists have an answer to prayer day

State Embraces Faith-Based Programs For Ex-Cons, Homeless

Connecticut -- "There should be no taxpayer-funded evangelizing, period."

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Pelahatchie Students Claim Girl Possessed By Devil

Student Says She Was A Voice For God

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Couple Accused of Beating Baby With Hammer to Rid Her of 'Demons'

Bent Vows Touching Girls Not Sexual

TAOS, N. M. (KRQE) - Cult leader Wayne Bent testified Thursday he could not go against God even though he knew spiritual touching of two young, naked followers would get him in trouble.

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Sect Leader Molested Sisters

The leader of an apocalyptic sect was convicted yesterday of criminal sexual contact with an under-age girl in an incident he called a spiritual healing exercise.

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Vatican To Be Sued Over Sex Abuse Claims

Three men who claim they were abused by Catholic clergy in America have succeeded in naming the Vatican as sole defendant in a lawsuit and are hoping to force Pope Benedict XVI to give evidence in the case.

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No Room At The Inn: Nativity Scene Sparks Spanish Legal Row

MADRID (AFP) -- Some of Spain's top legal minds have clashed over a Christmas nativity scene at the state prosecutors' office, after a senior official objected that its presence there was unconstitutional.

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'Christmas is the pathway to hell': Muslim lawyer's extraordinary rant at 'evil' celebration

Terror Director, Recruiter Convicted In UK

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British man accused of being an al Qaeda recruiter was convicted Thursday of directing terrorism, the first person to be found guilty of the offense in the United Kingdom.

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The Men Who Brought Terror To Scotland

There is little doubt that Abdulla wanted to die a martyr in the carnage and mayhem of a suicide attack on Glasgow Airport.

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Taleban Tax

The West is indirectly funding the insurgency in Afghanistan thanks to a system of payoffs to Taleban commanders who charge protection money to allow convoys of military supplies to reach Nato bases in the south of the country.

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Baghdad Bombs Kills 10

BAGHDAD (AFP) -- At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded when a car bomb exploded in the centre of Baghdad on Wednesday as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was visiting, the US military said.

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Restaurant suicide bomber kills at least 55 people in Iraq's deadliest attack for six months

Gaza Militants Ready For End Of Truce With Israel

Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers say a six-month cease-fire with Israel formally ends Friday, and Hamas and smaller armed groups won't say clearly whether they will extend it.

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Somali Government Splits Amid Fight For Control

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The government dispute does nothing to stabilize the administration, which wields virtually no authority in the face of powerful Islamic insurgents who have taken over most of the Horn of Africa country.

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Humanists Launch Effort On Human Rights Anniversary; Issue Statement To Be Signed By Prominent Thinkers and Activists

(Washington, D.C.) On this the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the American Humanist Association is launching its campaign to gather signatures for the organization's Resolution on Global Community and International Affairs. The first individuals being approached are the living notable signers of Humanist Manifesto III--a list that included 22 Nobel laureates in 2003 as well as filmmaker Oliver Stone, scientists Richard Dawkins and Edward O. Wilson, social critic Katha Pollitt, and environmentalist Lester R. Brown. (Go to http://www.americanhumanist.org/3/HMsigners.htm for the complete list.) The effort will then expand to other Nobelists and prominent individuals. The goal is to present the document and its list of signers to Barack Obama after his inauguration as president of the United States.

The pre-released document is available online at http://www.americanhumanist.org/global.php and may be freely quoted and reproduced.

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Sixty years on, human rights remain far from universal

Religious Right Stirs Up Strife In Season Of Peace, Americans United Charges

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today called on Religious Right leaders and their allies in the media to stop using Christmas as a vehicle for divisiveness.

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Freethought Group Places Winter Solstice Sign in Illinois Capitol In Springfield

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, whose Winter Solstice Display has created a media furor at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, is putting its Winter Solstice sign in the Illinois State Capitol....

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"Imagine No Religion" Billboard to Go Up in San Antonio

"Imagine No Religion" Billboard Visits Canton, Ohio This Month!

And...

Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People

'Christian' License-Plate Controversy Moves Toward Federal Court Showdown In South Carolina

A federal district court ruling is expected soon in a South Carolina controversy over a "Christian" license plate commissioned by the state legislature.

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Sweet Find In Search For Alien Life

A sugar molecule that's linked to the origin of life has been detected in a region of our galaxy where habitable planets could exist. The sweet find is good news in the search for alien life, the researchers say.

Called glycolaldehyde, the sugar molecule is considered a life ingredient because it can react with a substance called propenal to form ribose, a central constituent of ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is similar to DNA and considered one of the central molecules in the origin of life.

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Carbon Dioxide Found On Extrasolar Planet

NASA's Swift Looks To Comets For A Cool View

Venus Comes To Life At Wavelengths Invisible To Human Eyes

Why Dogs Can Sense Fair Play

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Dogs appear to experience a range of complex, unpleasant emotions such as jealousy and pride, scientists have discovered.

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Dogs Feel Envy, Austrian Study Finds

Pavlov's Neurons: Brain Cells That Are A Key To Learning Discovered

ScienceDaily -- More than a century after Ivan Pavlov's dog was conditioned to salivate when it heard the sound of a tone prior to receiving food, scientists have found neurons that are critical to how people and animals learn from experience.

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Teachers 'Beat And Abuse' Muslim Children In British Koran Classes

Muslim children are being beaten and abused regularly by teachers at some British madrassas - Islamic evening classes - an investigation by The Times has found.

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3 Million Muslims In Mecca For Pilgrimage

(AP) Draped in white robes to symbolize purity and the equality of mankind under God, nearly 3 million Muslims from all over the world gathered Friday in Mecca, on the eve of the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage.

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Muslim pilgrims stone devil amid tight control

Iran Arrests 49 For Wearing 'Satanic' Clothing

Iranian police have arrested 49 people during a crackdown on what the Islamic republic deems "satanic" clothes.

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Taliban Fighters Destroy Crucial Nato Supplies In Pakistan

Hundreds of Taliban fighters have stormed a crucial Nato depot outside the Pakistani city of Peshawar, destroying over 100 lorries which would have taken supplies to American and British forces in Afghanistan.

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Pakistani Militants Strike Supply Lines

Car Bomb Highlights Bloody Day In Pakistan

Death toll rises in Pakistan mosque explosion

27 killed, dozens injured in Pakistan blast

In The Lair Of The Taliban

They were ousted in 2001, yet across Afghanistan the Taliban are steadily regaining control.

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Pakistan Militants On Move To Afghanistan

Report: Taliban 'noose' around Kabul

Afghan police killed in airstrike blunder

India's Muslims Hope To Avoid Backlash

(AP) The cleric stood before dozens of bearded men who had gathered on a crowded Mumbai street corner to honor the 171 people killed by Islamic militants.

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India identifies Mumbai attackers

Atheists Want God Out Of Ky. Homeland Security

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A group of atheists filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to remove part of a state anti-terrorism law that requires Kentucky's Office of Homeland Security to acknowledge it can't keep the state safe without God's help.

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See also:

Law's use of God challenged

Earlier...

Anti-terror law requires God be acknowledged

Metro Fields Hundreds Of Complaints About Bus Ads

It's not clear how many of those who complained actually ride the Metro system, as all but five complaints arrived via e-mail. One signed an e-mail as a "D.C. resident, Metro rider, and 'BELIEVER' in God," while another writer acknowledged, "I have never had the privilege to actually visit Washington, D.C."

Some of the letter writers said they learned of the campaign from FOXNews.com or AOL and wrote in before the ads appeared on any buses.

--snip--

The controversy has been a boon for the D.C. nonprofit American Humanist Association, which spent less than $12,000 on the bus ads. Since starting the campaign, 638 new members have signed up, spokesman Fred Edwords said. Traffic to its Web site spiked, Edwords said, and donors contributed thousands of dollars.

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FFRF Solstice Message Returns To Wisconsin Capitol For 13th Year!

'Tis the season . . . for the Freedom From Religion Foundation's gilt "Winter Solstice" message, which returns for its 13th visit to the first-floor rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol for the month of December.

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Bush Administration Leaves Major Mark On Faith-Based Funding, Experts Say

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- President Bush's administration and a host of court rulings have indelibly altered the way that the federal government relates to religious charities, according to an analysis by experts on the subject.

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Arizona Supreme Court Should Rule Against School Voucher Subsidies For Religious Schools, Says Americans United

The Arizona Supreme Court should strike down two voucher programs that direct tax dollars into religious and other private schools, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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Shame On The Cincinnati Zoo

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Creation Museum have made a joint marketing agreement and are selling "combo tickets" to get into both attractions for one price.

The Cincinnati Zoo is promoting an anti-science, anti-education con job run by ignorant creationists.

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Conservative Anglicans Split From US Church

Washington - A group of conservative Anglican churches in the United States split Wednesday from the Episcopal Church - as the US branch of the Anglican Communion is known - by forming their own rival province.

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6 More Kids Seized In Evangelist Investigation

(CNN) -- Six more children connected to the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries were taken into protective custody Wednesday to determine if they have been physically or sexually abused, child welfare officials said.

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Poll: Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Driven By Religion

The ban drew its strongest support from both evangelical Christians and voters who didn't attend college, according to results released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.

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Mormon Homophobia: Up Close And Personal

An ex-Mormon explains how a church with mostly good values can promote hatred and intolerance.

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Gay Bible Angers Christians

A gay version of the Bible, in which God says it is better to be gay than straight, is to be published by an American film producer.

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Win Ben Stein's Mind

I've been accused of refusing to review Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled," a defense of Creationism, because of my belief in the theory of evolution. Here is my response.

--snip--

This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions (Soviet marching troops representing opponents of ID), pussy-foots around religion (not a single identified believer among the ID people), segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, and makes a completely baseless association between freedom of speech and freedom to teach religion in a university class that is not about religion.

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Children Of God?

There's no real evidence to suggest that religion is hardwired -- it's just wishful thinking on the part of religious academics.

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Atheist Students Want God Out Of Speech

EDMONTON, Alberta (UPI) -- A move is afoot by Canadian student atheists and agnostics to have references to God removed from the University of Alberta's convocation ceremony.

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Find God On The No.19 Tram To Damascus

AT the 1901 census less than 1 per cent of Australia's non-indigenous population said they had no religion.

--snip--

But just over a century later at the 2006 census about a fifth of Australians said they had "no religion".

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Vatican Thanks Muslims For Returning God To Europe

PARIS (Reuters) - A senior Vatican cardinal has thanked Muslims for bringing God back into the public sphere in Europe and said believers of different faiths had no option but to engage in interreligious dialogue.

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'War Of Crucifix' Questions Catholic Predominance In Spain

Madrid - A decades-old row over whether crucifixes should be displayed in public buildings in a non-confessional state has erupted again in Spain. The recurrence of the "war of the crucifix" was seen by many analysts as partly reflecting a certain indecisiveness of the authorities caught between Spain's traditionally Catholic identity and an increasingly secular society.

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Jewish Settlers Riot After Forced Removal

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Jewish settlers were rioting near the West Bank city of Hebron Thursday in protest of the Israeli military's seizure of a disputed home and the forced removal of settlers inside it.

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Israeli Forces Confront Jewish Settlers

Israel Sends Riot Police To Quell Settlers

Settlers May Be Israel's Toughest Foe

Israel turns back Gaza aid ship

Pakistani Links To Terror Raise Tensions In Region

The militants who brought death and chaos to Mumbai had received months of commando training in Pakistan before launching their attacks, a revelation that will further heighten tension between the two countries.

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U.S. Wants Pakistan Crackdown On Militants

Gunmen Storm Afghan Security Buildings

(CBS) Two suicide bombers simultaneous attacked the headquarters of Afghanistan's Intelligence Agency (NDS) and its counternarcotics building in the eastern city of Khost Thursday morning.

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Suicide bomber attacks Afghan intelligence HQ

School Destroyed As Suicide Bombers Hit Iraqi Police Posts

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two suicide bombers on Thursday simultaneously struck the Iraqi city of Falluja, destroying a school and killing at least 15 people -- including some of the students -- an Interior Ministry official said.

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Scores Dead In String Of Iraq Blasts

Bombers kill dozens in Iraq attacks

Death Toll Rises In Iraq Mosque Bombing

Raid uncovers al-Qaida network of child suicide bombers in Iraq

Two Killed, 30 Hurt In India Bomb Blast

(AP) A bomb exploded in a train coach in India's insurgency-hit northeast on Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring another 30, a state government official said.

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Hundreds Die As Christians And Muslims Clash Over Poll

MORE bodies were delivered to the main mosque in the central Nigerian city of Jos yesterday, as the death toll from two days of clashes between Christian and Muslim gangs rose to about 400.

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Hundreds killed in second day of sectarian rioting

Nigerian 'Witch Doctor' Claims To Have Killed 110 Children 'Possessed By Evil Spirits'

A man in Nigeria who claimed in a television documentary that he had killed 110 children he believed to be possessed by evil spirits has been arrested, officials said on Wednesday.

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Nigeria 'child witch killer' held

Anti-Terror Law Requires God Be Acknowledged

Under state law, God is Kentucky's first line of defense against terrorism.

The 2006 law organizing the state Office of Homeland Security lists its initial duty as "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God's benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."

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Al-Qaida No. 2 Calls On U.S. To Embrace Islam

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader appeared in a new video posted Friday calling on Americans to embrace Islam to overcome the financial meltdown, which he said was a consequence of the Sept. 11 attacks and militant strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Bomber Targets Iraqi Shiites At Mosque

(AP) A suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in a line of Shiite worshippers near the entrance of a mosque south of Baghdad during Friday prayer services, killing at least nine people, Iraqi officials said.

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Mumbai Hotel Siege Thwarted

(CBS/AP) Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at a luxury Mumbai hotel Saturday, ending a 60-hour rampage through India's financial capital by suspected Islamic militants that left more than 150 people dead and rocked the nation.

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Authorities differ on whether Mumbai standoff is over

Freethinking Winter Solstice Sign & Billboard

In addition to erecting a jaunty "Reason's Greetings" billboard in downtown Olympia on East 5th Avenue (cross street Jefferson), the Foundation and its membership have a permit to display a Winter Solstice sign in the Washington State Capitol for the month of December. Members of the Foundation will assemble at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 1, on the third floor (near the George Washington bust) to dedicate the sign.

Foundation co-president Dan Barker, author of the new book, Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists, will be there for the dedication.

The engraved sign will read:

At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail.

There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.

There is only our natural world.

Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts

and enslaves minds.

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"Imagine No Religion" Billboard Comes Down in Cucamonga

FFRF Sues City of Rancho Cucamonga over Censorship of "Imagine No Religion" Billboard

And...

Atheist Foundation of Australia Bus Slogan Rejected!

Atheist Foundation of Australia

Vast Stores Of Water Ice Surround Martian Equator

Ice glaciers hundreds of metres deep are lurking just underneath the Martian surface around the planet's mid-latitudes, new radar measurements suggest.

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Hopes rise for liquid water on Saturn moon

NASA Prepares For New Juno Mission To Jupiter

Dawn Spacecraft Glides Into New Year

Holiday Get-Together: Jupiter, Venus, Moon

Potentially Universal Mechanism Of Aging Identified

ScienceDaily -- Researchers have uncovered what may be a universal cause of aging, one that applies to both single cell organisms such as yeast and multicellular organisms, including mammals. This is the first time that such an evolutionarily conserved aging mechanism has been identified between such diverse organisms.

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Two From One: Evolution Of Genders From Hermaphroditic Ancestors Mapped Out

The Religious Right's War On Christmas Began Centuries Ago

The "war on Christmas" traces back, historically, to Calvinist bans on the celebration of Christmas which began in Geneva and then migrated, with the spread of Calvinist theological views, to Scotland, where Christmas was banned in 1583, a ban that remained in force four almost four hundred years and was only lifted in the 1950's.

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NPR Sends Wiccan Priestess To Public Prayer Booth

NPR vehemently denied that its coverage was opposed to prayer or organized religion.

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Child Deaths Test Faith-Healing Exemptions

OREGON CITY, Ore. - When Dr. Seth Asser saw row after row of flat headstones marking children's graves in a small cemetery not far from the end of the historic Oregon Trail, he knew many of these early deaths should not have happened.

The children's parents relied on faith healing, instead of doctors.

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WFISD To Move Forward With Bible Course For High Schools

In the beginning, the state of Texas created a Bible course. And the course was formless and void. Darkness hung over the details of the course.

Eventually, the state said, "Let there be K-12 instruction in religious literature that includes the Old and New Testaments."

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Iowa College Bases Musical On Bible's 'Terror' Stories

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Don't expect to hear these Bible stories at church.

Cannibalism, rape, a bear that mauls children -- this is the Bible?

They're among six stories from the Old Testament acted out in "Terror Texts," a musical at Northwestern College in Orange City.

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I'm Not One Of Those 'Love Thy Neighbor' Christians (Humor)

Mormon Aid To Prop. 8 Campaign Investigated

SAN FRANCISCO -- California officials are planning to investigate whether the Mormon church gave an accurate accounting of its role in the campaign that succeeded in getting a same-sex marriage ban approved in the state.

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Mormons' Uneasy Victory

Did Mormon Church hide its support for Proposition 8?

Mormon film boss resigns after 'gay marriage' protests

US Vatican Abuse Case To Go Ahead

A US federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit against the Vatican over claims it covered up decades of child sex abuse by priests can go ahead.

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Vatican 'forgives' John Lennon (as if he needed their forgiveness)

Ex-Altar Boy Sues Catholic Church

DETROIT -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit is facing a second civil lawsuit over allegations it failed to stop a priest who molested children when he served at parishes in Warren, White Lake, Redford, Pontiac, and Utica.

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Jehovah's Witness Jailed For Molesting Boys

Sydney -- A member of the Jehovah's Witness church who molested three male church members after "ingratiating himself" into their families has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail.

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Cambodian Monk Accused Of Rape And Robbery

(AP) A 17-year-old Cambodian monk was charged with raping a British woman while taking her on a tour of a mountain cave near his Buddhist temple, a court official said Thursday.

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Mosque Tutor Accused Of Abusing Girls

Two women have told a court that they were sexually abused by a teacher at a mosque when they were children.

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UN Bans "Defamation of Religion" In Islamic Bid To Curb Free Speech

Geneva -- By a vote of 85 to 50, with 42 abstaining, the UN General Assembly today adopted a draft resolution calling on all countries to alter their legal and constitutional systems to prevent "defamation of religions," asserting that "Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism."

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AJC Condemns UN Vote on Defamation of Religions

Saudi Religious Police Troubled by Youth Fashion Trends

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat - The Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is looking into a number of customs it believes to be "foreign" as part of study that it will embark upon in cooperation with King Saud University in Riyadh.

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Saudi girl band challenges the rules limiting women

Yemeni Child Bride Hailed As Hero

At Carnegie Hall, Nujood became one of Glamour magazine's Women of the Year - their youngest ever.

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Malaysia Clerics Issue Yoga Fatwa

The Islamic authorities have issued a ruling, known as a fatwa, instructing the country's Muslims to avoid yoga because of its Hindu roots.

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Muslims Riot Over Plans For Christian Church In Cairo

A riot broke out over plans to convert a building in a Cairo suburb into a Christian church.

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Mumbai Held Hostage Amid Terrorist Carnage

The terrorist attacks that ripped through Mumbai on Wednesday Nov. 26 morphed into a slow-motion hostage drama on Thursday as disbelieving Mumbaikars watched their city of 12 million paralyzed for a full day -- shops closed, streets emptied -- by just two dozen attackers. How could this happen? The unwelcome truth is that this grand, cosmopolitan city, one that has survived two even deadlier terrorists bombings in 2003 and 2006, was caught completely unprepared.

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Terror Strikes in Mumbai

Gunmen run amok in Mumbai terror attack killing and injuring hundreds

Inside Mumbai hotel, mayhem erupts

Mumbai Held Hostage Amid Terrorist Carnage

UK witness in Mumbai 'splattered with blood'

Security forces hunt gunmen at Mumbai hotel

Terrified Westerners describe Mumbai chaos

World leaders condemn Mumbai attacks

Death toll climbs in Mumbai

Indian forces launch assault

Analysis: a new tactic by Islamist militants

Behind the crisis for India's Muslims

Fighting reported at Mumbai Jewish center

Earlier...

Hindu extremists' reward to kill Christians

Anti-Christian violence claimed 100 lives in India

India shocked by discovery of first Hindu terror cell

Bangladesh's Secular Democracy Struggles with Violent Radical Islam

Witchcraft Is Given A Spell In India's Schools

Witchcraft is being put on the curriculum for India's primary schoolchildren in an effort to debunk superstitions that are behind scores of gruesome murders every year.

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Researcher Sheds New Light On Witch-hunting And Epidemics Of Fear

Muslim Convert Who Bombed Restaurant Blamed Britain's 'War On Islam'

A white Muslim convert who tried to blow up a family restaurant wrote a suicide note showing he was motivated by what he called Britain's "war on Islam", a court heard.

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Acid Attacks And Rape: Growing Threat To Women Who Oppose Traditional Order

Afghan women are feeling increasingly vulnerable as the security situation worsens and a growing number of western and Afghan officials call for the Taliban to join the government.

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10 Arrested In Acid Attack On Afghan Girls

U.N.: "Grave Abuses" Against Afghan Youth

Bomb Explodes Near U.S. Embassy In Kabul

Four killed in blast near Afghan U.S. Embassy

Aid Workers Pull Out As Islamists Hold City To Ransom

Peshawar, Pakistan -- The abduction this week was just one of a spate of kidnappings in and around the city in the past few months as Islamist militants and criminal gangs from the lawless neighbouring tribal areas seek a new source of funding.

One senior police official told The Times that there had been 124 reported cases of kidnapping this year alone. The real number could be higher as most people do not trust the police, preferring to pay the ransom.

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8 Killed In Blast At Pakistan Funeral

Al Qaeda Plotter Reported Killed By U.S.

4 Separate Iraq Blasts Kill At Least 23

(CBS/AP) A female suicide bomber blew herself up near an entrance to the U.S.-protected Green Zone and a bomb tore through a minibus carrying Iraqi government employees in separate attacks on Monday that killed at least 20 people, Iraqi officials said.

A third attack on an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad killed two civilians, police said.

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Official: Female bomber was disabled

2 U.S. Troops Killed In Iraq

Some Fearful Christians Hope To Flee Iraq

Atheists Reach Out -- Just Don't Call It Proselytizing

Whether by singing from a Humanist Hymnal, decorating a winter wreath or lighting candles dedicated to personal heroes, they'll celebrate what has been an exhilarating ride for the faithless -- a surge in recognition that has many convinced they're on the brink of making a mark on mainstream America.

--snip--

So the American Humanist Association is spending $42,000 to plaster buses in Washington, D.C., with ads asking: "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake." FreeThoughtAction and its local affiliates have put up billboards all over the country asking: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." Eight billboards are going up this month in Denver.

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Atheist Billboards To Debut During Holidays

Atheist Group Spreads Word On Billboards

Atheism, a positive pillar

Furor And Friends Generated By Godless Bus Ads

Amid controversy and delight, ads that proclaim: "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," can be seen on Northwest Washington, D.C., buses today. Photos available free for media use can be found online at http://www.whybelieveinagod.org/moreabout.html . Leading up to their roll out, the anticipation spawned striking new developments.

"When the word got out last week about the American Humanist Association bus campaign, it created buzz from Washington, D.C., to Canada, Europe and even South Korea," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "It's clearly a message that a lot of people are ready to hear: that you don't need a god to be good."

But there has also been a significant negative reaction in the form of critical phone calls and e-mails flowing into the office of the American Humanist Association. These follow on the heels of religious right efforts to mobilize protests, particularly from the Christian Coalition of America as well as criticism from the Family Research Council, the Catholic League and other groups.

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'Why Believe in a God?' Ad Campaign Launches on D.C. Buses

Taking Atheism for a Ride Around Town

Group's new Christmas message: Be good, not godly

Humanists Launch Godless Holiday Campaign

Astronomers Capture First Images Of Newly Discovered Solar System

A team of researchers was able to see three orbiting planetary companions to HR8799 using high-contrast, near-infrared adaptive optics observations.

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Hubble directly observes planet orbiting Fomalhaut

Planet Orbits Dangerously Close To Giant Star

India's Chandrayaan-1 Spacecraft Successful: Moon Impact Probe Hits Lunar Surface

Woolly-Mammoth Genome Sequenced

ScienceDaily -- Scientists at Penn State are leaders of a team that is the first to report the genome-wide sequence of an extinct animal, according to Webb Miller, professor of biology and of computer science and engineering and one of the project's two leaders.

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Australian First: Kangaroo Genome Mapped

Darwin Was Right About How Evolution Can Affect Whole Group

Texas State School Board Should Uphold Sound Science, Reject Creationism, Says Americans United

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today urged the Texas State Board of Education to stick to sound science and reject creationist concepts when revising its science standards.

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"Imagine No Religion" Billboard Comes To California For The First Time

The Freedom From Religion Foundation's national campaign to place nonreligious, irreverent billboards has come to California for the first time. The billboard just went up on Archibald Street, facing north, in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The colorful billboard carries the Freedom From Religion Foundation's name and website, and boasts a John Lennon-esque statement, "Imagine No Religion," against a stained-glass window background. The billboard can be seen by those traveling east and west on Foothill Boulevard, which is part of the famous Route 66.

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FFRF Sues Colorado Governor Over Prayer Proclamations

California High Court Will Hear Appeal Of Gay Marriage Measure

(CNN) -- California's Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will hear the appeal of a challenge to Proposition 8, a voter-approved measure outlawing gay marriage.

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Protests Over A Rule To Protect Health Providers

WASHINGTON -- A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.

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God Trumps

Struggling to choose the top religion? Can't decide between Bible-thumping evangelism or benign, gentle Buddhism? Make the process fun and easy with God Trumps, our cut-out-and-keep metaphysical card game for all the family.

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'Playing Gods' Satirizes Religious Violence

Islamic Theologian's Theory: It's Likely The Prophet Muhammad Never Existed

MUNSTER, Germany -- Muhammad Sven Kalisch, a Muslim convert and Germany's first professor of Islamic theology, fasts during the Muslim holy month, doesn't like to shake hands with Muslim women and has spent years studying Islamic scripture. Islam, he says, guides his life.

So it came as something of a surprise when Prof. Kalisch announced the fruit of his theological research. His conclusion: The Prophet Muhammad probably never existed.

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God Can Take Your Call Now

New Yorkers have a new avenue for faith - public prayer booths giving the devout a chance to make a call to the heavens to seek comfort and advice.

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Puncturing The Acupuncture Myth

Almost everything you've heard about acupuncture is wrong.

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Buddhists In Rochester Is [sic] Abuzz About Buddha Hive

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) -- The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is abuzz over what they believe is a miracle: a wasp nest in the shape of a seated Buddha built in the eaves of their temple.

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Senator-Elect Hagan Drops Suit Over 'Godless' TV Ad

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) -- U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan withdrew her defamation and libel lawsuit Thursday against incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole for a campaign commercial that Hagan alleged questioned her Christianity.

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SC Priest: No Communion For Obama Supporters

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."

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20 More Kids Seized After Alleged Abuse

(CBS/AP) Stories of alleged beatings and sexual abuse prompted Arkansas child-welfare officials to take custody of 20 more children associated with the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, an official said Wednesday.

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Boy Whose Religious Parents Battled Hospital Dies

NEW YORK -- A 12-year-old New York boy with brain cancer has died after his family battled a hospital to keep him on a ventilator.

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Church Fury As Coma Woman Allowed To Die

Italy's Supreme Court provoked the fury of conservatives yesterday by ruling that a father can disconnect the feeding tube that has kept his daughter alive in a coma for nearly 17 years.

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'Rape Crisis Saved My Life'

A woman who was abused by a pervert Belfast priest has revealed how she won her battle with the Vatican to have her failed marriage annulled. Roisin Fry blamed her mental breakdown and the collapse of her first marriage on sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of a respected parish priest when she was a child.

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India Arrests 2 Priests, Nun In 1992 Killing

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Federal police arrested two Roman Catholic priests and a nun Wednesday in the 16-year-old killing of a nun whose body was found in a well in southern India.

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Russian Church 'Taken By Thieves'

A 200-year-old church building has disappeared from a village in central Russia, officials from the Russian Orthodox Church say.

--snip--

It was intact in July but some time in early October thieves made off with it brick by brick, they said.

--snip--

The disappearance of the Church of the Resurrection, some 300 km (186 miles) north-east of Moscow, was not immediately noticed.

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Russian Newsweek Warned For ''Insulting'' Muslims

MOSCOW (AP) - Moscow prosecutors say they have warned the Russian-language edition of the Newsweek magazine for allegedly insulting Muslims.

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Islamic States Ban Secular And Human Rights Websites

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said: "It is not surprising that these websites have been blocked by these states, but it is strange that the most-blocked websites have a secularist trend, which reveals the stance of these states against the secularist and democratic values called for by these websites. Strangest of all is the fact that the United Arab Emirates have joined the list of countries that have this animosity to the Internet."

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Court: Man Stuck With Lying Virgin Bride

(AP) A French appeals court on Monday reinstated the marriage of a Muslim man who had sought an annulment because his bride lied about being a virgin.

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Only One Regret For Women Who Defied Saudi Driving Ban

OVER coffee and date cakes, the women gathered to celebrate the afternoon 18 years ago when they got into cars and drove through the streets of Riyadh, a stunning defiance of Saudi Arabia's ban on female drivers.

They have only one regret: the ban remains.

The protest, which made headlines around the world, cost the 47 female drivers and passengers dearly. They were arrested, lost their jobs for two and a half years, banned from travel for a year and condemned by the powerful clergy as harlots.

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Muslim Killed Catholic Girl In Love With Flatmate

A TEENAGER was brutally murdered by her boyfriend's Muslim flatmate because he did not approve of him going out with a Catholic.

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Islamist Rebels Whip 32 Dancers In Somalia

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents whipped 32 people in Somalia on Saturday after arresting them for taking part in a traditional dance in rebel-held territory south of the capital Mogadishu.

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Government near to collapse, says Somalia leader

Israeli Tanks Storm Into Gaza Strip

(AP) Israeli tanks forged into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, drawing rocket and mortar fire from Palestinian militants, militant groups said, intensifying violence that has chipped away at a tenuous cease-fire.

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3 militants killed in Gaza airstrike

U.N. agency in Gaza runs out of food

Jewish settlers ignore evacuation order

Afghanistan Suicide Attack Kills 21 And Injures Scores

A suicide car bomb killed 21 people in a packed marketplace in eastern Afghanistan yesterday and wounded at least 74 more. A US soldier and a 13-year-old boy were among the dead.

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U.S. Soldier Among 9 Dead In Afghan Blast

38 militants killed in Afghan offensive

7 Die In Taliban Attack On Tribal Leaders

(CBS/AP) Taliban militants attacked Pakistani tribal leaders near the Afghan border, triggering a gun battle and an explosion that killed seven people, an official said Tuesday.

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Two Journalists Shot In Pakistan Attack

Police arrest two Christians over 'blasphemy'

Fifteen Corpses Found In Baghdad Mass Grave

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Police in northern Baghdad found a mass grave Tuesday that contained the remains of 15 people, an Interior Ministry official said.

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Car bombing in Iraq kills 14

At least 9 killed by suicide car bomb in Iraq

Atheist Group Spreads Word On Billboards

Here's an unusual sign that the holidays are coming: just in time for Christmas, a group of atheists and freethinkers plans to sponsor 11 billboards in Colorado.

Against a blue sky backdrop, the billboards pose the question: "Don't believe in God? - You are not alone."

COCORE, an umbrella organization of 11 groups ranging from the Boulder Heretics to the Humanists of Colorado, is spending $5,000 to post its message at 10 sites in Denver and one in Colorado Springs, for four weeks starting around Nov. 17.

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Humanists Predict Supreme Court Will Rule Against Summum

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, 07-665 -- the first major religion case since Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky were decided in 2005.

Summum's attorney, Pamela Harris, argued today that Summum has the free speech and equal access rights to place a monument in the same park where the city permitted the Fraternal Order of Eagles to erect a Ten Commandments monolith in 1971. Pleasant Grove countered by saying that it owns and controls the Ten Commandments monolith and, therefore, it represents government speech, which is not subject to traditional free speech and equal access claims.

The American Humanist Association filed a friend of the court brief in support of neither party.

"In my opinion, the Supreme Court will reverse the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and hold that city parks are not public forums for donated permanent displays," said Robert Ritter, legal coordinator for the Appignani Humanist Legal Center, the legal arm of the American Humanist Association. "We further asked the Court to send the case back to the district court for argument on whether the Eagles Ten Commandments monolith in Pioneer Park violates the Establishment Clause."

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A Case of Religious Discrimination

Watchdog Pursues Electioneering Violations By Priest, Catholic Group In Colorado

The national Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a formal Complaint with the Federal Election Commission "seeking an immediate investigation and enforcement action against Informed Catholic Citizens (ICC)" over an election violation in Colorado.

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Connecticut Says "I Do" To Gay Marriage

(CBS/AP) A judge cleared the way for gay marriage to begin Wednesday in Connecticut, a victory for advocates stung by California's referendum that banned same-sex unions in that state.

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First Connecticut gays married

Polygamist Leader Faces New Sex Assault Charge

(CNN) -- A grand jury has indicted polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs on a second sexual assault charge in connection with a probe of his Texas compound, prosecutors said Wednesday.

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Haggard Says He Was Abused As Child

DENVER -- Two years after a sex scandal forced him out of his job as pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Ted Haggard took the pulpit and said he was abused as a child.

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Suicide Bomber Attacks U.S. Convoy In Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a U.S. military convoy in eastern Afghanistan Thursday, killing 20 civilians and a U.S. soldier, the U.S. military said.

There were conflicting reports on the number of people wounded -- the U.S. military put it at 25 while local police said 40 were hurt.

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Suicide Bomber Targets Afghan Gov't Office

Two schoolgirls blinded in acid attack in Afghanistan

Iraqi Soldier Kills Two U.S. Troops

(CBS/AP) Two U.S. troops were killed and six others wounded in an exchange of fire involving an Iraqi soldier who also was slain Wednesday in Mosul, the American military said.

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Islamic Rebels Grab Key Somali Port

(CNN) -- Islamic fighters have seized control of a strategic Somali port city just outside the capital, Mogadishu, where United Nations relief supplies enter the famine-stricken country.

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Somalis grow fearful of Islamists

Jerusalem Votes In A Secular Mayor

In a mayoral race widely seen as a struggle for the soul of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, a secular, high-tech multi-millionaire and ex-paratrooper, defeated Meir Porush, candidate of the city's large, ultra-orthodox Jewish community.

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Jones Plotted Cyanide Deaths Years Before Jonestown

JONESTOWN, Guyana (CNN) -- Cyanide was being bought and shipped to the Rev. Jim Jones' jungle compound in South America for at least two years before 909 Americans died there at the command of their cult leader, CNN has learned.

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Humanists Launch Godless Holiday Campaign

"Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," proclaims a new holiday ad from the American Humanist Association. Already appearing today in the New York Times and Washington Post, the message will soon be blazoned on the sides, taillights, and interiors of over 200 Washington DC Metro buses.

It's the first ad campaign of its kind in the United States, and the American Humanist Association predicts it will raise public awareness of humanism as well as controversy over humanist ideas.

"Humanists have always understood that you don't need a god to be good," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "So that's the point we're making with this advertising campaign. Morality doesn't come from religion. It's a set of values embraced by individuals and society based on empathy, fairness, and experience."

At a press conference today launching the campaign, large displays were featured showing the ads in today's New York Times and Washington Post, the bus posters, and how the posters will look mounted on the side of a bus and inside, behind the driver's seat. (High resolution photos of the bus posters, including images of them mounted on and in a bus, are available online at http://www.whybelieveinagod.org/moreabout.html.) The exterior posters will appear on buses in Northwest Washington starting Tuesday, November 18. The interior posters will begin December 1 in Northwest and Southeast.

"We expect these bus signs to generate a lot of public interest," said Fred Edwords, director of communications for the American Humanist Association. "Some folks may be offended but that isn't our purpose. We just want to reach those open to this message but unaware how widespread their views are.

The "goodness' sake" ads and posters direct people to a special Web site at http://www.whybelieveinagod.org/ that helps people find others of like mind in the Washington, D.C., metro area and nationally. The site also informs the public about humanism and answers common objections to the slogan as well as to the appropriateness of running the campaign during the holidays.

Such high-profile promotion isn't new to the American Humanist Association. Throughout 2008, humanist advertising has become more visible across the nation. In particular, highway billboards have been erected just outside of New York City, Philadelphia, and other major cities. They read: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

"Those billboards," Fred Edwords added, "started raising the profile of our movement and generated an avalanche of responses, both from people who realized that they, too, were humanists as well as from those who disagreed with us. But everyone heard our message loud and clear. And this is what it takes for us to reach our audience."

LINK

See also:

Godless Holiday Campaign Speech by Jan Meshon, President and Founder of FreeThoughtAction

Legality Of Same-Sex Marriage Ban Challenged

Los Angeles - The future of same-sex marriage in the Golden State will rest, once again, in the hands of its highest court. But this time, its fate will hinge on a different question: Can a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage go before voters? Or must it go before the legislature first?

The answer, legal experts say, will determine whether gay rights advocates can overturn Proposition 8, a recently passed ballot measure that overruled a state Supreme Court judgment that legalized same-sex marriage.

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Calif. win emboldens coalition of religious groups

Supreme Court's Commandments Lawsuit Should Have Been Litigated On Church-State Grounds, Says Americans United

A Ten Commandments lawsuit to be heard this week by the U.S. Supreme Court inappropriately focuses on free-speech rights rather than church-state separation, says Americans United for Separation of Church & State.

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Evolution's New Wrinkle: Proteins With 'Cruise Control' Act Like Adaptive Machines

ScienceDaily -- A team of Princeton University scientists has discovered that chains of proteins found in most living organisms act like adaptive machines, possessing the ability to control their own evolution.

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See also:

How Evolution Learns From Past Environments To Adapt To New Environments

Lizard Limb Loss: Evidence For Rapid Evolution

Tale Of Two Snails Reveals Secrets About The Biochemistry Of Evolution

College Bans Nietzsche Quote On Prof's Door

At Temple College, a community college in Texas, the words in the original German - Gott ist tot - have been barred from a professor's office door. While the college says that to leave the phrase up would offend others and constitute and endorsement of the phrase, the professor and others see a double standard in place, and a violation of academic freedom.

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4,300-Year-Old Pyramid Discovered In Egypt

SAQQARA, Egypt - Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a pyramid buried in the desert and thought to belong to the mother of a pharaoh who ruled more than 4,000 years ago, Egypt's antiquities chief said on Tuesday.

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Gold Earring 2,000 Years Old Discovered In Excavations In Jerusalem

Monks Brawl At Jerusalem Shrine

Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.... Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.

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Priest 'smashes chair' over Italian restaurant owner's head as nuns kick him in the stomach

'Child-Witches' Of Nigeria Seek Refuge

Mary is a pretty five-year-old girl with big brown eyes and a father who kicked her out onto the streets in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. Her crime: the local priest had denounced her as a witch and blamed her "evil powers" for causing her mother's death.

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