Lynchings Tied to Sorcery and Penis Theft

Several attempted lynchings this week in the Congo were tied to rumors of penis theft by black magic. Thirteen suspected sorcerers are accused of using black magic and curses to steal or make the penises of several men disappear. Reports of penis snatching is not uncommon in the superstitious West Condo were rumors of sorcery are frequent topics of radio call in programs, and neighborhood gossip.

Fourteen victims accused the sorcerers of stealing or shrinking their penises by touching them on the arm during bus or taxi rides, and then extorting money for a cure. In response, several of the victims attempted to lynch the offending sorcerers. “You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you…” said Kinshasa’s police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, “We've had a number of attempted lynchings.”

It might sound like a joke, but not to the victimized men, who are completely convinced that their penises are gone, or that they are impotent, despite the fact that there is no rational evidence or proof. When one is dealing with sorcery, apparently, no amount of rationality will override the evidence provided by fear.

Sources:
Joe Bavier: Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUKL2290323220080422?sp=true

Sense of Fair Play tied to Serotonin Levels

Are you a person that gets really combative and aggressive, or grouchy when you don’t eat? Are you one of those people who are uncomfortable in social situations, or who are unusually sensitive to being treated unfairly? It turns out your serotonin levels may contribute to more than just depression or compulsive disorders. In a new Science study, UCLA and Cambridge researchers report that people with low serotonin levels were found to be more sensitive to being treated unfairly.

A new study, published in the June 6 issue of Science suggests that the neurotransmitter serotonin, which has long been known to act as “…a chemical messenger between nerve cells…” and has been recognized to play “… a critical role in regulating emotions such as aggression during social decision-making…” is also responsible for turning on the brains “reward circuitry.”

The study suggests that the “human brain responds to being treated fairly the same way it responds to winning money and eating chocolate; being treated fairly turns on the brain's reward circuitry.”

The study involved 20 subjects who were each presented with several offers, some skewed and some fair, for dividing sums of money. If they declined the offer neither they, nor the person making the offer would receive anything. After this round of initial offers and responses were recorded, participants were given a drink that “significantly reduced” their serotonin levels before a second round of offers began.

The study discovered that participants rejected 82 percent of the unfair offers when their serotonin levels were reduced as compared to only rejecting 67 percent of the unfair offers when their serotonin levels were normal. The report concluded that people with low serotonin levels were more likely to reject unfair offers.

Serotonin levels can fluctuate in regard to how regularly we eat, since “the essential amino acid necessary for the body to create serotonin can only be obtained through diet…” which suggests that a person’s perception of fairness can also fluctuate. What I view, for instance, as fair on the day I have three full meals, may differ from the day I skip breakfast.

It seems the study proves that the human sense of fairness is not based on rational processes, and unlike the solid mathematical formulas we learn, fairness is a fluid and fluctuating process that flows with the levels of our brain chemistry.

Sources:
UCLA Eureka Alert: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/uoc--sma060608.php
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1155577
About.com: http://depression.about.com/b/2008/06/10/serotonin-levels-related-to-sense-of-fairness.htm

Anti-Christ Misses Day in Divorce Court

Anti-Christ Misses Day in Divorce Court
Luis De Jesus Miranda, minister of the Miami Growing in Grace church, gained international notoriety in 2004 by declaring himself to be Jesus Christ, and then later claiming to be the Antichrist. He maintains that he is the Second Coming and that his teachings supersede those of Jesus.

His powerful and charismatic influence over the congregation of Growing Grace was in evidence when they all showed up in mass recently, to get the numbers 666 tattooed on their bodies, in honor of their “messiah.” At home, he had a dutiful and obedient wife who lovingly washed his feet and clipped his toenails to show her devotion, but that all came to an end in one of the most unspiritual of places, a divorce court.

The Miami Herald reported in June that the minister was forced, for the first time, to give testimony revealing how he paid personal expenses with donations to his tax-exempt church. Following the testimony the judge in their divorce case sent a transcript of the hearing to federal prosecutors, saying he felt "ethically compelled" to bring the fiscal abuses to their attention and, it was not long after that de Jesus disappeared.

This week the minister was declared in contempt of court for failure to pay alimony to his soon-to-be ex-wife. Their divorce trial went ahead without him, with wife Josefina de Jesus Torres alleging abuse, abandonment and infidelity. Torres backed up her claims of infidelity with descriptions of how, during their marriage, de Jesus cast her off for another woman in Houston -- a woman his inner circle now calls his ``wife.''

Torres also claimed to be abused when her husband pushed her against a fence on one occasion, and emotionally abused her on others by threatening to send ''angels of destruction'' to her and her children.

She's seeking half of both the Growing in Grace church assets and his personal property, which her attorneys argue are the same because they claim de Jesus controls the church's finances, all of which, Torres claims add up to $2.2 million.
De Jesus claims poverty, and his daughter, JoAnn de Jesus, the ministry's finance manager, testified that because of a drop in donations, due to all the publicity surrounding the divorce, the church is two months behind on the rent at its Doral headquarters, and she is hoping for ''a miracle'' that will allow them to stay. Several church members implied that Torres' statements criticizing de Jesus in the press played a role in the financial problems.

De Jesus' tax attorney testified that, based on his interactions with an Internal Revenue Service investigator, he believes a fraud investigation is under way. A spokeswoman for the IRS said she could not confirm or deny the existence of an inquiry.

De Jesus and his followers have been fighting back, outside the court room. Recently they sent a video to supporters showing a woman, who claims she was Torres’ lesbian lover when Torres met de Jesus, and who suggests Torres set out to entrap de Jesus for his money. There is no corroboration for the claim on the video, but the attack smacks of political smear campaigns used in Republican Party politics.
Meanwhile, Torres reports receiving threats from various church members while those same Growing Grace members say they have spoken to de Jesus but have no idea where he is. For an anti-Christ he’s keeping a remarkably low profile these days.

Sources:
Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/1060/story/654101.html
Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/654335.html

UN Accuses US Coalition Troops in Afghanistan of Killing 90 Civilians

AP-Kabul
The United Nations announced today that it has found “convincing evidence” 90 civilians, including 60 children were killed by US coalition troops and Afghan forces in western Afghanistan.

The U.N. findings were based on eyewitness testimony of villagers and meetings with Afghan officials. No photo or other evidence was provided.

Associated Press released several photos of civilians injured, however, including one of Zinat Gul, 24, who was allegedly wounded by the U.S. air strike in Shindand district. She was photographed while lying in a hospital bed in Herat, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Aug. 25, 2008



Afghan President, Hamid Karzai's in a harshly worded statement called for a negotiated end to "air strikes on civilian targets, uncoordinated house searches and illegal detention of Afghan civilians.”

The U.S. coalition reported killing 25 militants and five civilians in an operation in Shindand district of Herat province on Friday.

U.S.-led coalition troops, which were supporting Afghan commandos during the raid, said they believe that 25 militants, including a Taliban commander, and five civilians were killed during the Friday raid in Azizabad village of Herat province. The top coalition commander in the country has ordered an investigation.

Karzai's statement appears to condemn the actions of both international forces operating in Afghanistan: the U.S.-led coalition, which conducts Special Forces counterterrorism operations and trains the fledgling Afghan army and police, and the U.N.-mandated NATO-led force tasked to provide security for the war-ravaged nation.



The UN accusation will likely fuel tensions among the various military groups in Afghanistan.

Afghan Presidential spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada, said Tuesday that the statement was issued after Afghan officials "lost patience" with foreign forces, and the killings and detentions of civilians during raids in remote villages.

"We do not want international forces to leave Afghanistan until the time our security institutions are able to defend Afghanistan independently," Hamidzada clarified to reporters Tuesday, “but the presence of those forces has to be based "within the framework of Afghan law with respect to international law," Hamidzada said.
Hamidzada also pointed out that "Afghanistan of 2001 is different from Afghanistan today," He said the government has not discussed any timetable for the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

Capt. Mike Windsor, a spokesman for the NATO-led force, said the force had seen media reports about the government's decision but had not received "any official notification so far." He pointed out that NATO's "mission is based on a U.N. mandate and carried upon the invitation of the Afghan government."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters Monday that foreign forces in Afghanistan "take every precaution to try to avoid innocent civilian casualties." He said as far as the attack in question, the Defense Department believes "it was a good strike."

The decision also comes a year ahead of Afghanistan's presidential elections amid growing criticism that Karzai's government is unable to contain the insurgency and deal with the deep-rooted corruption that afflicts officials in the government.
Karzai has said he will run in the election. No date has been set yet.


Sources:
Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080826/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan
Salon: http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/world/2008/08/26/D92Q046G1_afghanistan/index.html

Rangers Remove Snacks Dragons get Cranky

The Wall Street Journal, now owned by Fox News media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is blaming environmental policies for increased attacks by Komodo dragons against humans living and working in Komodo National Park, on the Komodo Island in the Flores Sea.

Humans have traditionally left deer and sheep offerings for the carnivorous lizards, the largest in the world, but recent laws banning such offerings have, in the words of one villager, made the dragons “angry with us.”
Park, officials curtailed the sheep sacrifices (performed mainly for tourists) and deer hunting, on the advice of American environmental agencies, saying a healthy deer population is vital to the dragons’ survival. What The Wall Street Journal failed to emphasize was that the increased human population within the park, where there is roughly twice as many humans to the 2,500 dragons, is largely to blame for the increase in attacks. The official Komodo Park website, lists under threats, humans and human activities, like tourism and fishing, as the biggest threats to the islands ecosystems and biodiversity.

While neo conservative forces would like us to believe that conservation is behind global warming and species extinction, all we have to do is take a look in the mirror to find those truly responsible.

Sources:
Newser: http://www.newser.com/story/35695/treats-banned-komodo-dragons-get-nasty.html
Komodo National Park: http://www.komodonationalpark.org/
World Zoo: http://www.zoo.org/komodo/index.html

Gang Members Kill Suspected Gay Member

Two members of a Baltimore-area gang have been charged with killing a fellow gang member they believed was gay.

While MI5 in the UK is actively recruiting gays and lesbians, and the states of California and Massachusetts in the US are allowing them to marry, there are harsh reminders, on a deplorably regular basis, that being gay in our society, is still one of the most dangerous and hated incarnations one can be.

While I think Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender, and Bisexual people would make excellent spies because we are extremely adept at covertly infiltrating society and maneuvering our way through life without being detected, I seriously doubt anyone who doesn’t have to live that way would really risk the danger involved in choosing such a closeted life style.

In May, 18 year old Steven Parish, of Baltimore, Maryland was maneuvering through his life in the machismo environment of the notorious Bloods gang, when his secret identity was uncovered. According to court charging documents, filed August 14th, Steven Hollis and Juan Flythe believed Parish was gay when they found suspicious text messages on Parrish’s cell phone, and became concerned that a gay member would make the gang seem weak.
The autopsy report showed that Parrish died as a result of blunt-force and stabbing injuries. He also suffered a stab wound to the chest and 50 superficial cuts.“Like most hate crimes,” said Dan Frumansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, “the graphically violent details of this incident are a jarring reminder to us all that we live in a culture where being perceived as LGBT for some people is a crime above all others.”
The Baltimore Sun reported that on the day before Parrish’s death, several gang members met at Parrish’s house, where they conferred about finding “gay” text messages on his phone. It was determined at that meeting, according to police documents, “…that Steven Parrish ‘had to go.”

We have no idea what text messages set this horrible tragedy in motion, but we have heard this story, in various iterations, over and over again. A group of friends, acquaintances, etc. discovers one of their members is gay and must be eradicated from the group before further contamination occurs. We hear statistics every day about how dangerous it is to be a black male in this country, about how young black men are more likely to be shot by a gun than any other group. We forget, I think, that LGBT are members of every other group, making it exponentially more dangerous be gay.

Sources:
The Washington Blade: http://www.washblade.com/2008/8-22/news/localnews/13131.cfm
Govt Bulletin on Gun Victims:http://www.ovc.gov/publications/bulletins/gun_7_2001/gun2_2_01.html\
FBI Report on Hate Crimes:http://www.lambda.org/ncavp_hc_2003.pdf

Christians Want Bibles Back from Chinese Govt

The Vision Beyond Borders is a group based in Sheridan, Wyoming that distributes bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world. The VBB web site states:
Many of the six billion people on the earth have never heard of the name of Jesus Christ. The disciples were sent out to preach the Good News of Jesus to the far reaches of the world. We believe that Vision Beyond Borders is helping to fulfill that commission with the same urgency found in first-century Christianity.

When the Vision Beyond Borders group arrive in China with boxes full of bibles they were shocked to find their bibles confiscated by Chinese customs. Seems no one told Pat Klein, and the other VBB members, that Bibles in China are printed under the strict supervision of the Communist government. Bibles in the officially atheistic country are, in fact, only allowed to be used in government-sanctioned churches, and in some big hotels catering to foreigners.

"I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" said Klein, during a phone interview with the associated press. He seemed stunned that his 300 bibles, which were printed in Chinese, were being held by the Chinese government, and was determined to get them released.

Klein said customs officers had told him they could each have one Bible for personal use, but no more than that. He said the officers had videotaped them and were insisting they leave the airport. "We don't want to go without taking those books. It cost us a lot of money to bring them here," Klein said. "They're saying that it's illegal to bring the Bibles in and that if we wanted to, we had to apply ahead of time for permission.”

Why Klein thought China practiced freedom of religion is unknown, since China has regularly faced criticism for repression of religious freedom. Religious practice is heavily regulated by the Communist Party, and worship is only allowed in party-controlled churches, temples and mosques, with those gathering outside approved facilities risking harassment, arrest and terms in labor camps or prison.

Source: http://www.vbbonline.org/
http://www.concordmonitor.com

7 year old boy on TSA Watch List

If you are in a profession that requires frequent air flight, as I was, the shift in TSA security after 9/11 was an interesting evolution from bored complacency to incompetence and inanity that made travel maddening but, also much more interesting. To be fair, I should say that even before 9/11, I apparently fit some profile that triggered the TSA to go into hyper drive, because I had been stopped and had my bags routinely searched long before it became routine. It always amused me to speculate that some doppelganger was out there in the world committing criminal offenses that made me a target for airline security, but recent disclosures regarding TSA’s modus operandi would make their motivations more likely random and far less likely to be driven by any sort of plan.

The Terrorist Watch List has become the primary source for security intelligence used by TSA since 9/11, though how intelligent it might actually be can be debated. In 2004, the Anderson family of St Paul, Minneapolis was traveling to Disneyland when they were stopped by TSA security at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport, because their then 2 year old son, Jack was on the Terrorist Watch List. TSA agents were understandably stunned to see their terrorist suspect snoozing in a stroller with a pacifier dangling from his mouth, but did not remove his name. Two years later, the family was stopped again while attempting to fly, and has now given up trying to fly all together. Jack Anderson, who is now seven, says “I don’t understand why I am a terrorist.” Neither do we, Jack.


The TSA Watch List, which was implemented after 9/11 and intended to be a compiled list of known terrorists, or other characters who might want to harm American travelers, was meant to be used by Airlines to screen for terrorist trying to travel to the US by air. The Watch List is, in reality, a much more comprehensive list that includes any American with common names like Robert Johnson, John Williams and David Nelson, including several members of the U.S. Congress, like Sen. Edward Kennedy and Reps John Lewis, Don Young and Loretta Sanchez, all of who have reported problems flying. Along with the approximately 1 million other names on the Terrorist Watch List, are the 9/11 terrorists and Sadam Hussein, despite the fact they are deceased, but what the Watch List does not contain are the names of the world’s most wanted terrorists, because TSA does not want to share that information with the airlines. (Ironically For Security Reasons)

You might feel that any problems with TSA and the Watch List are worth it, if they are keeping you safe, but the truth is, the program has shown totally ineffective in nabbing terrorists, unless you count people like Jack Anderson, though they have managed to pick up a few felons fleeing outstanding warrants. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, from December 2003 through May 2007, the government had more than 53,000 official encounters with individuals on the Terrorist Watch List. However, “agencies reported arresting subjects of watch list records for various reasons hundreds of times, such as the individual having an outstanding arrest warrant or the individual’s behavior or actions during the encounter. No terrorists, just the common crooks that might have been caught by airport security before 9/11.

In addition to being added to the Terrorist Watch List if you happen to have a common name, you can also get added to the list if you irritate someone at TSA. Recently, after reporting on problems with the TSA program, CNN reporter Drew Griffin found himself added to the Watch List.
An additional concern regarding security and personal liberty pertains to occasions when one might fly or travel into the US from a foreign country. If a Boarder Patrol or TSA agent asks to see you cell phone, laptop, etc you better hand them over, because thanks to the Patriot Act, and greater power being bestowed on TSA and Boarder Patrols, the U.S. government can seize your laptop, cell phone or PDA and download all your private information—all without a warrant or probable cause.

So, what does TSA have planned for the future? According to the ACLU:
TSA is currently using see-through body scanning machines which are capable of projecting an image of a passenger's naked body like a virtual strip search, researching the creation of an "electro-muscular disruption" bracelet that would give airline personnel or air marshals the power to shock a person into submission and adding approximately 20,000 new names a month to the Terrorist Watch List.

So if you have a common name, you might want to consider getting familiar with Amtrak schedules.

Sources: ACLU, Management Travel News, MSNBC, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (Aug.5) CNN

Child Killed in Honour Killing

Honour Killing is generally defined as the murder of a female member of a family by the family, when they (and maybe the wider community) believe her to have brought dishonor upon them. A woman can be targeted commonly for: refusing an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or committing adultery. Basically, these killings result from the perception that defense of the "family honor" justifies killing a woman whose behavior "dishonors” that family.

Recently, in Riyadh, a young woman was killed by her father, a Saudi man working with the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or Religious Police, because she converted to Christianity. The girl, who used several nicknames, including, Rania, wrote several blog posts regarding her religious conversion, and indicating her life had become an ordeal after her other family members had grown suspicious following a religious discussion with them. Sources close to the victim indicated that Rania’s father apparently cut the tongue of the girl and burned her to death following a heated debate on religion.The death of the girl sent shockwaves through the internet community, and the websites where the victim used to write her posts have allocated special space to mourn her, “While some others closed temporarily in protest.”

It has been common practice for Saudi religious scholars to warn against the dangers of Christian websites and satellite TV channels, which they claim, attract Muslim youngsters to change their religion. Muslim leaders have determined partaking of such dangerous multi-media is against the teachings of Islam.

The “Free Copts” website published a message which it received from a friend of the victim, revealing that the killer, her Father, is in police custody and that he is being investigated for an honour related crime.
http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi ... 36558.html

Sexual Morality, Music and Censorship

Recently while skimming through discussion threads on the Richard Dawkins forum, I was attracted to a thread discussing uproar by some members over the number of sexually themed discussion threads, with several members very upset over the number and the type of topics being discussed. The topics ranged from serious non religious based ethical queries into such topics as how one should view homosexuality or how one should define pedophilia, to more superfluous topics such as how long the perfect sexual encounter should take.

As I began reading through the different posts, which varied from disgust over the titles and content to disgust that the content exists on the forum at all, I noticed that member suggestions varied from some thinking the titles should just be ignored, to other members suggesting sexual topics should be coded or hidden to indicate “adult topic,” while other members called any action censorship. Some members were concerned about the fact that younger forum members might be too impressionable for such sexual content, or that such content might give outsiders the wrong image of atheists in general. As I read along, I was at first both gratified and amused over the wide range of differing opinions proffered by my free thinking atheist and agnostic correspondents, but then I began to feel a nostalgic tug. I wasn’t able to identify the source of my nostalgia right away, but then Tipper Gore came to mind, and I was mentally transported back to early 1990s.

In the early 1990s I was the mother of two young children who, as children are fond of doing, liked to spend their after school and weekends hours playing in a neighborhood park where lots of other kids liked to play. I would sit on a bench near other parents, and we would watch the kids play while a specific group of mothers, who I nicknamed the “mommy brigade” would talk. I usually tried not to listen too carefully to what I generally considered insipid talk of diaper brands and husband trouble; I could not help, however, but be drawn into a conversation one particular day about adult content on television. The “mommy brigade” had started a letter writing campaign to get some television show taken off the air because it had depicted two men kissing. They were all aflutter about how awful it was that this show was on during “prime time” viewing hours and how it was going to corrupt the morals and values of their children. I listened to them go on for awhile but then couldn’t help to interject with a simple question, “Why,” I asked, “didn’t they just change the channel?” After a minute of incredulous silence I was informed that someone had to watch and monitor the filth on TV so that it could be detected and acted upon. It was futile, I knew, to point out that two men kissing was not what I considered filth, and could be a good opportunity to teach the value of tolerance, so I asked instead “Why not just, you know, ignore it?”

“You don’t understand,” I was told, “it’s not just our children, but all children we have to protect, even those whose parents don’t have the good judgment to shield them from such immorality.”

I remember that conversation so well, because Tipper Gore was a mother much like those in the “mommy brigade” who thought it was her job to protect the children of America from smut, too. In 1985, Tipper Gore’s 11 year old daughter, who apparently had much better taste in music than her mother, bought a Prince album, and the history of music censorship in America changed forever. It suddenly became the government’s business to tell American parents what music our children could safely listen to by putting warning labels on music, including much of the music people in my generation grew up listening to. In an interesting development, it seemed those in charge of music censorship were especially punitive with rap music, which I, and many others considered an expression of racism. Thanks to Tipper Gore, today you can buy music from Wal-Mart or Target with all the offensive words removed, and can feel safe that your children are not listening to music with sexually offensive language. (If they have internet access, however, they can find the uncensored versions quite easily, unless they live in, say, China.)

Censorship in America extends further than our music CDs, but also infects our news and TV networks as well. That is why there can be a huge anti-war protest in New York but have it be reported as a small media affair in California. I happen to be living, temporarily in an area where the local CBS affiliate has chosen to protect the people of this area from degradation by taking the show Swingtown off the air. The show is based on several couples in the godless era of the 1970s that are into wife swapping, recreational drug and group sex activities. It has received great reviews, and was great fun to watch, but the moralistic people of central Wisconsin cannot, apparently, be subjected to such evil.

Meanwhile sexual realities in this country are stunning. One in four children in the US has an STD, teenage pregnancy is on the rise, and studies have shown that oral and anal sex among female children who consider themselves “virgins” is off the charts. Meanwhile we hear every day about some previously pious politician or religious leader being ousted as Gay, or as being a customer of prostitution. Perhaps if we spent less time focused on the morality proscribed or shaped by religious dogma, we could spend less time trying to censor what these kids see and hear, and offer them an opportunity to learn about human sexuality in a realistic manner. Maybe, without censorship, we could have a realistic dialogue about the myriad nature of human sexuality in all its glorious, humorous and pitiful forms, withholding judgment and offering instead, compassion, instruction, and most of all, understanding.

Unfair Criticism of PZ Myers and other Secular Scientists

On July 31, 2008 Salon.com posted an articled titled: What's wrong with science as religion, by Karl Giberson. Giberson, who has a PhD in physics and is the author of “Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and believe in Evolution” was responding to a July 24th web posting by PZ Meyers on Meyers’ blog Pharyngula. (http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/) In the web posting Meyers stuck a rusty nail in a communion cracker, and then used the nail to impale pages of the Qur’an and Richard Dawkin’s “The God Delusion,” before throwing them all in a garbage can. The exercise was performed in an effort to demonstrate the importance of remaining free from the influence of dogma.

Seeming to shares in “Myers' enthusiasm for fresh eyes, questioning minds and the power of science…” Giberson says he also worries”…about dogmatism and the kind of zealotry that motivates the faithful to blow themselves up, shoot abortion doctors and persecute homosexuals.” Giberson also worries, however, “about narrow exclusiveness that champions the scientific way of knowing to the exclusion of all else. “I don't like to see science turned into a club to bash religious believers…” and he considers “…PZ Meyers a science crusader and true believer with the “singled-minded enthusiasm of a televangelist.”

Giberson admits that “…Myers doesn't seem to like me.” Maybe Myers doesn’t like him because, when interviewed by Salon.com about his new book, “Saving Darwin” Giberson indicated there “might be a reality beyond science, and that religion might be about God and not merely about the human quest for a nonexistent God.” Giberson believes that Christianity and evolution are complementary, not incompatible, and he seeks a “middle way.”

Comparison is made by Giberson between Meyers, and other famous secular scientists and writers, to evangelical preachers of the 1700s, saying “Myers' confident condemnations put me in mind of that great American preacher, Jonathan Edwards, who waxed eloquent in his famous 1741 speech, Sinners at the Hands of an Angry God, about the miserable delusions that lead humans to reject the truth and spend eternity in hell.” He suggests that Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Myers are a new type of preacher, men of the scientific cloth, “Like their traditional counterpart, the new preachers speak with great confidence that their religion -- science -- contains all the truth we need to know and all the truth that can be known. They call us to worship at the altar of science, a summons of which I am skeptical, to say the least.”

The arguments Giberson poses regarding PZ Meyers’ scientific evangelism fall flat, of course, since the very web blog he is criticizing was meant to promote free thought, not dogmatic adherence to a specific school of ideology. PZ Meyers chose the communion wafer, the Qur’an, and the God Delusion for a reason; he wanted to impress upon us the importance for vigilance, for keeping our minds open, free of dogmatic clutter from any source. As for Richard Dawkins, he himself says he ranks himself somewhere between strong agnostic and pure atheist because to say there is no God without evidence equals the zeal with which theists claim there is a God. Christopher Hitchens is extremely respectful of all religious practices, despite his atheistic beliefs. Perhaps, if Dr. Giberson’s perceptions were less obscured by his own dogmatic affinities, he could more clearly see the truth about those he chooses to malign.

China revokes visa of gold medalist, Darfur activist Cheek

Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese government for his ardent support of the Sudan region of Darfur. Cheek is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes who work to raise global awareness about human-rights in Darfur. China has military, economic and diplomatic ties to the despotic government of Sudan which has been directing a systematic program of genocide against people in the Darfur region.


Cheek released a prepared statement:
"I am saddened not to be able to attend the Games. The Olympic Games represent something powerful: that people can come together from around the world and do things that no one thought were possible. However, the denial of my visa is a part of a systemic effort by the Chinese government to coerce and threaten athletes who are speaking out on behalf of the innocent people of Darfur."


China should be held accountable for its contemptible support of the Sudanese government.

Repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell Law

Those of us, who never considered serving in the military, might also never consider what it would mean to hide our sexuality while performing a difficult and dangerous job. The military, as we have all seen in movies and documentaries, is a culture of its own, one that fosters interdependence and deep trust to ensure personal safety in dangerous situations. How the authors of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law planned for that trust to be developed in an environment of mistrust and dishonesty they didn’t bother to explain. Since most homophobic attitudes are based on religious or other misinformed ideological dogma, they have no place in US laws, and should be expunged permanently.

On Wednesday July 23rd, for the first time since 1993, the Congressional House Subcommittee on Military Personnel of the Armed Services Committee held an oversight hearing to review the military’s disastrous Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) law. A large coalition of organization including the Human Rights and Campaign, Service Members Legal Defense Network, but the military witnesses who testified provided the most eloquent impetus for supporting repeal of the law.

"Major General Vance Coleman (Ret.), who served in the U.S. Army for more than 30 years, told the panel about his own personal experience of being devalued for arbitrary reasons: "I know what it is like to be thought of as second-class, and I know what it is like to have your hard work dismissed because of who you are or what you look like...It is bewildering and counter-intuitive to me that we maintain a federal law that says, no matter how well a person does his or her job, no matter how integral to their unit they are, they must be removed, disrespected and dismissed because of who they happen to be, or who they happen to love."(http://www.hrcbackstory.org/)

“Staff Sergeant Eric Alva (Ret.), a dear, dear member of the HRC family, spoke of his frustration at being deemed at once a hero and unworthy of service: "I received the Purple Heart, along with visits from the President and First Lady. I was told I was a hero. That landmine may have put an end to my military career that day, but it didn't put an end to my secret. That would come years later, when I realized that I had fought and nearly died to secure rights for others that I myself was not free to enjoy. I had proudly served a country that was not proud of me."(http://www.hrcbackstory.org/)

"Captain Joan E. Darrah (Ret.), who served for nearly 30 years in the U.S. Navy, gave dramatic testimony on the immense strain of serving under DADT: "On Tuesday, September 11, I was at the Pentagon attending the weekly 8:30 intelligence briefing...When American Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon, I was at the Pentagon bus stop. As it turned out, the space I had been in seven minutes earlier was completely destroyed. Seven of my co-workers were killed. The reality is that if I had been killed, my partner, then of 11 years, would have been the last to know as I had not dared to list her in my emergency contact information."(www.hrcbackstory.com/)

We can hope that sanity prevails and DADT is repealed, after all, reason and rationality have to prevail once and awhile.