I want to wish each and every one of you who stop by this blog a very blessed New Year. All the web hits on this page are very encouraging to me. There are many exciting things planned for this coming year and you will be a big part of them.
Blessed Wishes,
Scott
Guardian Unlimited | World dispatch |
At first sight, the house of worship bears all the Persian architectural hallmarks of a classically Iranian mosque. But the religious symbol accompanying the sky-blue dome is a cross, not a minaret, and the holy book sacred to the faithful inside is the Bible rather than the Qur'an.This is the Church of St Simon the Zealot, an Anglican church built in the late 1930s by an English missionary, Rev Norman Sharp, who went to Iran to spread the Christian faith.
Every Sunday, its 30-member congregation gathers in lamb-shaped pews - designed to symbolise Jesus' flock - to sing traditional hymns such as The Lord Is My Shepherd and hear sermons from a Farsi translation of the New Testament by the church's lay pastor, Stephen Kambiz Jaeintan.
Two days ago, this hardened society of believers met for a special Christmas Day dinner, having prepared and brought their own food. To inject an extra dose of festive cheer otherwise lacking in Iran's staunchly Islamic setting, a fully-dressed Santa Claus handed out presents.
In staging this hearty celebration of the birth of Christ, the congregation was risking the wrath of Iran's Islamic authorities, whose intelligence services keep a watchful eye on the church on such occasions. The entire flock has converted to Christianity from Islam, apostasy in a country whose population is 99% Muslim. Under Islamic law, such conversions are potentially punishable by death.
"We have big problems with the government," said Mr Jaeintan, 33, a once-devout Muslim who converted 14 years ago. "The authorities monitor the church to see who goes into the services. The entry of non-Christians is strictly forbidden.
"We are suffering repression for worshipping a God and the problems are getting worse. I am not allowed to travel abroad to study to be ordained as a priest. The most important thing for the authorities is that Iran remains an Islamic republic, with the Islamic part being more important than the republic.
"I was called into an interrogation with the intelligence service. They told me that the period when people were killed for being Christian is past but that I might find myself with two kilos of heroin in my possession. The punishment for that is life in prison or death. They told me they won't make a hero out of me."
Iran's constitution grants protection to Armenian, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, as well as to Jews and Zoroastrians. After the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa ordering that Christians and Jews be treated with respect as "people of the book".
The Australian
A thick scar running from the back of her neck to just under her right eye, the lone survivor of a machete attack in which three Christian girls were beheaded on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has spoken for the first time of her terror.
"All I could do was pray to Jesus for his help," said 16-year-old Noviana Malewa, who fled the October attack with a gaping head wound. "I was streaming with blood."
Noviana, who now lives under police guard in the Christian town of Tentena, described how the girls were taking a short cut to school through jungle and plantations when they ran into at least five masked, black-clad men. Within seconds, three of the teenagers were beheaded -- fresh victims of violence that has turned the Indonesian island into yet another front in the conflict with terrorists.
As Noviana fled bleeding, the assailants collected her friends' heads, put them in black plastic bags and then dumped them in Christian parts of the small town of Poso, one on a porch, the other two on the street.
"They were killed as if they were chickens," said Hernius Morangki, showing a journalist the spot where his daughter was decapitated. "I keep asking myself: What were my daughter's sins?"
Muslim militants are blamed for the beheadings, the most gruesome yet in a campaign of terror against Christians on Sulawesi.
Muslim-Christian violence killed almost 1000 people on Sulawesi between 2000 and 2002 and attracted Muslim militants from across Indonesia, among them members of the terror group Jemaah Islamiah.
Restrictions among toughest in country set to get harder
WorldNetDaily
High court ruling legalized group-sex clubs with 14-year-olds
The Canadian Supreme Court ruling that redefined obscenity for that nation and legalized group-sex clubs, combined with Canada's unusually low age of consent – 14 – will result in an influx of pedophiles to America's neighbor to the north, contends a former consultant to the U.S. Justice Department.
In its Dec. 20 decision, Canada's Supreme Court legalized a type of business activity previously restricted by Canadian law, overturning two previous Quebec Court of Appeal decisions that had ruled group-sex clubs qualified as "bawdy houses" violating Quebec's community decency standards and were therefore illegal.
Judith Reisman, a world-renowned scholar and author of four books, including "Kinsey: Crimes and Consequences," said that since under Canadian law 14-year-olds are legally considered "consenting adults," the court's controversial decision "will now make Canada a sex traffic playground for pedophiles."
Gallup: Poll
NEW YORK A new Gallup survey released today finds that four decades after the "God Is Dead" controversy was first noted, Americans retain a strong belief in a higher power. Some 94% think God exists.
Only 5% feel God "does not exist" -- and even most of them "are not sure" of that. Exactly 1% are certain there is no God.
But how strongly do the believers believe? Nearly 8 in 10, in fact, say they are "convinced" God exists, although Gallup does not ask them why that is.
Conservatives are more likely to be convinced than liberals (87% vs. 61%), women a little more likely than men (82% vs. 73%), and residents of the South more than those in the East (88% vs. 70%).
Surprisingly, some 61% of those who seldom or never attend church are nevertheless convinced that God exists.
The poll sampled 1,002 national adults, Nov. 17-20.
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian
Independent Online Edition > Transport
From 2006 Britain will be the first country where every journey by every car will be monitored
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Britain is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years.
Using a network of cameras that can automatically read every passing number plate, the plan is to build a huge database of vehicle movements so that the police and security services can analyse any journey a driver has made over several years.
The network will incorporate thousands of existing CCTV cameras which are being converted to read number plates automatically night and day to provide 24/7 coverage of all motorways and main roads, as well as towns, cities, ports and petrol-station forecourts.
By next March a central database installed alongside the Police National Computer in Hendon, north London, will store the details of 35 million number-plate "reads" per day. These will include time, date and precise location, with camera sites monitored by global positioning satellites.
Already there are plans to extend the database by increasing the storage period to five years and by linking thousands of additional cameras so that details of up to 100 million number plates can be fed each day into the central databank.
Senior police officers have described the surveillance network as possibly the biggest advance in the technology of crime detection and prevention since the introduction of DNA fingerprinting.
"Every time you make a car journey already, you'll be on CCTV somewhere. The difference is that, in future, the car's index plates will be read as well," said Frank Whiteley, Chief Constable of Hertfordshire and chairman of the Acpo steering committee on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).
"What the data centre should be able to tell you is where a vehicle was in the past and where it is now, whether it was or wasn't at a particular location, and the routes taken to and from those crime scenes. Particularly important are associated vehicles," Mr Whiteley said.
The term "associated vehicles" means analysing convoys of cars, vans or trucks to see who is driving alongside a vehicle that is already known to be of interest to the police. Criminals, for instance, will drive somewhere in a lawful vehicle, steal a car and then drive back in convoy to commit further crimes "You're not necessarily interested in the stolen vehicle. You're interested in what's moving with the stolen vehicle," Mr Whiteley explained.
According to a strategy document drawn up by Acpo, the national data centre in Hendon will be at the heart of a surveillance operation that should deny criminals the use of the roads.
�Nation/Politics�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
To pray -- or not to pray -- in Jesus' name is the question plaguing an increasing number of U.S. military chaplains, one of whom began a multiday hunger strike outside the White House yesterday.
"I am a Navy chaplain being fired because I pray in Jesus' name," said Navy Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt, who will be holding 6 p.m. prayer vigils daily in Lafayette Park.
The hunger strike is intended to persuade President Bush to issue an executive order allowing military chaplains to pray according to their individual faith traditions. The American Center for Law and Justice has gathered 173,000 signatures on a petition seeking an executive order.
Seventy-three members of Congress have joined the request, saying in an Oct. 25 letter to the president, "In all branches of the military, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christian chaplains to use the name of Jesus when praying."
About 80 percent of U.S. troops are Christian, the legislators wrote, adding that military "censorship" of chaplains' prayers disenfranchises "hundreds of thousands of Christian soldiers in the military who look to their chaplains for comfort, inspiration and support."
Official military policy allows any sort of prayer, but Lt. Klingenschmitt says that in reality, evangelical Protestant prayers are censored. He cites his training at the Navy Chaplains School in Newport, R.I., where "they have clipboards and evaluators who evaluate your prayers, and they praise you if you pray just to God," he said. "But if you pray in Jesus' name, they counsel you."
Muslim, Jewish and Roman Catholic chaplains are likewise told not to pray in the name of Allah, in Hebrew or in the name of the Trinity, he added.
But the Rev. Billy Baugham, executive director of the Greenville, S.C.-based International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, says restrictions on other religious expressions have "yet to be tested."
"No Islamic chaplain has been refused to pray in the name of Allah, as far as we know. Neither has a rabbi been rebuked for making references to Hanukkah, and no Catholic priest has been rebuked for referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary."
Is the tide turning?
Court whacks civil-liberties group, OKs Ten Commandments display
A U.S. appeals court today upheld the decision of a lower court in allowing the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse display, hammering the American Civil Liberties Union and declaring, "The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state."
Attorneys from the American Center for Law and Justice successfully argued the case on behalf of Mercer County, Ky., and a display of historical documents placed in the county courthouse. The panel voted 3-0 to reject the ACLU's contention the display violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
The county display the ACLU sued over included the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, the Star Spangled Banner, the national motto, the preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Bill of Rights to the U. S. Constitution and a picture of Lady Justice.
Writing for the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Richard Suhrheinrich said the ACLU's "repeated reference 'to the separation of church and state' ... has grown tiresome. The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state."
Suhrheinrich wrote: "The ACLU, an organization whose mission is 'to ensure that ... the government [is kept] out of the religion business,' does not embody the reasonable person."
Poor Judgment
By MARTHA RAFFAELE
The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- "Intelligent design" cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial.
The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday.
The school board policy, adopted in October 2004, was believed to have been the first of its kind in the nation.
"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote. "It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."
The board's attorneys said members sought to improve science education by exposing students to alternatives to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection causing gradual changes over time; intelligent-design proponents argue that it cannot fully explain the existence of complex life forms.
The plaintiffs argued that intelligent design amounts to a secular repackaging of creationism, which the courts have already ruled cannot be taught in public schools.
The Dover policy required students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution. The statement said Charles Darwin's theory is "not a fact," has inexplicable "gaps," and refers students to an intelligent-design textbook, "Of Pandas and People," for more information.
Jones said advocates of intelligent design "have bona fide and deeply held beliefs which drive their scholarly endeavors" and that he didn't believe the concept shouldn't be studied and discussed.
"Our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom," he wrote.
The Seattle Times: Politics: By Ralph Thomas
Talk about political incorrectness.
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA — The state Democratic Party is catching heat for posting an item on its Web site that parodies the popular Christian fish symbol commonly seen on the back of cars.
The item — a magnetic version of the fish, emblazoned with flames and the word "Hypocrite" alongside a cross — appeared last week on the Democrats' Web site. It was displayed along with other political-message magnets, bumper stickers and buttons that the party sells.
State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said he first found out about the hypocrite fish posting on Friday when someone from KIRO radio called to ask him to go on the air to give an explanation.
"The moment I became aware of it, I insisted it be taken down," Berendt said Tuesday. "I'm sorry if anyone was offended. It's embarrassing."
Berendt said the item had not been "properly vetted" and was on the Web site for less than 48 hours. He said the party didn't even have any of the magnets in stock.
"We didn't sell any of them, and we're not going to," he said.
State Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Bellingham, put out a news release Tuesday criticizing the Democrats for posting what he described as an "anti-Christian" symbol.
"It's just amazing that they have people sitting in their office who think that way," Ericksen said. "You would never see anything on a Republican Web site demeaning Judaism or the Islamic faith."
The fish magnet is copyrighted by a Mount Vernon company called Reefer Magnets. The company mostly sells magnets with pro-marijuana messages such as "Hemp is Patriotic" and "Jesus is coming, roll another joint."
Berendt said he wasn't sure what the fish symbol is supposed to mean but said he thinks it is aimed at "people who claim to be pro-life but are for the death penalty."
The Australian:
FOUR churches in Sydney's southwest have been attacked in 24 hours as the city's riots spread from race to religion.
A community hall linked to a Uniting church was burned to the ground early yesterday, carol-singers were spat on and church buildings peppered with gunfire.
In response, members of the Arab Christian and Arab Muslim communities have called for a curfew for all Lebanese youths over the weekend.
Police believe the attack on the hall, in the suburb of Auburn, was intended to destroy the Uniting church next door, while nearby StThomas's Anglican Church, which has a primarily Chinese congregation, had all its front windows smashed. Three of the attacks were on churches within minutes of each other. The night before, Molotov cocktails were used in an attack on an Anglican church in Macquarie Fields in the city's far southwest.
Arab Christians have suggested the attacks on churches may have been meant as a violent attempt to "shame" the city's Lebanese Christian community into supporting Lebanese Muslims in the race-hate war, which began as a battle against young white males over use of suburban beaches.
Iran Israel Tensions High
Will ride down 5th Avenue for Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation
Representing a Jewish organization that defends Christians, comedian Jackie Mason will ride down New York City's 5th Avenue today to highlight the "war on Christmas."
Mason is a founding member of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, or JAACD, the organization sponsoring the event. According to a statement from the group, the entertainer will ride in a 15-foot Ford Excursion with banners proclaiming, "Jews for 'It's OK To Say Merry Christmas.'"
"His route will pass many of the retail stores that no longer wish shoppers a 'Merry Christmas,'" JAACD stated.
The ride, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., will begin at St. Patrick's Cathedral where Mason and others will have a press conference. Those scheduled to participate are Don Feder, JAACD president, Bill Donahue, executive director of the Catholic League, Rabbi Aryeh Spero, a member of the JAACD advisory board, and attorney and author Raoul Felder.
On Dec. 1, Jews Against Anti-Christian held a press conference at the National Press Club to publicize efforts to purge Christmas from the culture, highlighting the Wisconsin school that changed the lyrics of "Silent Night" to "Cold in the Night." Yesterday, the school relented, saying the Christmas carol will be sung in its original form.
Some task force members disagree with report, walk out of meeting in Pierre
By Chet Brokaw
Associated Press Writer
PIERRE - After a contentious final meeting, a state task force has recommended that the Legislature take further steps to restrict abortions in South Dakota.
The majority of the task force supported a report that says the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion was flawed because scientific and other advances have since demonstrated that life begins at conception.
The 72-page draft report calls for a ban on abortion by overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the practice. In the meantime, it recommends that South Dakota should put further restrictions on abortion, such as requiring that women get additional information and counseling before having abortions.
What it says: The report says a fetus is a human being from the moment of conception, and abortion ends the life of a ''unique, whole, living human being.'' The decision by many women to have abortions is not voluntary or informed because they are pressured into it and do not receive enough information, the report says.
''The state, the mother, and the child all have interests that justify changing the laws of the state of South Dakota to protect the child's life, first and foremost, to protect the mother-child relationship, and to protect the mother's health,'' the report says. ''In fact, the state not only has an interest, it has a duty to change the law.''
This is an update on a much earlier story.
Was involved in protest outside home of Christian activist
A homosexual protester who was part of a demonstration outside the home of a Christian activist near Philadelphia has been jailed for allegedly punching a policeman who responded to the scene.
Jason Robbins, 26, was arrested Dec. 4 outside the East Pikeland Township, Pa., home of Linda K. Beckman, one of the 11 Christians arrested last year at the homosexual "OutFest" event in Philadelphia after preaching to the gathered crowd and displaying banners with biblical messages.
According to a Philadelphia Inquirer report, the protest occurred outside Beckman's home while she hosted a fellowship meeting inside.
Robbins is a part of Philadelphia Anti-Racist Action, which has actively opposed Repent America, the organization that sponsored the OutFest demonstration and other anti-homosexual protests.
"We went to their neighborhood to say that two can play this game," Josh Freedman, a spokesman for Philadelphia Anti-Racist Action, told the local paper – which reported the action was specifically meant to avenge protests by Repent America.
Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Richard L. Fagley Sr. reportedly ordered Robbins out of his vehicle – he was watching as his approximately eight cohorts protested outside the house. The policeman says the suspect struck him and cursed at him.
"I opened the door, and he punched me, and as I guided him from the car he kept pushing me into the ice-covered street," Fagley reported.
Freedman, however, claims the police department's charges are "completely false and trumped up."
Said Franciscus: "They weren't cooperative with police. They didn't do what they were requested to do. He struck a police officer."
According to Repent America, some of the protesters made death threats against the Beckman family.
The principles of Anti-Racist Action are stated on its website. They include: "We go where they go: Whenever fascists are organizing or active in public, we're there. We don't believe in ignoring them or staying away from them. Never let the nazis have the street!" and "We don't rely on the cops or courts to do our work for us: This doesn't mean we never go to court. But we must rely on ourselves to protect ourselves and stop the fascists."
The Yuck Factor
By PAUL ELIAS
SAN FRANCISCO - Add another creation to the strange scientific menagerie where animal species are being mixed together in ever more exotic combinations. Scientists announced Monday that they had created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease.
Led by Fred Gage of the Salk Institute in San Diego, the researchers created the mice by injecting about 100,000 human embryonic stem cells per mouse into the brains of 14-day-old rodent embryos.
Those mice were each born with about 0.1 percent of human cells in each of their heads, a trace amount that doesn't remotely come close to "humanizing" the rodents.
Three top cloning researchers, for instance, have applied for a patent that contemplates fusing a complete set of human DNA into animal eggs in order to manufacturer human embryonic stem cells.
One of the patent applicants, Jose Cibelli, first attempted such an experiment in 1998 when he fused cells from his cheek into cow eggs.
This tongue in cheek opinion is worth reading.
Stacy Dow, from Perth, was 16 when she found out she was pregnant with twins and decided to have an abortion.
However, when she returned to her doctor after 33 weeks she was told one of the babies had survived.
Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust said there had been nothing to suggest a child had survived and plans to challenge the claim in court next year.
The surviving baby, Jayde, is now four. Her mother is claiming the damages for the "financial burden" of her upbringing.
In a landmark legal case, lawyers will argue that as a result of the failed termination, she suffered loss, injury and damage... and suffers "an impediment in her ability to obtain employment in consequence of her care for the child."
On Wednesday, a date was fixed for the case to be heard at Perth Sheriff Court next March.
The abortion was carried out at Perth Royal Infirmary in January 2001 and Miss Dow was told that no live material was visible in her uterus.
'Distress and anxiety'
On 30 August, 2001, an elective caesarean section was carried out at Perth Royal Infirmary and Jayde was born healthy, weighing 6lb 2oz.
Ms Dow's action states: "As a result of the failed termination the pursuer suffered loss, injury and damage. She suffered distress and anxiety upon the discovery of her continuing pregnancy.
"She required to undergo an elective C-section. She suffered pain and discomfort in consequence of surgery.
"She has the financial burden of care, upbringing and aliment of Jayde. She suffers an impediment in her ability to obtain employment in consequence of her care for the child."
Here is a good Narnia review
Here's another one.
By Dwayne Robinson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
WELLINGTON — Following dozens of phone calls and e-mails, the village will revisit the debate on whether to allow a Nativity scene on a public holiday display.
The majority of those communications blasted Wellington and its council for not immediately allowing a Nativity scene, also called a creche, at its annual display. The council will discuss the topic Tuesday and possibly vote next week.
"The village of Wellington has never said 'no' to the Nativity scene," Village Manager Charlie Lynn said Tuesday. "All we were ever asking was for time to research and address this issue in a sensitive manner and not offend other perspectives."
A week earlier, however, when the manger matter was abruptly pulled off the council's Nov. 29 agenda, village officials' time frame of when that research would be concluded was sometime next year.
But the controversy over the holiday display at the Wellington Community Center attracted national attention during the past week. Wire services and Fox television featured stories about the holiday display, which contains a menorah and a Christmas tree.
The spirit of Antichrist
There is an incredible spiritual battle going on in our nation today. It is now questionable as to whether we can wear Christian jewelry, display a nativity scene or even say “merry Christmas”.
Novi sub backs off, baby Jesus stays put
Neighborhood association backs off after blizzard of support for family
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
NOVI --Baby Jesus will sleep in peace in the front yard of a Novi family after all.
In the face of a deluge of support for the Samona family on Web sites and reaction from people throughout Metro Detroit, the United States and abroad, the homeowners association that sought to ban the nativity scene backed off.
"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or distress this confusion has caused you and your family," said a letter from homeowner association manager Dean Williams to homeowners Betty and Frank Samona.
The change of heart came after The Detroit News published a front-page story about the plight of the Samonas and their son Joe, who were ordered by the subdivision management group to remove the holiday display.
"As a demonstration of our regret over this incident, we would ask you to please accept a holiday gift basket as a token of our remorse, in the spirit of this holiday season," the letter said.
"We hope you understand that, on occasion, mistakes in proper intrepretation are made and we have learned from this mistake."
The Samonas placed the 7-piece plastic nativity scene and another seven outdoor figures on the front lawn just days before Thanksgiving.
The issue touched off a heated debate among readers and on radio and TV about the rights of property owners to display religious and holiday materials outside their home. The News received more than 250 e-mails on the subject.
Finding themselves at the center of the controversy, the Samona family spent the day fielding phone calls from strangers heralding their cause, requests for media interviews and offers from law firms and religious organizations to defend the family in their fight to display their plastic creche.
"Everyone is saying 'Keep it up.' It feels great. We are going to face the challenge and it's great to have this kind of support," said Betty's son, 16-year-old Joe.
The Thomas More Law Center represented the family in their fight against the community association regulations that prohibit lawn ornaments, statues or outdoor art from being placed on the lot without prior approval of the board of directors.
On Nov. 21 the family received a letter asking them to remove the nativity scene but said nothing about the other numerous figures on the lawn, including a holiday Minnie Mouse and Winnie the Pooh along with a Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Elizabeth Conley / The Detroit News
Joe Samona stands outside his family's Novi home. The family received widespread support after their association asked them to remove the nativity display from their yard.
Road Cross Removal
A lawsuit filed by the American Atheists in U.S. District Court on Thursday seeks to remove steel crosses that dot roadways throughout Utah and memorialize Utah Highway Patrol troopers who have died in the line of duty.
The suit has drawn harsh reaction from family members of the fallen troopers and promises to be the source of an emotional battle.
The crosses, which stand about 12 feet high and bear the trooper's name and the UHP insignia, were erected starting in 1998 and serve as a memorial for 14 troopers who have died since 1931. About nine of the crosses are on public land and all of them are placed near the spot where the troopers lost their lives.
Plaintiffs Stephen Clark, Michael Rivers and Richard Andrews in conjunction with the American Atheists Inc. also seek to have the UHP symbol removed from the crosses.
Rivers said the purpose of the suit is to eliminate religious symbols used by government agencies and placed on government land. American Atheists claim to have a membership of 30 million people. They are not opposed to memorials, just the crosses.
Update on facial transplant
Photo minutes after surgery
Woman Says 'Merci' After Face Transplant
LYON, France (AP) - The first post-surgery words of a woman who underwent the world's first partial face transplant were "thank you," one of her doctors said Friday. Bernard Devauchelle said the patient regained consciousness 24 hours after the groundbreaking operation Sunday.
"There were no post-surgical problems," he said at doctors' first news conference on the French transplant that has set off a debate among scientists over ethics but also won praise as a potentially pioneering, if risky, procedure.
"The patient was awake at the 24th hour and ... her first word was 'merci,'" Devauchelle said. Behind him were projected images of the facial portions that were transplanted - a section of the nose, lips and chin.
The 38-year-old woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, was mauled by a dog in May, leaving her with severe facial injuries that her doctors said made it difficult for her to speak and eat. The donor was a brain dead woman.
Leading transplant surgeon Jean-Michel Dubernard acknowledged that he had initial reservations in the planning stages of the surgery. But he added that when he saw the extent of the woman's disfigurement, "I no longer hesitated for a second."
Teachers reportedly prohibited from wearing pins, using C-word
Teachers at a Georgia elementary school reportedly were told to nix any religious pins and refrain from referring to a party as a "Christmas" party, while the local district has censored certain religious Christmas songs from its "winter" program.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a religious-liberties law group, wrote a letter to the district yesterday informing the Jackson County School System in Jefferson, Ga., that it stands on shaky constitutional ground due to its actions.
"Frankly, it's ridiculous that we're even discussing whether it's OK to say 'Merry Christmas.' I'm sure just about everyone would rather have a merry Christmas than a meaningless winter holiday," said ADF senior legal counsel David Cortman in a statement.
Cortman penned the letter to the chairman of the board of education and the superintendent of the school district. According to ADF, the letter was written on behalf of a teacher in the after-school program at Benton Elementary School.
The district has reportedly prohibited teachers from wearing "any pins, angels, crosses, clothing" that contain any religious connotation or affiliation, referring to any party as a "Christmas" party, or displaying a Bible in their rooms. ADF says the district has also removed certain religious Christmas songs from a "winter" concert and censored the word "God" from another song.
"Jackson County school officials are attempting to prohibit teachers from expressing any religious aspect of Christmas," Cortman stated in the letter. "Classroom decorations may no longer include nativity scenes and angels. Jackson County has gone so far as to prohibit the common greeting 'Merry Christmas,' and also now refers to the Christmas break as 'Winter Break.'"
Says the attorney: "Many school districts aren't trying to be difficult; they simply don't know the facts about the law. The fear, disinformation and intimidation that the ACLU and other groups like them have promoted over the years with regard to religious expression on public property at Christmastime have led to such misconceptions. ADF desires to educate schools, teachers, and students on the truth about what the law really says."
