Movie producers use lying subterfuge in the "creation" of a new upcoming movie denigrating science and promoting "Intelligent Design." Article from the New York Times: A few months ago, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins received an e-mail message from a producer at Rampant Films inviting him to be interviewed for a documentary called “Crossroads.” The film, with Ben Stein, the actor, economist and freelance columnist, as its host, is described on Rampant’s Web site as an examination of the intersection of science and religion. Dr. Dawkins was an obvious choice. An eminent scientist who teaches at Oxford University in England, he is also an outspoken atheist who has repeatedly likened religious faith to a mental defect. But now, Dr. Dawkins and other scientists who agreed to be interviewed say they are surprised — and in some cases, angered — to find themselves not in “Crossroads” but in a film with a new name and one that makes the case for intelligent des...

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson According to the Incident Information System tracking the California wildfires, 12 of 25 tracked fires are 100% contained. The fires, ranging from the Simi Valley to the Mexican border, are responsible for about 5 deaths at the time of this writing. They have also displaced nearly 1 million people, with well over 1,000 homes consumed and nearly 70,000 still threatened. More than 400 square miles in seven counties have been ravaged by fire which, being fed by desert winds, has proven itself highly resistant to air attacks, hoses, and (of course) prayer. The American Red Cross has mobilized , sending shelter workers, feeding vans, and other supplies to provide relief to those affected. Direct Relief International has also responded by sending emergency medical supplies and offering assistance to hospitals in the region. Another aid organization, AmeriCares, is also shipping emergency aid items such as water, hygiene products and other...

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson Last Saturday, J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series of books, revealed that the Headmaster of Hogwarts is gay . The revelation provoked gasps and applause from those present to hear the revelation, which was prompted by a fan's question concerning whether Dumbledore would find true love in the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Explaining, Rowling said that Dumbledore's great love was rival wizard Gellert Grindelwald, whom he had defeated well before Harry Potter came to Hogwarts. Dumbledore's ill-fated and tragic infatuation developed in his youth, when he befriended the winsome wizard Grindelwald, who would ultimately become Dumbledore's enemy. Many fans have long speculated about the sexuality of the famous wizard, and explicit scenes featuring Dumbledore have already appeared in fan fiction. However, not surprisingly, some are less than pleased by the announcement. L...

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson Just how did life begin? Were the compounds necessary for life present in the massive protoplanetary dust cloud that surrounded our young Sun? Did they then become a part of the planets of our solar system, including one that would eventually yield complex life? Did they arrive from some other source, such as a comet or meteor? For as long as mankind has wondered, the question of life's origins (abiogenesis - literally "lifeless beginning") has remained among those most frequently asked - and answered. Every ancient society produced its own explanation for the phenomenon of life, nearly every one of them involving a god or cabal of gods and/or goddesses. Most of these have been discarded as myths. But whether one believes in gods or rejects them entirely, the question of life's origins remains an important one. Today, science is the preferred tool for finding answers to questions like this one. Abiogenesis is a rich ...

From The Epoch Times Former US vice president Al Gore delivers a speech before a screening of the film he helped make of his best-selling global warming book An Inconvenient Truth in Cannes, southern France. While Al Gore supporters everywhere were thrilled with his win of the Nobel Peace Prize last week, a British judge stole some of Gore's thunder with his finding that Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, is laced with inaccuracies. Justice Michael Burton had been asked by school governor and father of two, Stuart Dimmock, to rule on whether showing Gore's Oscar-winning movie about global warming in British schools constituted education or indoctrination. Burton said that while the points raised in the documentary are broadly accurate, they are made in "the context of alarmism and exaggeration," and the science in the film is used "in the hands of a talented politician and communicator, to make a political statement and to support a political program....

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson On March 10th, 2006, seven members of the Westboro Baptist Church attended - and picketed - the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who had tragically been killed in Iraq. A few months later, Albert Snyder, the fallen Marine's father, brought suit against them alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit is believed to be the first against the church by a fallen service member's family. Having been denied two consecutive motions to dismiss the case, the church headed to trial today in Baltimore. The outcome may have implications for the group's future activities, which continue to raise hackles and provoked a group of people calling themselves the Patriot Riders to visit targeted funerals in order to help prevent the WBC from interfering. For those who are unfamiliar with the Westboro Baptist Church, it is a small congregation in Topeka, Kansas that revolves arou...

From TownHall.Com How to shut up an atheist The atheist’s days of running circles around the Christian with their darling questions are drawing to a close. Yes, the fat lady just wrenched herself off her humongous backside, has cleared her throat and now is fixin’ to sing the finale on the atheist’s ability to have fun with their specious little fairy tales at the Christians’ expense. That is if the Christian will buy, devour, commit to memory and stand up and challenge the pouty anti-God cabal with the atheist-slaying facts found in two new books from Regnery namely, What's So Great About Christianity and The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible Authors Dinesh D’Souza and Robert Hutchinson skillfully answer, once again, the atheist’s pet questions about the existence (or non-existence) of God and how Christianity has allegedly made the world suck. Suck, for you thick atheists, is a slang word which means to make or to be really, really crappy (kind of like how our culture ...

WELLINGTON, Ohio -- Police in Brighton Township in Lorain County said that a teenager shot his parents. The boy's mother was killed and his father, who is also a pastor, is in critical condition after being shot in their home on Peck-Wadsworth Road on Saturday. Marc Petric, 45, was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center after the shooting at 7 p.m. Sue Petric died at the scene. Marc is the pastor at New Life Assembly of God . The couple's 16-year-old son, Daniel, is being questioned by the Lorain County Sheriff. Officials said he was the sole person responsible for the crime. Daniel was arrested after police spotted him driving his father's 1999 green Windstar. He has not been charged yet. Daniel is expected in court Monday morning. Story Link

Sent in by Beaster Once again, we have Christians telling us what a holiday is or isn't about. Now they are threatened by Halloween, yet have no problem rubbing Christmas in the face of others and get offended if you use Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Wow, the hypocrisy. The following is a letter that was sent in to the Dallas Morning News regarding the celebration of Halloween. Pathetic.... Halloween is a controversial holiday, as reflected in your columns. However, it's very easy to discover its origins, roots and current impact on our "Christian" society. While we continue to say we're a Christian nation, how has the very demonic Halloween holiday become so popular that it is second only to Christmas in its profit and celebration? Satanists practice sacrifices, mutilations, and many horrific religious rites on this, their high holy day. Why would any of us want to participate in celebrating a holiday that reflects demons (not sweet little imps and...

From LiveScience.Com : You are reading these words right now because 600 million years ago, an aquatic animal called a Hydra developed light-receptive genes—the origin of animal vision. It wasn't exactly 20-20 vision back then though. Hydras , a genus of freshwater animals that are kin to corals and jellyfish, measure only a few millimeters in diameter and have been around for hundreds of millions of years. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara studied the genes associated with vision (called opsins) in these tiny creatures and found opsin proteins all over their bodies. Though they don't have eyes or any specific light-receptive organs, researchers think that the light-sensing proteins concentrated in the mouth area of the Hydras help them to use light sensitivity to search out prey. Because studies of animals that evolved earlier, such as sponges , don't show the same light sensitivity, scientists were able to pinpoint the Precambrian ...