« The Fear Factor | Home | Recent Comments | Categories | The law of beauty hidden behind the iCloud icon. »
Church pastors become atheists
[Quote]:
More than 200 church leaders across the country now say they no longer believe in God, including a Houston-area pastor who was one of the first to publicly announce his decision.
Mike Aus, who was pastor at Theophilus church in Katy, made that announcement during an appearance on a Sunday morning show on MSNBC.
“Hardly anyone reads the Bible,” said Aus on the “Up with Chris Hayes” program. “If they did, the whole thing would be in trouble.”
The Fear Factor
[Quote]:
If there is one thought that summarizes the strength and weakness of the Arab awakenings, it’s the one offered by Daniel Brumberg, a co-director of the democracy and governance studies program at Georgetown University, who observed that the Arab awakenings happened because the Arab peoples stopped fearing their leaders — but they stalled because the Arab peoples have not stopped fearing each other.
Republican Senator Tries To Add Conception Amendment To Flood Insurance Bill
[Quote]:
Floods and abortions are distinctly different topics — except to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who is trying to attach an anti-choice amendment to the Senate’s flood insurance bill.
|
Cartoons
|
TSA Agent Spills Ashes of Man’s Grandfather, Laughs
[Quote]:
A man’s attempt to bring the ashes of his grandfather home to Indianapolis ended with an angry scene in a Florida airport, with the ashes spilled on the terminal floor.
John Gross, a resident of Indianapolis’ south side, was leaving Florida with the remains of his grandfather — Mario Mark Marcaletti, a Sicilian immigrant who worked for the Penn Central Railroad in central Indiana — in a tightly sealed jar marked “Human Remains.”
Gross said he didn’t think he’d have a problem, until he ran into a TSA agent at the Orlando airport.
“They opened up my bag, and I told them, ‘Please, be careful. These are my grandpa’s ashes,’” Gross told RTV6′s Norman Cox. “She picked up the jar. She opened it up.
“I was told later on that she had no right to even open it, that they could have used other devices, like an X-ray machine. So she opened it up. She used her finger and was sifting through it. And then she accidentally spilled it.”
Gross says about a quarter to a third of the contents spilled on the floor, leaving him frantically trying to gather up as much as he could while anxious passengers waited behind him.
“She didn’t apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn’t pick up all, everything that was lost. I mean, there was a long line behind me.”
TSA rules say a crematory container in carry-on baggage must pass through the X-ray machine at the security checkpoint.
But the agency’s own website says human remains are to be opened under, “no circumstances.”
“I want an apology,” said Gross. “I want an apology from TSA. I want an apology from the lady who opened the jar and laughed at me. I want them to help me understand where they get off treating people like this.”
|
NATO set to debate downing of Turkish plane
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, has spoken about his country’s tense relations with Damascus ahead of a special meeting of NATO allies to discuss the shooting down by Syria of a Turkish warplane last week.
Ambassadors to the military alliance will meet in Brussels on Tuesday at Ankara’s request, in an incident which Turkey has branded an “act of aggression”.
Condeming the government of Bashar al-Assad in his weekly address to parliament, Erdogan said: “The United Nations and Kofi Annan gave him [Assad] a plan, but he did not take it seriously.
“The Syrian regime has no more legitimacy, that is clear. Women, children, the elderly, have been killed relentlessly by this tyranny.”
However, Erdogan also stated that: “Syria’s borders can never prevent the brotherhood between Syria and Turkey.”
Historic meeting
It is only the second time in NATO’s 63-year history that it will convene under Article 4 of its charter, which provides for consultations when a member state feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat.
The only other time NATO has convened under Article 4 was in 2003 to discuss the Iraq war, again at the request of Turkey.
What can possibly go wrong?
UK’s MI5 chief warns of ‘terrorism threat’
Britain has seen a credible “terrorist” attack plot about once a year since the September 11 attacks, a worrying pattern as London prepares to host the Olympics, the head of the country’s intelligence agency has said…
“Our assessment is that Britain has experienced a credible terrorist attack plot about once a year since 9/11,” he said. “The [Olympic] games present an attractive target for our enemies and they will be at the center of the world’s attention in a month or so,” he said.
There were at least 11 actual attacks in Britain in 2000-2010, plus over 20 major busts “preventing terrorism.” Seems his assessment of the risk is a little low, if the risk of an attack on the Olympics is determined by the number of past attacks in Britain, which is unproven.
News Corp ‘considering splitting into two’
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is thinking of splitting into two companies, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the situation…
The company plans to separate its publishing assets from its entertainment businesses, the report said.
Quick, which one will control Fux News? Yes, you guessed correctly! It’s entertainment…
Oh, I dunno. I think most of ‘em just cherry pick the bits they want to know and ignore the stuff like loving your fellow man.
Agree with Sue, the bits they pick tend toward membership in a save your ass society. Combine that with Christian Nation doctrine and they out themselves as authoritarians. For some, though, the emphasis is where it should be: that what matters is how we treat each other now.