Ukraine; Discrimination, Arizona, Uganda; Church and State, Scouts; Sex Abuse Scandal; Catholic Coffers; Religion

Ukraine

• Ukraine orders full military mobilisation over Russia moves—Which is a considered a 'declaration of war.'
• Ukraine Finds Its Forces Are Ill Equipped to Take Crimea Back From Russia NYT
• Obama urges Putin to pull troops back
• Harper recalls ambassador, tells Putin to withdraw
• Russia told to 'back off' by Abbott
• UK pulls out of preparatory talks for G8 summit in Sochi
• Kerry condemns Russia's 'incredible act of aggression' in Ukraine
• UNSC, EU, NATO to hold urgent meetings over Ukraine
• Thousands March In Pro-Invasion Rally In Moscow
• The Wikileaks cables that anticipated the Russian invasion of Crimea
• UNSC, EU, NATO to hold urgent meetings over Ukraine
• The Wikileaks cables that anticipated the Russian invasion of Crimea

Discrimination

• The Week The 'Religious Freedom' Movement Hit Its High Water Mark
• When 'Religious Liberty' Was Used To Justify Racism Instead Of Homophobia
• Who Favors Discrimination against Gay Newlyweds? Most Republicans, old People, Southerners, Evangelicals
• GOP lawmaker says he 'regrets' offensive statements about gays, abortion
• NYC Church Warns That 'Homo Demons' Unleashed By Obama Will Steal Men

Arizona

• Arizona's antigay bill: Did warnings about Muslim religious freedom help prompt a veto?
• Arizona Not Done! Bill Would Allow Judges To Discriminate Against Gays
• It's Still Legal to Fire Gays in Arizona—"Jan Brewer’s veto of SB 1062 doesnt change a thing: discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is quite alright by the law."
• Tempe, Ariz., approves LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance
• Opinion: Arizona Did Us All a Favor—"Recent legal movements are fraught with trouble for a country founded on the idea that church does not dictate to state." NYT
• Stephen Colbert Makes a Cake for Gays

Uganda

• World Bank delays loan to Uganda over anti-gay law—Uganda claims this is 'blackmail.'
• Scots bid to offer Ugandan gay law asylum
• Anti-gay filmmaker Jason 'Molotov' Mitchell challenges for NC Senate seat—"Mitchell made news nationally in 2010 when he posted a video in support of a Ugandan anti-homosexuality law that would have imposed the death penalty on violators."
• Uganda bans miniskirts, pornography
• Ugandan women protest anti-miniskirt mobs

Church and State

• Alabama House committee passes school prayer bill without votes
• Ten Commandments bill on way to Alabama Senate after passing out of committee
• Conservatives Boot American Atheists From Booth At Conference
• Deal could allow gays in Boston St. Pat's parade
• Texas Religious-right Politicians Fall Prey to Scam by ‘Godly Man’

Scouts

• Disney cuts ties with Boy Scouts over ban on LGBTQ troop leaders—"The Walt Disney Company's corporate guidelines ban discrimination based on sexual or gender identity." Salon
• Small tent: Georgia pastor boots Boy Scouts to keep gay scouts from camping with other boys
• N. Va. priest who ousted Cub Scouts over gays kept the popcorn money for Christian group—"Fairfax cleric who severed ties with Cub Scouts over gays kept $4,000 to fund new Christian group." WaPo
• Boy Scouts See Ranks Shrink After Policy Shift on Gays—"Says other factors could contribute to the lower number of participants."
• Alternative to Boy Scouts, formed in wake of gay controversy, finds its footing

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Mom of two abused boys: Archdiocese is trying to blame me
• Former altar boy reveals grim details of Philadelphia priest’s alleged sex abuse
• Catholic church will publicly name 50 or more former priests who abused kids in western Montana
• Croatia Church finds priest guilty of pedophilia
• Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge dismayed by Catholic Church sex abuse claims—Those who "had ignored and excused sex abuse claims."

Islam

• Nigeria school raid 'leaves dozens dead'—"Suspected Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group in north-eastern Nigeria have attacked a school and shot some students, the military has said."
• 19 Islamic words banned for non-Muslims in Brunei—"They are azan; baitullah; Al Quran; Allah; fatwa; Firman Allah; hadith; haji; hukum syara'; ilahi; Ka'bah; kalimah al syahadah; kiblat; masjid; imam; mufti; mu'min; solat; and wali."
• Muslims Worldwide Sign Petition to Ban Blasphemous Katy Perry Video from YouTube
• Tunisian pardoned over Prophet cartoons—"Decree clears man jailed since 2012 for posting caricatures of Prophet Muhammad online, but no word yet on his release."
• US court orders removal of anti-Islam film from YouTube—Should freedom of speech pay the price because of a spurious copyright notice? Google doesn't think so.

Catholic Coffers

• Pope Talks Poverty, Eyes Overhaul Of Vatican Finances
• Pope revolutionizes Vatican by opening finances to scrutiny
• Big Spending NJ Archdiocese Doesn't Want To Talk About Pope's Call For Modesty
• A Church So Poor It Has to Close Schools, Yet So Rich It Can Build a Palace NYT
• Bling bishop used charity millions for HQ: report—"A disgraced German bishop who spent €31 million building a new headquarters used cash reserved for good causes to fund his lavish projects...."

Religion

• Why must Jesus be sexy in film?—Mmm... homem bonito.
• Kentucky Baptists use gun giveaways to lure unchurched to Christ
• Pastor of Korean Megachurch Convicted for Embezzling $12 Million
• Illinois Woman Charged With Vandalizing 20 Churches, Mosques
• "Hipster" Christianity: 9 hilarious attempts by the religious right to be cool Salon

Pope Francis, Religion; Church and State, Educamation; Abortion and Birth Control, Women, Rape and Sexual Assaults; Marriage Equality, LGBT, International

Pope Francis

• Pope Cautions Catholics Against 'Bombarding People With Religious Messages'
• Pope Francis Tells Missionary Group To Respect Local Cultures
• Birds Attack Peace Doves Freed From Pope's Window

Religion

• Extremist religion is at root of 21st-century wars, says Tony Blair—"Former prime minister will reignite debate on Iraq as he calls on governments to switch tactics."
• Irish Town Shuts Down 'Blasphemous' Play
• One in four Americans think God helps decide the outcome of football games
• Pastor Accused of Theft, Impersonating Marshal
• Catholic priest who ran right-wing death squad arrested in Colombia

Church and State

• North Carolina Church Runs Ad For Republican Fundraiser in Newsletter, Claiming That's Allowed Under IRS Rules
• New Atheism's big mistake: Debating creationists solves nothing—"Fundamentalism isn't really about the Bible; it's about politics. So attacking religion doesn't fix the problem." Salon
• US military relaxes uniform rules for religious items

Educamation

• Fox News contributor busted again for pushing fake story about persecution of Christians—"Todd Starnes helped promote a story about a California first-grader who allegedly was not allowed to give a one-minute presentation about her family’s Christmas tradition because it included religious references."
• If You Want To Fit In At This Public School Just Become Christian—Isn't it amazing what the bigoted teacher has made?
• States Of Prayer: Legislators In Three States Push Bills To Promote Religion In Public Schools
• Map: Publicly Funded Schools That Are Allowed to Teach Creationism.
• Texas board approves textbook review rule changes

Abortion and Birth Control

• Anti-Choice Groups Launch National Boycott Of Girl Scout Cookies For 'Endorsing' Wendy Davis
• Spain's prime minister pushes ahead with anti-abortion legislation despite almost no popular support—"In the midst of a jobs crisis and economic dysfunction, Spain now must face a bitter debate over government plans to radically restrict women's rights."
• Philippines' high court to rule on controversial contraception law—Odds are their supreme court will throw it out.

Women

• Egyptian belly dancer to mock Muslim Brotherhood by running for parliament
• 34% of women say men are justified in hitting wives if they argue back: Pakistan survey
• In conservative Pakistan, taboos hiding rise of breast cancer

Rape and Sexual Assaults

• Man get 12 years in jail for his depraved abuse of homeless teenager that included dipping her head into cooking oil before raping her
• 'Left behind' girl, aged 11, falls victim to sexual abuse by villagers
• Woman in India tells police village head ordered her gang-raped
• Let's Be Real: Online Harassment Isn’t 'Virtual' For Women
• Woman Accuses Ex-Coach of Abuse in YouTube Video
• "She Might Have Had a Case If She Had Been Unconscious During the Rape"—"After a scathing Justice Department investigation in the nation's 'rape capital,' the county attorney says he has everything under control."
• Bullying in armed forces on rise, MoD figures reveal—"Call for urgent overhaul of military justice as MP highlights plight of servicewomen alleging sexual offences."

Marriage Equality

• Health Benefits For Gay Couples In NC Cut By Blue Cross—"... after stating that the language in the respective policies was geared more towards married couples and not gay couples."
• Utah attorney general backs Nevada’s gay marriage ban
• Indiana House Derails 2014 Marriage Amendment By Voting To Change Its Language
• Gay-marriage debate takes new twist in Oregon: religious exemption
• Judge OKs class action status in Virginia for gay marriage lawsuit

LGBT

• Schatz introduces bill for discharged gay veterans—"A Hawaii Democrat introduced on Thursday new legislation in the U.S. Senate that would ensure gay veterans discharged because of their sexual orientation have the designation of 'honorable' discharge on their records."
• Football player's coming-out story disproves every dumb theory about gay athletes—"When Connor Mertens told his teammates he was bisexual, their response couldn't have been more perfect." Salon
• Maine Supreme Court: Transgender Students Deserve Equal Bathroom Access
• California Court Won't Hear Challenge To 'Gay Therapy' Ban
• Disney Channel features same-sex couple for the first time Salon
• The Benefits of the Closet
• What is homophobia? Why straight men are right to be afraid of homosexuality.

International

• Russian anti-gay gang violence seen for the first time on camera—"Forthcoming C4 documentary reveals disturbing methods used by homophobic groups as Olympics near."
• Olympians Join Petition Against Russian Crackdown on Gays
• Northern Cyprus votes to legalise gay sex—"Campaigners hail 'historic day for gay people' after MPs approve repeal of Europe's last remaining ban on homosexual acts."
• Ugandan President Will Only Sign Antigay Bill If Science Proves It's A Choice
• Archbishops criticise Nigerian and Ugandan anti-gay laws—Uganda archbishop responds.
• Local church removes gay man's membership, denies him communion—"Pastor of the Newberry Township church said the decision is out of love, not hate."
• India Supreme Court refuses to review colonial-era sodomy ban Salon

Jesus the Zealot, Church and State, Sex Abuse Scandals, Creationists, Christianists, Ultra-Orthodox, Islamists, Haram, Blasphemy, Religion, Atheism; NSA Spying

Jesus the Zealot

• "Zealot": The real Jesus—"Reza Aslan argues that the historical Jesus was not an unworldly pacifist preaching a creed of universal love." Salon
• Fox News Anchor Dumbfounded That A Scholar, Who Is Muslim, Had The Audacity To Write A Book About Jesus
• Jesus book hits No. 1 in wake of viral Fox News interview—Aslan says it's their 'jump the shark' moment.

Church and State

• How Justice Antonin Scalia Is Imposing Catholic Morality in the Supreme Court… and Getting Away With It
• RNC chairman says the Republican Party is a religion
• The "anti-God" party—"You can't be a Christian and a Democrat at the same time, Virginia's GOP candidate for lieutenant governor says." Salon
• Pastor: 'In God We Trust' Signs on Tennessee Courthouse Are Part of 'Majority Rule'
• Pray The Gay Away? Alabama Government Agency Begins Meeting With Anti-Gay Marriage Prayer
• Cullman County School District in Alabama Is the Site of Even More Violations of Church/State Separation
• Federal court halts Christian prayers at North Carolina county meetings

Sex Abuse Scandals

• Catholic Church, private schools lobby against California childhood sex abuse bill—"The Los Angeles archdiocese and other private groups say they have been unfairly targeted because the bill does not apply to public schools."
• New sex abuse crisis in Scottish Catholic church—"Priest claims he was abused by older cleric, and church is punishing him for speaking out."
• Brooklyn D.A. releases names of sex offenders in Orthodox community

Creationists

• Creationist Demands That Houston Museum Ban Atheists and Science Supporters
• Alarm Bells Are Ringing: Creationists Get Influential Positions in Texas Science Textbook Review
• Botanical Society Panel Derides Creationism, Louisiana Science Education Act

Christianists

• Refusal of religious orders to compensate Magdalenes 'beggars belief'
• Christian healer who groped patients at Brighouse home is jailed
• Players' shocking allegations against former NCAA women's basketball coach—"As many as 15 former players and others close to the Oakland University women's basketball program allege Beckie Francis fixated on their weight, pushed her religious views and used intimidation."
• Alabama state champion coach and AD fired for being a member of the wrong church
• 10 worst examples of Christian or far-right terrorism—"Conservatives claim that all terrorists are Muslim, but most violent attacks in the US are carried out by white men." Salon

Ultra-Orthodox

• NY orthodox rally against military service sounds anti-Zionist themes
• Israel Passes Military Draft Bill—"Israel's Cabinet has approved a plan that would gradually end a contentious system that has granted automatic draft exemptions to Jewish ultra-Orthodox seminary students." NYT
• Ultra-Orthodox protesters shatter bus windows after female passenger refuses to sit in back

Islamists

• A teenager thrown from a roof in Alexandria—His father asks, "[W]ho are these people who use Islam to pull us back into the dark ages?"
• European Union Adds Hezbollah Wing to Terror List NYT
• Inside the Nanga Parbat Murders—"One of the worst massacres in mountaineering history happened this summer in Pakistan. Will it happen again?"

Haram

• Kindergarten drop pork: It must be the same for all
• Dinner lady sacked for serving pork to Muslim girl at Cambridge primary school
• Alvin And Vivian Jailed: Malaysian Sex Bloggers Charged With Sedition For Inciting Religious Enmity With Ramadan Image

Blasphemy

• Column: Why it's time to get rid of Ireland's blasphemy laws
• Saudi activist receives 7-year sentence, 600 lashes for insulting Islam
• Jailed Russian female punk rock member loses parole appeal

Religion

• Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt—"The church is grappling with a wave of disillusionment among members who encountered information that sabotages what they were taught about their faith." NYT
• 11 Things The Bible Bans, But People Do Anyway
• Satanists Turned the Founder of the Westboro Baptist Church's Dead Mom Gay—Taking a cue from the Mormon's despicable baptisms?

Atheism

• Former Congressman Barney Frank Finally Comes Out as an Atheist
• The United States Marine Corps Officially Declares 'Lack of Spiritual Faith' as a Sign of Instability
• Republican-Led House Approves Amendment Banning Non-Religious Military Chaplains—But will this stick?
• The six types of atheist—"A new study in the US seeks to break down atheists into distinct categories. Which one do you fall into?"
• Atheism: Why the UK is losing its religion

NSA Spying

• PBS: Spying on the Home Front
• NSA chief: Snooping is crucial to fighting terrorism
• Concerns over NSA prompt Wikimedia to speed up using HTTPS by default—"You'll have to log in, but HTTPS will hide what you read or write from snooping."

Pope Francis, Sex Abuse Scandal; Blasphemy, Islamists, Orthodox; Christianists, Creationists, In Bad Faith; Religion, Jesus

Pope Francis

• Pope makes first big decision naming advisory board—"Pope Francis, in his first major decision, ... set up an advisory board of cardinals from around the world to help him govern the Catholic Church and reform its troubled central administration."
• Pope Francis hits out at global 'cult of money'
• Church must help the poorest, not dissect theology, pope says

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Pope Francis calls for action on clerical sex abuse—Total opposite of his predecessor espoused.
• Cardinal who covered up pedophilia says he forgives those who are mad at him—Probably has also forgiven all the little boys and girls who seduced those poor oh-so-susceptible priests.
• $3 billion and counting: the sex-abuse scandal continues
• Outrage in Spain over video game that depicts Pope Benedict XVI as pimp for pedophile cardinals
• Australia: 'Catholic mafia' covered up Hunter abuse

Blasphemy

• Bangladesh protesters demand blasphemy law—"Hundreds of thousands of marchers call for law that would include death penalty for bloggers who insult Islam." The PM has so far rejected the notion.
• Russian MPs back harsher anti-blasphemy law—Church and State colluding to espouse censorship.
• Russian court denies punk band convict Tolokonnikova parole
• Qatar jails a Nepali teacher on charges of insulting Islam—Thankfully, he's been freed and back home in Nepal.
• Turkish pianist sentenced to jail for criticizing Islam on Twitter Salon

Islamists

• Egyptian Activists: Our Religion Is None Of Your Business
• Morocco's High Council of Ulemas's Death Sentence Fatwa on Apostates Sparks Controversy
• Gaza police shaving heads of long-haired youths—"Police in Hamas-ruled Gaza have started grabbing young men with long or gel-styled spiky hair off the streets, bundling them into jeeps, mocking them and shaving their heads."
• 'Modesty police' arrests ratchet fears of radicalized Islam in Gaza
• Indonesia teens accused of blasphemy over Maroon 5 dance
• No 'Happy Easter': The Muslim Brotherhood's Bizarre Religious Intolerance
• They're taking our children—'West Papua's youth are being removed to Islamic religious schools in Java for 're-education...'"

Orthodox

• Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest over Israeli army enlistment
• Orthodox men hurl stinkbombs at women praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall
• No More Play Dates? Sex-Segregated Park Opens in New York
• Culture war erupts in Israel over attempts to end preferential budgets for ultra-Orthodox
• Them and Them—"Up in Ramapo, the immigrant community and the growing population of Hasidim had eyed each other with increasing wariness. Then the Orthodox took over the public schools and proceeded to gut them."
• In Israel, new modesty glasses for Orthodox Jewish men blur women out of their line of sight
• Orthodox Jewish Man Covers Himself In Plastic Bag On Plane

Christianists

• North Carolina Republican Equates Praying to Allah with Terrorism
• Detroit: Christian Extemists Force Cancellation Of Annual Dearborn Arab Fest
• Mississippi high school forces students to attend Christian lectures: lawsuit
• Some Don't Like BioShock's Forced Baptism. Enough To Ask For A Refund
• The Quiverfull: The evangelical Christians opposed to contraception

Creationists

• snopes.com: 4th Grade Science Quiz—The South Carolinian school administrator "was shocked at the level of hate that the atheists poured down upon her, the teacher, and the school in general."
• Senators again reject repeal of Louisiana Science Education Act
• Why Americans Love Creationism

In Bad Faith

• 2nd Child of Pa. Couple Dies After Only Praying—The other children have been getting court-ordered medical care.
• Opinion: Faith healing is criminal in modern society
• Doctors win right to save Jehovah's Witness boy's life

Religion

• Christianity declining 50pc faster than thought – as one in 10 under-25s is a Muslim
• Belief in Angry God Associated with Poor Mental Health
• Man Sues Bishop for Failing to Exorcise Flatulent Demons
• Papua New Guinea Considers Repealing Sorcery Law—"The prime minister has vowed to repeal a controversial sorcery act after the latest in a string of brutal public killings of people accused of practicing black magic." NYT
• 10 Faked Historical Miracles

Jesus

• A Feud Between Biblical Archaeologists Goes to Court—"Jacobovici has claimed to have some of the bones of Jesus and his family, their DNA from ossuaries. 'If the remains were reburied, then there could not have been any true resurrection.'"
• The Three Christs of Ypsilanti—A psychiatric case that "details the interactions of the three patients... who each believed himself to be Jesus Christ."
• Shape-Shifting Jesus Described in Ancient Egyptian Text

Marriage Equality, Conservatives, Islamists, Blasphemy, Atheism, Europe, Science Under Siege, Creationism, Evolution

Marriage Equality

• Pope Says Gay Marriage Poses A Threat To 'Justice And Peace' In World Day Of Peace 2013 Address--Says the man obstructing justice by protecting pedophiles.
• George Takei: We Are Not Murderers, Mr. Scalia
• Popularity of tiny Dutch Caribbean island soars following gay marriage

Conservatives

• America Isn't as Decadent as Social Conservatives Think It Is
• Biblical Economics--"An irony of modern politics is that many conservative Americans view themselves as devout believers in the Bible yet they ascribe to right-wing, dog-eat-dog economic theories that Jesus and other Biblical figures would condemn. The contradiction has pushed Biblical economics out of mainstream debate, says Rev. Howard Bess."
• Two and a Half Men 'filth', says show star Angus Jones--"The 19-year-old explained that the show's raunchy humour conflicted with his recent bible studies." He did end up apologizing to the cast and crew.

Islamists

• Mass rape, amputations and killings – why families are fleeing terror in Mali
• Blues for Mali as Ali Farka Toure's music is banned
• Egyptian Islamists: 'We've Won Elections, Now Democracy Isn't Good Enough?'
• Group of Christian women banned from voting in Egypt’s referendum
• Moroccans Fear That Flickers of Democracy Are Fading NYT

Blasphemy

• Kuwait introduces death penalty for 'cursing God and prophets'
• Debunking 'weeping Jesus' forces exile--When drinking sewer water is valued over rational thinking.
• Egyptian Copt Alber Saber jailed for blasphemy
• Dutch parliament to abolish blasphemy law
• Ireland's blasphemy laws condemned

Atheism

• Add This Group To Obama's Winning Coalition: 'Religiously Unaffiliated'
• UK: Census 2011 religion data reveal there are 4m fewer Christians and 1 in 4 is now an atheist
• Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination: report
• When a Church Partners with a Public School to Raise Money for a Christian Charity, an Atheist Steps In
• Why I Don't Want to Be a West Point Graduate--"[T]he tipping point of my decision to resign was the realization that countless officers here and throughout the military are guilty of blatantly violating the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution... through unconstitutional proselytism, discrimination against the non-religious and establishing formal policies to reward, encourage and even at times require sectarian religious participation." Emphasis mine.

Europe

• Polish ritual slaughter illegal, court rules--"Poland's top court has ruled that the religious slaughter of animals is illegal, weeks before an EU law allowing the practice takes effect."
• Italian church to be stripped of tax exemption from 2013
• Vatican disciplines Austrian dissident priest

Science Under Siege

• Dinosaurs and Denial--"Senator Marco Rubio created quite a stir with comments about the age of Earth, but his answer was in line with the consensus of the Republican Party." NYT
• Lamar Smith, Global Warming Skeptic, Set To Chair House Science Committee--This is Texas' fault
• Anti-Evolution Rep. Broun Wants to Stay on Science Committee

Creationism

• Pat Robertson admits Biblical creationism is false--He says "the earth is much older than Biblical creationists are willing to admit.
• Debate on Islam and evolution has to be called off after revolt by student societies--"Muslim opposition highlights growing influence of creationism and literalist interpretations of the Koran."
• Rubio: "There is no scientific debate on the age of the earth"--"The Florida senator clarifies that he believes the Earth is 'at least 4.5 billion years old.'" Salon
• After creationism bill failed, Indiana senator will push 'truth in education' measure
• Say What? Kentucky Legislator Mike Wilson Won’t Push Creationism?
• A Marshall McLuhan moment with creationist Paul Nelson
• The Top 10 Claims Made by Creationists to Counter Scientific Theories

Evolution

• New contender for oldest dinosaur
• The Real Tree of Life
• xkcd: Feathers

Church and State, Intolerance of Religion, Blasphemy, Atheism, Sex Abuse Scandal, Abortion and Birth Control, Creationism, Republicans, Jesus

Church and State

• Pat Robertson Admits He Blew The Election Prediction He Got From God
• Franklin Graham: God May Have to Cause "A Complete Economic Collapse" to Save Nation From Obama--I think God saved America from people like him.
• German reporter goes underground at Patrick Henry College--"Nearly all of the students at Patrick Henry College have been home-schooled by ultra-conservative evangelical Christian parents. [...] Students are taught to kneel before images of Jesus and Ronald Reagan...."

Intolerance of Religion

• Islamic hardliners announce fatwa on Malala Yousafzai--"British-based Islamic radicals are preparing to announce a fatwa on Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old girl shot by the Pakistan Taliban, for her role in standing up to extremists."
• Turkish schoolbooks denounce Darwin, Einstein as 'Jews'
• Egypt: Women assault, cut hair of Christian woman on metro
• Salvation Army Official: Gays Deserve Death--Unsurprisingly, "the Salvation Army has officially distanced itself from Craibe's remarks...."
• Malians Rally Against Religious Extremism--"Several thousand people have turned out for a rally in Mali's capital, Bamako, to show support for 'the authentic Islam' and to say no to religious extremism." NYT

Blasphemy

• Pak man shot dead after being acquitted of blasphemy
• Pakistan acquits girl of blasphemy charges--"Charges against Rimsha Masih of burning Quran have been thrown out after police accused cleric of framing her."
• Blasphemy Charges On The Rise In Pakistan
• Nigeria riot over 'blasphemy' against Islam's prophet
• Bitten: Apple's 'blasphemous' logo under fire in Russia--"Some Russian Orthodox Christians see the iconic logo as a symbol of sin that they would like to see outlawed."

Atheism

• A Year in Jail for Not Believing in God? How Kentucky is Persecuting Atheists
• Robertson: Atheists 'Miserable' and Trying to 'Steal' Christmas Like the Grinch
• UK: Schoolboy 'banned from Scouts for being an atheist'
• No God, not even Allah--"Ex-Muslim atheists are becoming more outspoken, but tolerance is still rare."
• 'Fighting Reality': Life as an atheist in Saudi Arabia

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Former priest alleges 'system of abuse cover-ups'--"I became aware that some of the other priests were actually paedophiles and were not necessarily becoming priests because they wanted to help people, but because they were paedophiles who wanted the opportunity."
• Australia to launch national investigation of child sex abuse--"The decision came after a string of accusations surrounding the Roman Catholic Church outraged Australians and spurred regional inquiries." And victims to be able to sue church.
• 'Priests believe child abuse forgivable'
• AP Interview: Vatican sex crimes prosecutor on sin--"When Pope Benedict XVI announced last month he was transferring his respected sex crimes prosecutor to Malta to become a bishop, Vatican watchers immediately questioned whether the Holy See's tough line on clerical abuse was going soft -- and if another outspoken cleric was being punished for doing his job too well."
• The Redemption of Sinead O'Connor

Abortion and Birth Control

• U-turn for Irish health chiefs as senior consultants are axed from team leading probe into death of Savita Halappanavar--These senior consultants worked for the very hospital that's being investigated.
• Six Affairs, Two Abortions and Another Term in Congress -- Tennessee Republican Rep. Scott Desjarlais--"He now looks back with regret, he says, on the sexual relationships he had with two patients, three co-workers and a drug company representative while he was chief of staff at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper."
• US abortions fall 5 percent, biggest drop in a decade--"The reason for the decline wasn't clear, but some experts said it may be due to better use of birth control during tough economic times. Their theory is that some women believe they can't afford to get pregnant."
• After Cutting Tax Credit For Children, Michigan Republicans Consider One For Fetuses--It's like they don't care about kids after they've left the womb.
• Uh-oh, Dan Patrick's Got Another Idea to Improve Women's Health--"It almost seems as if state Sen. Dan Patrick, the talk-radio Republican from Houston, spends his free time thinking up ways to antagonize people who are already in a politically disadvantaged position."

Creationism

• Rubio: Maybe Earth was created in 7 days because 'I'm not a scientist, man'--A wannabe President pandering to conservatives? God forbid.
• Here Is What Louisiana Schoolchildren Learn About Evolution
• Evolutionist James Kirk Wall responds to young earth creationist Randy Ruggles

Republicans

• GOP's Domination Was Only Temporary
• Krugman: Grand Old Planet NYT
• A Thanksgiving Letter to the Republican Party
• Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mitt
• Tea Party Path to Victory: Go After Moderate Republicans in 2014

Jesus

• Jesus was born years earlier than thought, claims Pope
• The Inside Story of a Controversial New Text About Jesus
• The Best Of Jesus Is A Jerk