Clipmarks | enbar's Current events, politics, religion collection

"Religious literacy" courses now required in Modesto, CA public schools

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:43:11 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: More religious knowledge has got to be a good thing, I think. On the other hand, a course like this has got to be fantastically easy to screw up. It would be interesting to study what they're doing and how it's working out. Thanks to ~C4Chaos at Friendfeed for the link.

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

Teaching Not Preaching In CA Bible Belt

Most Schools Avoid Religion, But It's Required In Modesto Schools

Modesto, Calif., is home to the only school district in the country that requires the teaching of world religions to high school students. (CBS)

Like many other places, Modesto is becoming more religiously diverse.

But unlike any other place, religion is a required course in high school here.

"And now we're going to be looking at Judaism, Christianity, and Islam," Taylor said to her class.

"The United States is one of the most religious countries on Earth. And yet Americans know almost nothing about religion," said Stephen Prothero, author of a new book, "Religious Literacy."

But in Modesto, the lessons aren't about distant cultures, so much as about the student at the next desk.

While there are many religions here, the goal is to create one community where everyone is accepted.

Tags: religion, schools, education, teaching, california, pluralism, america, news

Christianity Today on torture

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:12:54 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: David Gushee for the evangelical Christian magazine Christianity Today on five theological grounds for the unequivocal and universal condemnation of torture by Christians, and why, from a Christian perspective, no exceptional circumstances can ever justify the use of torture. From February 2006.

Clip Source: www.christianitytoday.com

5 Reasons Torture Is Always Wrong

And why there should be no exceptions.

Clip Source: www.christianitytoday.com

Furthermore, while all "cruel, inhuman, or degrading" treatment of detainees has been officially rejected by the administration (under pressure from Sen. John McCain and others), it is not clear who defines when treatment crosses that line. It also remains unclear how much latitude those on the front lines of interrogation have, and if and how they would be held accountable if they were to cross the line. In other words, there remain a number of loopholes for torture to be practiced in the war on terror.

Yet the prohibition on torture in international law admits no exceptions. The U.N. Convention Against Torture puts it this way: "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for torture."

Tags: torture, religion, christianity, evangelicalism, commentary, opinion, gwot, violence, rels327

"Lost" (the TV show) and religion

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:23:59 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Bookmarking this mostly to read later.

Clip Source: www.beliefnet.com

The 'Lost' Tribe

One of TV's most popular shows is also one of the most spiritual. So why aren't the Jews getting any love?

Lilit Marcus

One reason that Lost resonates with so many viewers is that it incorporates elements from many world religions. The show frequently refers to a mysterious string of numbers that add up to 108, a sacred number in Buddhism that represents the number of beads on a mala, or prayer necklace. A secretive group that might be behind the mysterious happenings on the island is called the Dharma Initiative. Lost boasts one of the most diverse casts on TV, with the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 coming from a variety of backgrounds (Nigerian, Korean, Iraqi, etc.) However, religious diversity is where the program fails. Because the majority of the passengers are from the United States, the show assumes them all to be Christian or nonreligious. The Iraqi soldier, Sayid, is Muslim, and has been shown praying on several occasions.

Tags: via:friendfeed, religion, popular_culture, television, media, contemporary, commentary, !toread

The National Animal Identification System, food safety, and school lunches: cui bono?

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:12:29 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: A Wisconsin family farmer criticizes the NAIS, which requires all livestock to carry a RFID tag (prohibitively expensive for non-CAFO-type operations, i.e., small family farmers). To him, it looks like another agribusiness attempt to shut down small, organic producers.

Clip Source: www.madison.com

Jeff Pausma: Congress takes another potshot at family farmers

The scandal at the Hallmark/Westland plant in Chino, Calif., has sparked interest in the trend of securing local meat from sources that are grass-fed, organic and come from animals raised humanely. Our kids deserve the safest meat in their food. Sadly, Congress is now considering squashing such efforts to get local foods into the School Lunch Program.

In June, the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, at the behest of Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said it was considering a provision that would force schools to buy meat for the School Lunch Program from sources enrolled in the federal government's National Animal Identification System. NAIS is hugely controversial among family farmers like me. The U.S. government wants us to inventory, identify and track the movement of all agriculture-related animals.

Is NAIS really about consumer safety or fattening the profits of corporate agribusiness and electronic tag companies?

Tags: food, health, safety, environment, politics, law, midwest, farming, opinion, via:energybulletin

DHS: Federal border agents can "detain" your computer indefinitely, without cause

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:59:31 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Federal security agents can confiscate anyone's laptop or any information storage device (including any and all papers you're travelling with), share the contents with any third party they wish, and keep the material indefinitely, without cause.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border

No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes.

Customs Deputy Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern said the efforts "do not infringe on Americans' privacy."

Tags: computers, gwot, civil_rights, privacy, travel, dhs, news

American Sikh immigrants fear their tradition is slipping away

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:46:44 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Many Sikh temples in the U.S. are alarmed at the relative absence of young people (mostly immigrants' children), who don't speak Punjabi and aren't interested in the old-country traditions.

Clip Source: www.myrtlebeachonline.com

Sikhs losing their tradition

By Vanessa Colon - McClatchy Newspapers

FRESNO, Calif. --

Over the last two decades, the Indian immigrants in California's Fresno area have built at least a dozen Sikh temples to serve a growing community.

But many temples are often short of one thing: young adults, some of whom say they feel like outsiders.

They don't like the temple politics and don't have command of Punjabi, the primary language of the service.

Singh said most of the parents are immigrants who observe the religion as they did in India, reciting memorized verses. Many of the youths want a more Americanized service that allows for discussion and explanation.

"The parents are not worried about that or are busy with other things - working and trying to settle down," he said. "That's what's causing the feeling among the youth."

"This is very typical of what happens in the second generation. The usual model is the immigrant church or religious institution is tied to the old country," Busto said.

Tags: religion_news, religion, sikhism, america, pluralism, immigration, south_asia

U.S. mainline Protestantism and the Institute for Religion and Democracy

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:12:11 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Frederick Clarkson, in a 2006 article, outlines the activities of the Institute for Religion and Democracy since the eighties. Mainly funded by right-wing think tanks, he says, it has attempted to foment schism and disrupt governance in the largest denominations in the National Council of Churches.

Clip Source: www.publiceye.org

The Battle for the Mainline Churches

By Frederick Clarkson
The Public Eye Magazine - Spring 2006

The Institute remains a well-funded and influential hub for a national network of conservative factions called the Association for Church Renewal. The member organizations, called “renewal” groups, variously seek to neutralize church tendencies of which they don’t approve; drive out staff they don’t like; and seek to take over the churches, but failing that—taking as many churches and assets out as possible. The network’s spokespersons are treated as credible voices of conservative dissent by mainstream media.

IRD’s program is currently focused on the NCC’s three largest denominations, together comprising 14 million members: the United Methodist Church, The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA). They also find the time to target the NCC, and the World Council of Churches.

Tags: religion, america, protestantism, evangelicalism, church, conservatives, contemporary, criticism, politics

Australia's Hillsong Church and the "beauty gospel" for teenage girls

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 03:23:18 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: In Australia, a church-run program for troubled teenage girls emphasizes "natural make-up, hair care, nail care" as a way of discovering girls' "created uniqueness." Peculiar.

Clip Source: www.smh.com.au

Hillsong hits schools with beauty gospel

EVERY Tuesday afternoon during the first term at Matraville Sports High School, a group of young women take part in classes intended to boost their self-esteem. Some have personal problems, others have behavioural issues, while a few simply go because their friends do.

For the next two hours they learn a range of skills including how to put on make-up, do their hair and nails, and walk with books balanced on their heads.

The program, called Shine, was created by the Hillsong Church. It is being run in at least 20 NSW public schools, numerous small community organisations and within the juvenile justice system.

"Through skin care, natural make-up, hair care, nail care girls discover their value and created uniqueness," the material says.

Tags: via:socialmedian, religion, evangelicalism, christianity, education, schools, australia, gender

"Fusion centers": another step on the road to the "total surveillance society"

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:35:59 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: A "fusion center" is a domestic intelligence-gathering facility which involves police, federal agencies, the military, and in some cases also private contractors in gathering as much data as possible about people suspected of undefined "illicit activity." No chance of abuse there, of course. None.

Clip Source: www.progressive.org

ACLU Highlights Risk of “Fusion Centers”

On the heels of the Maryland State Police spying scandal, the ACLU is ringing the alarms over “fusion centers.”

The fusion centers represent an attempt to create a “total surveillance society,” the update says.

It notes that the LAPD fed into its fusion center an array of ““suspicious activity reports” that included such innocuous activities as “taking notes” or “drawing diagrams” or “using binoculars.” (Since one out of six Americans is a birdwatcher, this last item could really swell the files.)

Frighteningly, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has called the LAPD program “a national model.”

The ACLU notes that “other illicit intention” is not defined, and that fusion centers are fed intelligence before “reasonable suspicion” is established.

For those living in Virginia, it’s already too late: The Virginia General Assembly passed a law in April 2008 exempting the state’s fusion center from the Freedom of Information Act.

Tags: domestic_spying, civil_rights, law, politics, gwot, bad_news, commentary

Passion Fest 2008, Pottstown, PA (July 19)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:23:32 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: I'm seriously thinking about going to this. Out of curiousity, really. My understanding is that it has a heavily evangelical, proselytizing flavor, but that isn't really indicated by the website.

Clip Source: www.passionfest.org

We Build It, You Come!

Between 10 and 14 thousand people attended Passion Fest '07! We can't wait to top that number this year!

Check Out Who Else Will be There

What?

A FREE Community Festival

When?

July 19, 2008

Where?

Grounds of Pottstown High School, PA Click Here for Map

Who?

Bands, Extreme Athletes and More will be Performing
It'll be an Experience for the Whole Family to Enjoy

Why?

Our goal with Passion Fest is to increase the quality of life of Southeastern PA, by developing unity between the people, churches, businesses and organizations within the Community.

How?

Passion Fest can't be a success without your help!
We'd love to have everyone volunteer their time and help sponsor the festival so we can put on a great free event for the community, but even more, we'd just love to have you come out and enjoy yourself at the third annual Passion Fest!

Tags: events, local, pennsylvania, pottstown, christianity, evangelicalism, music, sports

Judith Warner: The Hillary-haters and "Sex and the City"

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 05:03:34 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Judith Warner on the brutal misogyny represented in all the banter, on the one hand, about Hillary Clinton as a "castrating," bitchy female, and on the other hand, the "frothy," cheerful, meaningless drivel in "Sex and the City."

Clip Source: warner.blogs.nytimes.com

Woman in Charge, Women Who Charge

Is it a coincidence that the bubbling idiocy of “Sex and the City,” the movie, exploded upon the cultural scene at the exact same time that Hillary Clinton’s candidacy imploded?

In a culture that’s reached such a level of ostensible enlightenment as ours, calling a powerful woman “castrating” – however you choose to put it – ought to be seen as just as offensive as rubbing your fingers together to convey a love of gold coinage when you talk about a Jew. It’s nothing other than an expression of woman-hate — and the degree to which such expressions have flourished, in the mainstream media and in the loonier reaches of cyberspace this year, has added up to be a real national shame.

Which brings me back to “Sex and the City.”

“Sex and the City” is the perfect movie for our allegedly ever-so-promising post-feminist era, when “angry” is out and Restalyne is in, and virtually all our country’s most powerful women look younger now than they did 20 years ago.

Tags: gender, politics, commentary, nytimes, blogclip, via:brijit, film, popular_culture

Commonweal on Mark Taylor's "After God"

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:06:00 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Villanova's Bernard Prusak reviews Mark Taylor's latest book. He is critical, but thoughtful. The review is a very good read.

Clip Source: www.commonwealmagazine.org

April 11, 2008 / Volume CXXXV, Number 7

The Lord & Taylor

After God

Mark C. Taylor

University of Chicago Press, $35, 416 pp.

When I was a student at Williams College in the 1990s, Professor Mark C. Taylor was the big man on campus, the intellectual figure to reckon with. If a book had been written with the title God and Man at Williams, the man would have been Taylor, according to whom God was dead. Taylor loomed especially large for students like me who came to Williams with faith in God as well as aspirations, or pretensions, to be intellectually sophisticated. For faith in God, at least according to Taylor and his protégées, was intellectually disreputable. Haven’t you read Nietzsche, and Freud, and the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, and above all the French “deconstructionist” Jacques Derrida?

Tags: roman_catholicism, religion, christianity, books, secularism, review, pluralism

Ziauddin Sardar on the Quilliam Foundation for ex-jihadis

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:27:08 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Sardar, whose writing I am only a little bit familiar with, is highly critical of any "lionizing" of former members of Islamic extremist groups, since it implicitly devalues the commitment to peace and pluralism exhibited by most "ordinary" Muslims.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

To lionise former extremists feeds anti-Muslim prejudice

It is a mistake to fete these repentant members of Islamist cults. They are part of the problem, not the solution

- Ziauddin Sardar, writer and broadcaster
- The Guardian,
- Thursday April 24 2008

In the here and now, it's not the repentant sinners we should celebrate but "the 99 righteous persons who need no repentance", those unmentioned Muslims who refused to be seduced by the dark side. I know I am going to upset many of my Muslim friends who are quite ecstatic about the foundation. After all, as its website declares, Quilliam "rejects foreign ideologies of Islamism and jihadism" and upholds "Islam as a pluralistic, diverse tradition that can heal the pathology of Islamist extremism". What could be wrong with such a message?

The embrace of former extremists is a slap in the face for Muslims who have worked tirelessly to build a British Muslim identity and foster inclusion by constructive community activity.

Tags: opinion, religion, islam, violence, pluralism, uk, international, commentary, post:facebook(clip)

Food rationing at large U.S. retailers

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:05:32 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Some major national retail chains have begin instituting purchasing caps for bulk rice and grains.

Clip Source: www2.nysun.com

Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.

Clip Source: www2.nysun.com

At the moment, large chain retailers seem more prone to shortages and limits than do smaller chains and mom-and-pop stores, perhaps because store managers at the larger companies have less discretion to increase prices locally. Mr. Rawles said the spot shortages seemed to be most frequent in the Northeast and all the way along the West Coast. He said he had heard reports of buying limits at Sam's Club warehouses, which are owned by Wal-Mart Stores, but a spokesman for the company, Kory Lundberg, said he was not aware of any shortages or limits.

Tags: economics, money, food, bad_news, news

You might want to start stockpiling food, says WSJ

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:00:17 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Food prices are going up faster than any of your investments are gaining value... so you might want to invest in, say, rice, or dried pasta. "Wheat prices have roughly tripled in the last three years."

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

R.O.I.

By BRETT ARENDS

Load Up the Pantry
April 21, 2008 6:47 p.m.

I don't want to alarm anybody, but maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.

You've seen the TV footage of food riots in parts of the developing world. Yes, they're a long way away from the U.S. But most foodstuffs operate in a global market. When the cost of wheat soars in Asia, it will do the same here.

Reality: Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster.

The reason? The prices of many underlying raw materials have risen much more quickly still. Wheat prices, for example, have roughly tripled in the past three years.

Tags: economics, food, bad_news, news, opinion, money, international

Clipmarks | enbar's Current events, politics, religion collection

"Religious literacy" courses now required in Modesto, CA public schools

Teaching Not Preaching In CA Bible Belt

Most Schools Avoid Religion, But It's Required In Modesto Schools

Christianity Today on torture

"Lost" (the TV show) and religion

The 'Lost' Tribe

The National Animal Identification System, food safety, and school lunches: cui bono?

Jeff Pausma: Congress takes another potshot at family farmers

DHS: Federal border agents can "detain" your computer indefinitely, without cause

Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border

No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies

American Sikh immigrants fear their tradition is slipping away

Sikhs losing their tradition

By Vanessa Colon - McClatchy Newspapers

FRESNO, Calif. --

U.S. mainline Protestantism and the Institute for Religion and Democracy

The Battle for the Mainline Churches

Australia's Hillsong Church and the "beauty gospel" for teenage girls

www.smh.com.au

Hillsong hits schools with beauty gospel

"Fusion centers": another step on the road to the "total surveillance society"

ACLU Highlights Risk of “Fusion Centers”

Passion Fest 2008, Pottstown, PA (July 19)

We Build It, You Come!

What?

When?

Where?

Who?

Why?

How?

Judith Warner: The Hillary-haters and "Sex and the City"

Woman in Charge, Women Who Charge

Commonweal on Mark Taylor's "After God"

The Lord & Taylor

Ziauddin Sardar on the Quilliam Foundation for ex-jihadis

To lionise former extremists feeds anti-Muslim prejudice

Food rationing at large U.S. retailers

Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World

You might want to start stockpiling food, says WSJ

Load Up the PantryApril 21, 2008 6:47 p.m.

Load Up the Pantry
April 21, 2008 6:47 p.m.