Washington D.C-Based Atheist Group queries Mississippi School District for Inviting Pastor to Speak at Mandatory Teacher Event; May press Charges

-
0
Washington D.C-Based Atheist Group queries Mississippi School District for Inviting Pastor to Speak at Mandatory Teacher Event; May press Charges

A Washington, D.C.-based atheist organization has sent a letter to a Mississippi school district expressing concern about a mandatory faculty event that featured a Christian pastor as reported by CP.

The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter Monday to the superintendent of Jackson Public School District.

Of specific concern for AHA was a mandatory teacher convocation held earlier this month that included a Christian pastor and several remarks the group dubbed “religious proselytization.”

“This letter serves as an official notice of the unconstitutional activity and demands that the School District terminate this and any similar illegal activity immediately,” wrote Monica Miller, Esq. of AHA.

“To avoid legal action, we kindly ask that you notify us in writing within two weeks of receipt of this letter setting forth the steps you will take to rectify this constitutional infringement.”

In an interview with The Christian Post, Miller explained that her organization became aware of the convocation courtesy of a teacher who attended the convocation.

“A School District teacher contacted our office regarding the convocation. He wishes to remain anonymous at this time,” said Miller. “The School District has yet to formally respond to our letter. We asked that they respond within two weeks so they still have a bit of time.”

Miller also told CP that this went beyond merely being offended at religious expression and was “absolutely a constitutional concern.”

“The Supreme Court and lower federal courts have made it absolutely clear that prayers are not allowed at public school-sponsored events, and especially not at mandatory events,” Miller asserted.

“In Warnock v. Archer … the Eighth Circuit explicitly held that a school’s practice of including prayers at mandatory teacher-training meetings was unconstitutional. The court reasoned that the practices were ‘constitutionally infirm not because they offended [the teacher] but because they endorsed religion.'”

Some have taken to the defense of Jackson Public School District, including attorney Steve Crampton of the American Center for Constitutional Rights.

Crampton explained to the publication Onenewsnow.com that “hurt feelings” are insufficient to “constitute a constitutional injury.”

“And that would be one of the first and most important arguments raised in defense in any legal action that might fall out from this situation,” said Crampton.

“I hope that the community will stand up and this school board will stand up against this kind of intimidation tactic.”

Sherwin Johnson, executive director of Public and Media Relations with Jackson Public, provided CP with comments on the matter.

“The JPS legal department is reviewing the letter and will respond appropriately as needed,” stated Johnson to CP on Wednesday morning.

“The annual Convocation program is a celebratory event intended to invigorate employees with enthusiasm, pride, and excitement for the beginning of a new school year.”

Original Content by Christian Post

Shocking revelation:Recent Poll reveals one in Six French People Support ISIS

-
0
Shocking revelation:Recent Poll reveals one in Six French People Support ISIS

Two polls released this week both ask a question that you would hope wouldn’t need asking: how many people support the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)? Unfortunately, in all four countries surveyed, the answer is greater than zero, and by a lot.

Here is a chart of the results of the polls. The first, by ICM Research, asked people in Germany, France, and the UK whether they had a favorable or unfavorable view of ISIS. The second, by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, asked Gazans whether they support or oppose ISIS. Here are the results.

Poll1
ISIS poll chart

First, a caveat: while the polls of Gazans and Europeans are similar, they are not totally identical. They were conducted by different polling agencies using different methods, and the different question could skew responses, as “support” is stronger than “favor.” So keep that in mind when comparing the Gaza results to the others, although it is hard to ignore that ISIS could have a higher approval rating in France than in Gaza.

In any case, the big, scary, surprising, number here is France: 16 percent of those surveyed say they support ISIS. That’s an awful lot. And that number gets even larger as the demographics get younger, as shown in this by-age breakdown published by Russia Today (the poll was commissioned by Russian state media, almost certainly to tar and/or troll Western countries, but that doesn’t make the findings any less disturbing):

Poll2
(Russia Today)

This is alarming, in part because a growing number of Europeans, often from predominantly Muslim immigrant communities, are not just expressing their support for ISIS in polls: they are traveling to Syria and Iraq to join up. The ISIS fighter who killed American journalist James Foley on video last week spoke with a strong London accent. European governments are rightly worried about the implications of this for their own national security.

But there’s more going on here. It’s no secret that far-right politics have been on the rise in Western Europe, which includes a growing willingness to embrace extremism and greater intolerance of all kinds. It is ironic but by no means impossible that far-right Islamophobia would rise in Europe alongside a greater approval of the Islamist group ISIS. Extremism is often reactive and ideologically contradictory.

The growth of European intolerance has brought a rise in hate toward Jews in Europe, as well as Muslims. It’s more complicated than extremism festering within predominantly Muslim immigrant communities. “There is no clear correlation in Europe between the level of popular anti-Semitism and the size of the Muslim population,” the British writer Kenan Malik explained recently in the New York Times. He went on:

The rise of identity politics has helped create a more fragmented, tribal society, and made sectarian hatred more acceptable generally.

At the same time, the emergence of “anti-politics,” the growing contempt for mainstream politics and politicians noticeable throughout Europe, has laid the groundwork for a melding of radicalism and bigotry. Many perceive a world out of control and driven by malign forces; conspiracy theories, once confined to the fringes of politics, have become mainstream.

The good news here may be the Gaza poll numbers. While 13 percent is exactly 13 more than what it should be, 85 percent of polled Gazans said they oppose ISIS. That’s awfully high, especially considering that Europeans were much less likely to say they held an unfavorable view of the group:

Poll3
ISIS poll europe 2

Though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been arguing that ISIS is indistinguishable from Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules Gaza (he is wrong for a number of reasons), it turns out that at least Palestinians in Gaza see a strong distinction. While the Gaza poll did not ask for Hamas approval/disapproval, it did return favorable-sounding results on two questions: “Was the Palestinian resistance prepared for this aggression [by Israel against Gaza],” to which 58 percent said yes; and “do you support disarming the Palestinian resistance,” to which 93 percent said no and 3 percent said yes.

Again, Gazans and Europeans were asked slightly different questions by different polling agencies, but it is still awfully striking that more Gazans gave the anti-ISIS response than did Western Europeans.

Original Content by Vox

Recent Survey in America reveals Nearly Two-Thirds of Christian Men View Porn Monthly-almost as the same rate as Non-Christians

-
0
Recent Survey in America reveals Nearly Two-Thirds of Christian Men View Porn Monthly-almost as the same rate as Non-Christians

Nearly two-thirds of American men watch pornography monthly and Christian men are paying nearly equal attention to the lustful practice, according to a study conducted by the Barna Group for Proven Men.

The study, which also highlighted the porn viewing habits of women, said Christian men were also watching pornography at work at the same rate as secular men. It further pointed out that 33 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 30 are either addicted to pornography or unsure if they are. Overall, 18 percent of American men, approximately 21 million, think they are either addicted or are unsure if they are addicted to porn.

Table 1.1 Frequency of pornography viewing by men
Pornography Viewing 18-30 31-49 50-68 over 68
several times a day 9% 10% 2% 0%
at least once daily 20% 11% 6% 0%
several times a week 34% 17% 17% 4%
several times a month 12% 21% 13% 13%
at least once a month 4% 8% 11% 11%
a few times a year 3% 10% 16% 16%
less often 12% 20% 24% 54%
never 7% 3% 2% 3%

Table 1.2 Frequency of pornography viewing by self-identified Christian men
Pornography Viewing Christian Non-Christian
several times a day 7% 3%
at least once daily 12% 10%
several times a week 18% 29%
several times a month 15% 14%
at least once a month 12% 9%
a few times a year 9% 17%
less often 25% 12%
never 3% 6%

According to the study, only two in 10 women watch pornography at least monthly, and Christian women watch porn at half that rate.

Broken down by age group, however, women between the ages of 31 and 49 were revealed to be the most active pornography viewers with 42 percent, or four out of 10, engaging in the lustful habit at least monthly. About 20 percent of women, who are older and younger than that age group, watch pornography monthly.
Table 1.7 Frequency of Pornography Viewing by Women
Pornography Viewing 18-30 31-49 50-68
several times a day 3% 1% 0%
at least once daily 4% 0% 0%
several times a week 14% 4% 0%
several times a month 13% 4% 0%
at least once a month 8% 7% 4%
a few times a year 23% 16% 17%
less often 27% 25% 69%
never 7% 13% 9%

Table 1.8 Frequency of pornography viewing by self-identified Christian women
Pornography Viewing Christian Non-Christian
several times a day 1% 2%
at least once daily 1% 3%
several times a week 5% 6%
several times a month 3% 11%
at least once a month 5% 8%
a few times a year 18% 15%
less often 54% 49%
never 13% 6%

Proven Men is a Maryland-based nonprofit ministry focused on helping men who struggle with pornography and related issues, according to their Facebook page.

“We have discovered that ‘programs’ or ‘self-help’ efforts do not bring about lasting results. In other words, simply using an Internet block will not remove internal struggles to look at pornography. That is because the roots which feed and keep sexual impurity alive remain untreated. However, the more a person puts into place what we refer to as the six aspects of a PROVEN life, the less they feel the tug toward the false intimacy offered by pornography and fantasy,” explains the organization.

The nonprofit offers pornography addicts an intensive 12 week Bible-based study called, “Striving for Absolute Purity.” The program shows individuals “how to implement each aspect of the six PROVEN letters into their daily life, which is the pathway to lasting freedom.”

Original Post by Christian Post

Intelligence gathers that 300 Americans fighting alongside with IS

-
0
Intelligence gathers that 300 Americans fighting alongside with IS

American militants could commit terrorist attacks with skills acquired in Iraq, Syria

The U.S. government is tracking and gathering intelligence on as many as 300 Americans who are fighting side by side with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and are poised to become a major threat to the homeland, according to senior U.S. officials.

Officials say concern is widespread in Washington that radicalized foreign fighters could return to the homeland and commit terrorist attacks with skills acquired overseas, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. Those concerns were heightened by the disclosure Tuesday that a California man was killed fighting alongside militants with the group, also known as ISIS.

The U.S. government is doing its best to keep track of the foreign fighters, who have been shifting back and forth between Iraq and Syria, according to a senior U.S. official.

“We know that there are several hundred American passport holders running around with ISIS in Syria or Iraq,” the official said, offering a figure well above widespread reports of about 100 such fighters. “It’s hard to tell whether or not they’re in Syria or moved to Iraq.”

The State Department did not respond to a request for the number of Americans traveling in Iraq and Syria.
Radicalized: Douglas McArthur McCain, an American who converted to Islam, died during clashes in Syria while fighting for the Islamic State. (Facebook)
Radicalized: Douglas McArthur McCain, an American who converted to Islam, died during … more >

Supporters of the Islamic State group have worked to cultivate anxiety in the United States over the threat they might pose domestically.

Among photographs posted to Twitter in recent weeks is one that shows the Islamic State flag unfurled in front of the White House at night. Another photo taken in front of a high-rise building in Chicago features the message: “We are in your state. We are in your cities. We are in your streets. You are our goals anywhere.”

The Secret Service is investigating the incident in front of the White House, and the FBI and Department of Homeland Security last week issued bulletins to local law enforcement agencies urging them to be alert but not identifying any specific threat.

The militant group’s supporters have also pursued a more subtle propaganda campaign on social media against Mr. Obama’s policies. One post includes a photo of Mr. Obama on the golf course with insets of U.S. soldiers in combat and American flag-draped coffins. The caption reads: “O American soldiers! Obama sends you to death and he just goes to play golf.”

In even some Western countries, the tactics appear to be gaining traction. London-based polling firm ICM Research conducted a survey in Britain, France and Germany to test whether people were aware of the Islamic State and in favor of the group’s radical actions.

At least 15 percent of the roughly 1,000 French citizens polled responded favorably to the group’s terror tactics, according to Russia Today. ICM conducted the poll on behalf of Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

The poll was conducted Aug. 19, the same day a videotape surfaced showing a member of the Islamic State beheading American journalist James Foley. It was unclear whether the poll was prompted by Foley’s killing, which his executioners said was done to send a message to President Obama and the U.S. military.

“You’re no longer fighting an insurgency. We are an Islamic army and a state that has been accepted by large number of Muslims worldwide,” Mr. Foley’s executioner said. “So effectively, any aggression towards the Islamic State is aggression towards Muslims from all walks of life who has accepted the Islamic caliphate as their leadership. So any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.”

The threat of radical jihadists returning to the United States is “a new hazard” for the Department of Homeland Security, said retired Army Maj. Mike Lyons, a senior fellow with the Truman National Security Project and a CBS Radio News analyst. As a result, the department must plan for a future where the jihadists leave their Middle East battlefield and trickle back to America, he said.

“If these people have been identified, there needs to be a discussion with regard to how and when they are allowed back in the U.S.,” he said.

Original Post by The Washington Times

Mass Hysteria in Liberia as Ebola Virus grips Liberians

-
0

Ebola has killed more than 1,400 people across West Africa with no end in site to the epidemic and no proven cure.

Operation Blessing is bringing aid to help fight the outbreak. They’ve shipped supplies, including disposable protective clothing, rubber gloves, face masks, needles, and medicine to help serve the Ebola clinics in two locations in remote parts of Liberia.

“It’s a nation in crisis,” David Darg, vice president of Operation Blessing, said. “The people of Liberia are afraid. There’s just mass hysteria, mass fear.”

“Prayer is so essential just to keep the team safe on the ground. People can help financially,” Darg said. “We can do a lot to help Liberia.

See Video below:

Original Content from CBN News

Top 5 YouTube Tips And Tricks

CM Editor
-
0
Top 5 YouTube Tips And Tricks

By – Jay McGregor, Forbes Contributor

YouTube: The aggregator of fail compilations, the disseminator of cat related humour and a beacon for everything viral.

Killing time on YouTube is the most productive way to be unproductive, but there’s so much more to it than salacious thumbnails and unrelated debates about political theory in the comments section.

Aside from a few easter eggs to please medium-core trekkies and Star Wars fans, there are some genuinely useful hacks that can enhance your YouTube viewing experience ten-fold. I mean, if you’re prepared to sign away three hours of your life by watching late-nineties wrestling videos, then you should do it in style, right?

Ever heard of YouTube Leanback? Or how about turning any video into a GIF? No? Then there’s so much more to show you. Here’s a run-down of my top five YouTube hacks:

1. Make any video into a GIF

You can turn any video into a GIF by simply adding “gif” just after the “www.” in the URL. For example “www.gifyoutube.com/watchx”

Once you type that in, you’ll be taken to a simple gif making tool page that lets you cut out a section of the video and export it.

Top 5 YouTube Tips And Tricks`
(Photo: Forbes.com)

Select the point at which you want to start the gif and then select how long it lasts, and you’re done. You’ve made a gif in a matter of minutes.

Watch my gif of Charlie Sheen’s alternative ice bucket challenge here 

2.  YouTube Disco

Top 5 YouTube Tips And Tricks
(Photo: Forbes.com)

You already knew that you can use YouTube to stream music, but did you know it can be a DJ too? YouTube Disco automatically puts together a playlist of songs from your prefered genre or artist.

Go to www.youtube.com/disco and enter any artist, song, or genre and YouTube will populate a playlist of the most watched/popular videos from your search.

You can also set it to play the current top hits and it will tell what videos are most popular at the moment.

3. Slow motion

There are a couple of ways to slow down a YouTube video, with the simplest way being to hold down the spacebar during a video. This cause the video to rapidly play and pause, which creates a budget slow motion effect.

If, however, you want some more advanced controls, head towww.youtubeslow.com and enter your video’s URL into the specified field. You can then either speed up, slow down, play on repeat or set a loop.

… read more

By – Jay McGregor, Forbes Contributor

Original Post by Forbes.com

Israel and Hamas Finally Agree to Ceasefire

-
0

Israel and Hamas have accepted an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire plan to end a seven-week operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said.

Egyptian state media reported the ceasefire was to begin at 7 p.m. local time.

In the hour leading up to the ceasefire, Hamas continued to launch dozens of mortars and rockets at Israel, killing one and injuring at least two others.

According to the Jerusalem Post, members of the eight-person Israeli Security Cabinet were briefed about the Egyptian proposal, but were not asked to vote on it.

As a part of the ceasefire, Israel will allow humanitarian and construction materials to enter Gaza while Hamas pledged to halt rocket fire at Israel.

The official announcement from Egypt came after Palestinian officials had already stated that a deal had been reached to end the fighting.

“An agreement has been reached between the two sides and we are awaiting the announcement from Cairo to determine the zero hour for implementation,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, said.

An Israeli official said indirect talks would begin in Cairo within a month. That would include talks of allowing the construction of a Gaza seaport and the release of Hamas prisoners.

Original Post by CBN News

“There are 24 closet atheists in Congress”, Claims American Humanist Association

-
0
“There are 24 closet atheists in Congress”, Claims American Humanist Association

An executive at the American Humanist Association recently claimed that 24 members of Congress privately confessed to being atheists…by Christian Today

The group’s communication director, Maggie Ardiente, said that although there are no openly atheist members of Congress currently in office, there are dozens of atheist politicians in the legislature, the Huffington Post reports.

“We already know of 24 members of Congress who have told us privately that they don’t believe in God, but they won’t come out, of course, and if we tried to out them they would deny it,” she told attendees at the World Humanist Congress this month.

“We’re really behind when it comes to humanism in politics.”

The last openly atheist congressperson was Rep. Pete Stark, a California Democrat. Stark lost his seat in 2012.

In the UK, it is far more common for openly atheist politicians to be elected and religious affiliation is less of a concern to the voting public.

“Americans have a much stronger civil religion and a much stronger sense of being a nation under God and chosen by God,” Lancaster University Professor of Sociology of Religion Linda Woodhood told the Religion News Service.

“It’s a bit treasonable, unpatriotic, to reject religion.

“Whereas in Britain, civic identity isn’t as bound up with being religious anymore. You don’t seem unpatriotic or amoral if you express your atheism.”

Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed a desire for the country to be more religious, however.

“I believe we should be more confident about our status as a Christian country,” he wrote in the Church Times, “and, frankly, more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people’s lives.”

Original Post by Christian Today

Boko Haram Seizes Another Town in Yobe State, Executes and Punishes Some for “Offences”

-
0

Boko Haram militants have taken over another Nigeria village in Yobe State; this time the Muslim extremist group has seized the Buni Yadi Town, storming the government headquarters and enforcing their own laws on residents.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Boko Haram executed two Buni Yadi residents for smoking in the town and killed another for dealing drugs. One man was punished with 80 lashes for cohabiting with a woman.

Boko Haram is gaining influence in Nigeria as the group expands its reign across the nation. It is believed that the goal of the militants is converting Nigeria into an Islamic state.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said that the situation in Nigeria is not getting the focus it should due to the current crisis in Iraq.

“The appalling excesses of IS in Iraq and Syria have galvanised the international community into renewed efforts to combat Islamist extremism; however these efforts should not be confined to the Middle East,” he said.

“Parallels between the actions of IS and those of Boko Haram and its allied offshoots are not coincidental. A less compartmentalised approach must be adopted in order for militant jihadism to be addressed effectively, with punitive measures formulated at international level against IS replicated in the case of Boko Haram and other similar groups, including the disruption of funding.

“Nigeria is facing a transnational and existential threat and every possible assistance must be rendered to this strategic nation as a matter of urgency.”

Original Post by Christian Headlines

Iraqi Christians Given one Week by ISIS to “Convert or Die”

-
0
Iraqi Christians Given one Week by ISIS to “Convert or Die”

Islamic State terrorists continue to gain power and influence across Iraq. The Muslim extremists have pushed hundred of thousands of Christians out of their homes and many have been killed as a part of their “religious cleansing” efforts. As the terrorists wreak havoc on a formerly largely Christian region, many believe that it is the responsibility of Christians around the globe to unite and defeat the militants.

In a commentary published on Express, Douglas Murray wrote of the horrors that Iraqi Christians are facing.

“Known Christians were visited at their houses – sometimes by IS, sometimes by ordinary Muslims who used to be their neighbours – and given the options that were given to people conquered in the early years of Islam: convert to Islam, live as a second-class citizen or be killed. IS took away the second option, making the choice “convert or die.”

Christianity Today reports that the Islamic State is now giving known Christians one week to decide between converting to Islam or dying for their Christian faith.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said that the level of Christian persecution in Iraq is now “off the scale.” “The international community must document the human rights abuses in northern Iraq so that the perpetrators can later be prosecuted,” he said.

Murray has called on Christians to step up and stand with Iraqi brothers and sisters in crisis. He wrote, “If we are not willing to stop IS then we must let in the Christian refugees who are fleeing. If we do neither then the Christians of Iraq look likely to be martyred in their entirety. This is a crime we cannot allow to continue. IS must not be allowed to win.

Original Post by Christian Headlines

1...3,8733,8743,875...3,893Page 3,874 of 3,893