The New American website reports today (January 31, 2012) that homosexual activists are up in arms over a Christian university's rejection of an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Club.
Pepperdine University -- a California liberal arts school affiliated with the conservative Church of Christ denomination -- announced this month that it would not allow the homosexual support group Reach Out to meet on the college's campus.
Mark Davis -- the school's dean of students -- explained that the club's mission did not line up with the university's belief that sexual relations should be limited to a man and woman who are married to one another.
In response to the university's decision, several students have launched a petition drive insisting that university officials overturn the ban. As of today (January 31), the petition drive has gotten nearly 4,000 signatures of individuals calling on the university to rescind its ban of the homosexual group.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Clerk Stole $1M from NY Archdiocese Ed. Money; Anita Collins Is Sentenced to Community Service
An Archdiocese of New York clerk has been arrested on charges of manipulating the church's accounts payable system to steal more than one million dollars in education money, the Christian Broadcast Network website reports today (January 31, 2012).
Anita Collins wrote checks to herself or a relative, but recorded them as payments to legitimate vendors.
The archdiocese says its staff and outside auditors spotted the theft and alerted persecutors.
Collins -- who had been fired in December -- was sentenced to community service and five years' probation.
Anita Collins wrote checks to herself or a relative, but recorded them as payments to legitimate vendors.
The archdiocese says its staff and outside auditors spotted the theft and alerted persecutors.
Collins -- who had been fired in December -- was sentenced to community service and five years' probation.
Several Destructive Incidents Occur in FYROM; Muslims Angry Christians Wore Masks at Carnival
The Balkan Insight website reports today (January 31, 2012) that arsonists last night set ablaze a Greek Orthodox Church near the city of Struga in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in the latest in a series of ethnic and faith-related incidents in the area.
Firefighters fought until midnight to douse the fire at St. Nicholas Church in the ethnically mixed village of Labunishta near Struga. Police today said the 200-year-old church was saved, but nearby facilities -- including the parish dining hall -- burned to the ground.
The recent trouble between FYROM's Christians and Muslims goes back to January 14 at the annual carnival in Vevcani, where Orthodox Christians wore masks supposedly representing Muslim believers, including women in burqas.
The masks -- deemed insulting to Muslims -- have sparked several destructive incidents in FYROM since January 14, including last night's church fire, the burning of a FYROM flag, and the stoning of a bus.
Firefighters fought until midnight to douse the fire at St. Nicholas Church in the ethnically mixed village of Labunishta near Struga. Police today said the 200-year-old church was saved, but nearby facilities -- including the parish dining hall -- burned to the ground.
The recent trouble between FYROM's Christians and Muslims goes back to January 14 at the annual carnival in Vevcani, where Orthodox Christians wore masks supposedly representing Muslim believers, including women in burqas.
The masks -- deemed insulting to Muslims -- have sparked several destructive incidents in FYROM since January 14, including last night's church fire, the burning of a FYROM flag, and the stoning of a bus.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Bin Laden Informer Afridi Charged with Treason; Is Pakistani Who Helped US Locate Osama Bin Laden
The Eurasia Review website reports today (January 30, 2012) that Dr. Shakil Afridi -- the Pakistani who helped U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six locate and kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- is facing treason charges in a Pakistani court for working with America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Dr. Afridi was accused of participating in a CIA-run operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was killed by a U.S. special forces unit.
A panel of Pakistani officials ruled that Dr. Afridi should be tried for treason -- a charge that could result in a death sentence if he is found guilty.
Dr. Afridi -- a confidential informant -- was arrested shortly after the operation carried out by U.S. special forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 1, 2011.
Dr. Afridi was accused of participating in a CIA-run operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was killed by a U.S. special forces unit.
A panel of Pakistani officials ruled that Dr. Afridi should be tried for treason -- a charge that could result in a death sentence if he is found guilty.
Dr. Afridi -- a confidential informant -- was arrested shortly after the operation carried out by U.S. special forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 1, 2011.
Islamic Parents Guilty of Murdering 3 Daughters; Killed Them for Violating Islamic Social Rules
The One News Now website reports that a jury in Canada yesterday (January 29, 2012) found an Afghan father, his wife, and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what a judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor."
The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder.
The three defendants declared their innocence in the killings of sisters Zainak, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammod, 52, Shafia's childless first wife in a polygamous marriage.
The bodies were found June 30, 2009, in a car submerged in a canal in Kingston, Ontario. Prosecutors said the defendants killed the three sisters because they violated Islamic rules on dress, dating, and socializing. Shafia's co-wife was killed because the polygamous relationship with Shafia -- if known by Canadian authorities -- could have resulted in their deportation from Canada.
The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder.
The three defendants declared their innocence in the killings of sisters Zainak, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammod, 52, Shafia's childless first wife in a polygamous marriage.
The bodies were found June 30, 2009, in a car submerged in a canal in Kingston, Ontario. Prosecutors said the defendants killed the three sisters because they violated Islamic rules on dress, dating, and socializing. Shafia's co-wife was killed because the polygamous relationship with Shafia -- if known by Canadian authorities -- could have resulted in their deportation from Canada.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
COMMENTARY: Anti-Semitism in Our Society Must Not Be Tolerated
A 19-year-old man in New Jersey was arrested last week and charged with two firebombings of New Jersey synagogues.
Anthony Graziano is being held on $5 million bail and could receive a sentence of up to 95 years in prison, if he is found guilty of the charges filed against him.
What is extremely frightening of the firebombing of the Rutherford, N.J. synagogue is that this synagogue also served as the rabbi's residence on the second floor. The rabbi, his wife, five children, and the rabbi's parents -- a total of nine people -- were sleeping when several Molotov cocktails were thrown into the synagogue in the early morning of January 11.
Fortunately, the rabbi was able to put out a firebomb in his bedroom -- suffering only minor burns in doing so -- thus preventing the death of several people.
The suspect of the firebombings has been described by police as a bitter anti-Semite who hates people of the Jewish faith.
Just what causes an individual to be so hateful and hurtful toward Jews -- especially when Jews have done no harm to that person -- is mind-boggling.
We can only attribute such sinful behavior by a 19-year-old man to be the result of a prejudicial upbringing by his parents, or a hateful view of Jews by his peer group.
In any event, this kind of destructive behavior against Jews -- or any group for that matter -- must not be tolerated in our society.
Indeed, anyone who is convicted of committing such a hateful and destructive crime must be sentenced to several years in prison.
Anthony Graziano is being held on $5 million bail and could receive a sentence of up to 95 years in prison, if he is found guilty of the charges filed against him.
What is extremely frightening of the firebombing of the Rutherford, N.J. synagogue is that this synagogue also served as the rabbi's residence on the second floor. The rabbi, his wife, five children, and the rabbi's parents -- a total of nine people -- were sleeping when several Molotov cocktails were thrown into the synagogue in the early morning of January 11.
Fortunately, the rabbi was able to put out a firebomb in his bedroom -- suffering only minor burns in doing so -- thus preventing the death of several people.
The suspect of the firebombings has been described by police as a bitter anti-Semite who hates people of the Jewish faith.
Just what causes an individual to be so hateful and hurtful toward Jews -- especially when Jews have done no harm to that person -- is mind-boggling.
We can only attribute such sinful behavior by a 19-year-old man to be the result of a prejudicial upbringing by his parents, or a hateful view of Jews by his peer group.
In any event, this kind of destructive behavior against Jews -- or any group for that matter -- must not be tolerated in our society.
Indeed, anyone who is convicted of committing such a hateful and destructive crime must be sentenced to several years in prison.
PA Catholic Bishop Blasted for Hitler Comment; Said Hitler Would Love America's Public Schools
The Religion News website reports today (January 29, 2012) that the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is being criticized for saying Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini would love America's public school system, because it teaches all children just one set of beliefs.
Bishop Joseph McFadden -- in an effort to illustrate the lack of flexibility in America's public schools -- made the remark while advocating for school vouchers during a televised interview last week.
"In totalitarian governments, they would love our system," McFadden said. "This is what Hitler and Mussolini tried to establish: a monolith so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things."
McFadden's remarks sparked outrage from the area chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and a rebuke from the legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.
Bishop Joseph McFadden -- in an effort to illustrate the lack of flexibility in America's public schools -- made the remark while advocating for school vouchers during a televised interview last week.
"In totalitarian governments, they would love our system," McFadden said. "This is what Hitler and Mussolini tried to establish: a monolith so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things."
McFadden's remarks sparked outrage from the area chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and a rebuke from the legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.
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