I give you this moment of starlings zen.
Continue reading “Bird Zen”
While MARTA drivers in Atlanta appear to be petitioning God with prayer (here), drivers in New York appear to be texting friends with gossip. The difference is that the MARTA driver stopped the bus. NYC Transit driver Jeremy Philhower is the subject of an investigation after running over and killing Seth Kahn, 22, as he crossed the street. Many are outraged that Philhower was previously suspended for texting while driving but was allowed back behind a wheel.
Continue reading “New York Bus Driver Kills Man on First Day Back From Suspension for Texting While Driving”
A MARTA bus driver in Atlanta has been suspended after he allegedly stopped the bus and told passengers to pray. LeRoy Matthews stopped the bus on Nov. 3rd at 7:30 pm for the impromptu religious observance.
Continue reading “God is My Co-Pilot: Atlanta MARTA Driver Forces Passengers to Pray”
Many followed the case (here) of Daniel Hauser of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota when his fundamentalist Mom fled with him to avoid chemotherapy for his cancer on religious grounds. Few may be aware of the end of the story. He has completed his last chemotherapy sessions and is now cancer-free — thanks to the judge who overrode his mother’s objections.
As we have been following on this blog, witch doctors in Africa continue to cause great suffering and abuses, here and here and here and here. Now, there is a report from Tanzania that witch doctors have caused the slaughter of more than 50 albinos for their body parts.
Continue reading “Witch Doctors in Tanzania Accused of Killing Albinos for Magical Body Parts”
A Canadian judge made a disturbing finding in the sentencing of Father Bernard Cloutier who was convicted of abusing young boys. The judge heard evidence that retired Bishop Gérard Dionne thwarted a 1983 police investigation into Cloutier’s sexual abuse.
Continue reading “Canadian Judge Finds Catholic Bishop Thwarted Investigation of Abusive Priest”
Families got a bit too real of a zoological lesson at the National Zoo this week when a deer somehow jumped into the wrong exhibit: the lion enclosure. Nature took it from there.
Continue reading “The Lion’s Den: National Zoo the Scene of an All-Too-Real Predator-Prey Exhibit”
Peter Cokell, 34, was convicted recently for stealing two PlayStation 3 games in England. No surprise there. What is a bit odd is that he was the police officer assigned to prevent shoplifting at the store.
Continue reading “Officer Assigned to Anti-Shoplifting Duty is Convicted of Shoplifting”
Police in Suffolk County are investigating what they claim could be the Ted Bundy of pet serial killers. Sharon McDonough is accused of torturing, killing, and burying dozens of pets in her Long Island backyard.
Continue reading “Pet Cemetery: Long Island Woman Accused of Being Serial Pet Killer”
Attorneys Joe Paolucci and Thomas Hitchcock were declared persona non grata recently by Wal-Mart – banished from the store for life. Their banishment came after they had proven that they had not shoplifted a package of bic lighters from the store. The gay couple alleges that before the banishment they were subject to abusive homophobic treatment by store employees, who seemed intent on showing that they shoplifted that lighters worth $15.84.
Continue reading “Big-Box Banishment: Wal-Mart Bans Gay Couple From Store for Life After They Prove Their Did NOT Shoplift”
The look on this dog captures the meaning of Halloween.
For those of us who are military history buffs, this video is amazing. On the video, you can see the impact of modern torpedoes on large shipping.
Continue reading “Video: Torpedo Sinks French Ship”
There is an intriguing case in London where the British courts will decide who is a Jew and who decides such a question. The British have long maintained publicly supported religious schools — an affront to the separation of church and state. Now, inevitably, the state must decide who can be excluded from one of the Jewish schools run by the government. Not surprisingly, at the heart of the controversy is Lord Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, who recently blamed secularism for the decline and potential fall of Western Civilization, here. He insists that only children with Jewish mothers (recognized in Orthodox synagogues) are truly Jewish.
Continue reading “Separation Anxiety: British Courts To Decide Who Is a Jew”
We have another horrific baby-selling conspiracy. Previously such a scheme was uncovered in China, here. Now, a similar scheme has been uncovered in Mexico City where staff told mothers at the Central West Hospital that their babies died and were cremated — only to sell them to wealthy couples.
Continue reading “Baby Trafficking: Police Arrest Doctors and Nurses in Baby Selling Syndicate”
Jeddah police arrested two female professors from King Abdulaziz University this week for the crime of driving themselves to the mall. Police were shocked by the sight of a woman behind the wheel of a car and immediately pulled them over. We have previously followed the struggle of women to enjoy this freedom of movement in the Kingdom (here)
Continue reading “DWF (Driving While Female): Two Professors Arrested in Saudi Arabia for Driving Themselves to the Mall”