{Presbyterian} Church court rebukes, praises minister for same-sex weddings
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
Though clearly regretful, a local division of the Presbyterian Church USA decided Friday to rebuke a Bay Area minister who performed wedding ceremonies for at least 16 same-sex couples during the five months in 2008 in which it was legal to do so. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Napa-based Presbytery of the Redwoods said it thought its hands were tied by the denominational constitution's same-sex marriage ban. After a three-day trial that included testimony from 11 of the Bay Area couples the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr married, five of whom live in the East Bay, the commission profusely praised...
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
Chinese Green Dam pilfers open source too
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
No filth, no BSD licenseAfter claims that China's "Green Dam" filtering app includes code pirated from an American software maker, it should come as no surprise that the People's Republic censorshipware is also using open-source code without displaying the proper license. According to multiple coders at Sourceforge, the Green Dam Youth Escort package - which the Chinese government wants loaded onto all PCs sold within the People's Republic - includes code from the OpenCV computer vision library. But its developer - Jinhui Computer System Engineering - seems to have deleted the BSD license document that should be included when OpenCV...
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
ABC Global Warming Special Makes Up Future, But It’s Not ‘Sci-Fi’
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
The world is about to end, or at least that’s according to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The June 2 segment promoted a new special called “Earth 2100.” The program follows Lucy, a girl born in 2009, and her dramatic story about how if we don’t take drastic measures immediately climate change will cause droughts, floods, mass migration, and starvation. This may sound straight from a science-fiction movie, but “Good Morning America” went to great lengths to assure viewers this wasn’t science fiction and that by airing this series they were changing journalism. Bob Woodruff, host of the special, called making...
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
Astonishing DNA complexity demolishes neo-Darwinism
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
The traditional understanding of DNA has recently been transformed beyond recognition. DNA does not, as we thought, carry a linear, one-dimensional, one-way, sequential code—like the lines of letters and words on this page. And the 97% in humans that does not carry protein-coding genes is not, as many people thought, fossilized ‘junk’ left over from our evolutionary ancestors. DNA information is overlapping-multi-layered and multi-dimensional; it reads both backwards and forwards; and the ‘junk’ is far more functional than the protein code, so there is no fossilized history of evolution. No human engineer has ever even imagined, let alone designed an...
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
Obama wins Wyoming Caucuses by double digits
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
<p>With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 59 percent to Clinton’s 40 percent. Both candidates campaigned in the state ahead of the caucuses, but the onus was on Obama to regain his momentum after Clinton disrupted his winning streak Tuesday, scoring wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island.</p>
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
Top 10 April Fools' Pranks to Play at Work
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
Time to dust off the whoopee cushions and hand buzzers. April Fools' Day is here and there's no better place for wisecracks and shenanigans than at work. In its annual April Fools' Day survey, CareerBuilder.com found 33 percent of workers have played a practical joke on a co-worker and 17 percent are planning office tricks for this year's holiday. Although it might be thrilling to finally one-up the office funnyman, pranks also help beat something that's no laughing matter: workplace stress. More than half of workers reported working under stress in another CareerBuilder.com survey. Stress and worry on the job...
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
Terrible Flight Experiences (Vanity)
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
On the flight home this morning, I was unfortunate enough to have a bleeder sit next to me. By bleeder, I mean he was invading my space because he was large and his body was spilling over into my seat. I've seen worse cases than what I had today but let's hear your experiences.
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
Whoo-Hoo! I did it. I accomplished a major goal in my life.
Posted by admin / Under G 20 Major Economies
I did it!!! For years I have been tying to post an article during normal freeping hours that nobody would comment on for over an hour. It is quite a challenge really. FR has a wide range of interests, and if an article is too weird, then people will comment on its weirdness. Anyway, every few weeks I have been trying to find an article just so totally boring that there would be no reason for anyone to comment on it, and at the same time not be too weird as to merit a comment based on its weirdness. I...
Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010 04:38:55 PM
"The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history."
This Day In History
Mary, Queen of Scots: was crowned at the age of nine months (1543)
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