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How the US Turned Three Pacifists Into 'Multiple Felony Saboteurs'

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Fran Quigley - May. 19 (News Report) - In just ten months, the United States managed to transform an 82 year-old Catholic nun and two pacifists from non-violent anti-nuclear peace protestors accused of misdemeanor trespassing into federal felons convicted of violent crimes of terrorism. Now in jail awaiting sentencing for their acts at an Oak Ridge, TN nuclear weapons production facility, their story should chill every person concerned about dissent in the US.

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Outrageous Attacks on Supporters of Church-State Separation: Death Threats, Murdered Pets, and Vandalized Property

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Adam Lee - May. 19 (Special Report) - The religious right despises the First Amendment, since it's constantly foiled their efforts to inject Christian doctrine into government. And when they've lost in court, religious conservatives in the U.S. have often waged campaigns of threats, harassment and outright violence against First Amendment plaintiffs, in the hopes of intimidating them into backing down and achieving by mob violence what they can't achieve under the law

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Stephen Hawking's support for the boycott of Israel is a turning point

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Ali Abunimah - May. 09 (Opinion) - Boycotting Israel as a stance for justice is going mainstream – Israelis can no longer pretend theirs is in an enlightened country A standard objection to the Palestinian campaign for the boycott of Israel is that it would cut off "dialogue" and hurt the chances of peace. We've heard this again in the wake of Professor Stephen Hawking's laudable decision to withdraw from Israel's Presidential Conference in response to requests from Palestinian academics – but it would be hard to think of a more unconvincing position as far as Palestinians are concerned. One of the most deceptive aspects of the so-called peace process is the pretence that Palestinians and Israelis are two equal sides, equally at fault, equally responsible – thus erasing from view the brutal reality that Palestinians are an occupied, colonised people, dispossessed at the hands of one of the most powerful militaries on earth. For more than two decades, under the cover of this fiction, Palestinians have engaged in ...

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Op-Ed Columnist: In the Boy Scouts’ Gay Debate, Religion Beyond the Right

Tue, 07 May 2013 01:06:00 -0700

New York Times - By By FRANK BRUNI - May. 07 (Opinion) - As the Boy Scouts of America reassesses its ban on gay scouts and leaders, we’re hearing a lot about the organization’s need to remain sensitive to people whose religions condemn homosexual behavior.

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The Right Wing Cult Machine Exposed

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Thom Hartmann - Apr. 28 (Opinion) - a cult is a group or sect bound together by adoration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. A cult promises you redemption. It tells you that if you do what it says, and as it believes, you will be protected from the evil people that are out to get you and the rest of society. A cult purges the non-believers. And it actively tries to vilify all those who are not part of the cult

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Texas Congressman Cites Noah's Ark As Evidence Against Climate Change

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Suzanne Goldenberg - Apr. 12 (News Analysis) - This story first appeared on the Guardian website and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Texas Republican Joe Barton stands out even among his fellow conservative Republicans who have made it an article of faith to deny the existence of a human component to climate change. On Wednesday, Barton cemented that reputation by citing the Old Testament to refute scientific evidence of man-made global warming, drawing on the story of Noah's ark. "I would point out that if you are a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the great flood was an example of climate change," Barton told a congressional hearing on Wednesday in a video first shown on the BuzzFeed website . "That certainly wasn't because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy." Barton was speaking at a House subcommittee hearing called by the Republican leadership to promote a bill that would allow Congress to fast-track a controversial pipeline that would pump crude from the tar sands of Alberta ...

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Bishop Thomas Gumbleton Speaks Out For Sexual Abuse Victims; Reflects on Lifetime of Activism

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - Apr. 12 (Interview) - As newly elected Pope Francis orders the Vatican to act more decisively on sexual abuse cases, we speak to retired Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit. A survivor of sexual abuse himself, Gumbleton was forced to resign in 2007 after he spoke out publicly in favor of an Ohio bill to extend the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse by clergy. Gumbleton spoke here in New York City last night at a benefit for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Bishop Gumbleton has also been a leading voice for peace, justice and civil rights for decades. He helped found Pax Christi and Bread for the World. We also speak to him about poverty in Detroit, Lori Berenson, war tax resistance, why he challenges the church's position on gay marriage, the anti-nuke movement and liberation theology. [includes rush transcript - partial. More to come. Check back soon.]

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US congressman cites biblical flood to dispute human link to climate change

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Suzanne Goldenberg - Apr. 11 (News Report) - The Texas Republican Joe Barton stands out even among his fellow conservative Republicans who have made it an article of faith to deny the existence of a human component to climate change. On Wednesday, Barton cemented that reputation by citing the Old Testament to refute scientific evidence of man-made global warming, drawing on the story of Noah's ark. "I would point out that if you are a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the great flood was an example of climate change," Barton told a congressional hearing on Wednesday in a video first shown on the Buzzfeed website . "That certainly wasn't because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy."

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WikiLeaks: Vatican Dismissed Pinochet Massacre Reports As 'Communist Propaganda'

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Peter Finocchiaro - Apr. 08 (News Report) - Gen. Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship was responsible for the deaths of as many as 3,200 people in Chile in the 1970s, but the Vatican dismissed reports of bloodshed at the time as "communist propaganda," according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Monday.

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Is the GOP Marriage of Convenience Between Bible Thumpers and the Filthy Rich Falling Apart?

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Apr. 03 (Opinion) - "If we gave our voters an accurate portrayal of our ideas, that we want to cut the rate of growth on Social Security, give tax cuts to billionaires and then the values issues, the values issues would be more popular than the economic agenda of the current Republican Party,” said [social conservative leader Gary] Bauer... Ignore the fact that there's nothing popular about the GOP's "values." Just note how he portrays his party's economic agenda: give tax cuts to billionaires

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Robertson: 'Simple' Foreigners More Likely to Experience Miracles than 'Sophisticated' Americans | Right Wing Watch

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

rightwingwatch.org - Apr. 03 (Opinion) -

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How a Modern Inquisition, With the Help of Pope Francis, Stifled the Movement Protecting the Poor

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By George Monbiot - Mar. 27 (Opinion) - “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.” So said the Brazilian archbishop Dom Hélder Câmara. His adage exposes one of the great fissures in the Catholic Church, and the emptiness of the new Pope’s claim to be on the side of the poor.

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Argentina's Kirchner raises Falklands with Pope Francis

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Mar. 18 (News Report) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says she has asked for the Pope's intervention in the Falklands dispute between her country and the UK.

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Pope Francis: role during Argentina's military era disputed

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Jonathan Watts - Mar. 15 (News Analysis) - Accusers draw ties between Catholic church and 70s junta, saying Jorge Bergoglio failed to shield two priests Pope Francis is known in his native Argentina as a man of austere habits, long pregnant pauses in conversation and a reticence about discussing himself.

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Pope Francis is wrong on Falklands, says David Cameron

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Ian Traynor - Mar. 15 (News Report) - Less than 48 hours into the world's first Latin American papacy, David Cameron took issue in public with Pope Francis on Friday, quipping that the "white smoke over the Falklands was pretty clear" and dismissing the pontiff's explicit claims backing Argentinian ownership of the South Atlantic islands.

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Pope Francis' Junta Past: Argentine Journalist on New Pontiff's Ties to Abduction of Jesuit Priests

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Mar. 14 (News Analysis) - While praised for his work with the poor, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio -- now Pope Francis -- has long been dogged by accusations of his role during Argentina's military dictatorship. We speak to Horacio Verbitsky, a leading Argentine journalist who exposed Francis' connection to the abduction of two Jesuit priests. Verbitsky is an investigative journalist for the newspaper Página/12, or Page/12, and head of the Center for Legal and Social Studies, an Argentine human rights organization. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Cardinals Elect a New Pope from Argentina -- Does the New Pontiff Come with a Dark Past?

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Adele M Stan - Mar. 14 (News Report) - when liberation theology, born of the theological notion of a preferential option for the poor, was sweeping his continent, Bergoglio backed away, and a frequent criticism of his term as archbishop is that, despite his simple lifestyle, he speaks little of social justice, stressing individual spirituality. In fact, he's theologically closer to the last two prelates, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, than to the liberal and beloved Pope John XXIII, whose legacy leaves many Catholics yearning for someone similar. But Bergoglio campaigned against same-sex marriage in Argentina, and said that adoptions by LGBT people discriminate against children.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio Accused Of Involvement In 1976 Abductions

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Mar. 13 (Special Report) - Bergoglio was a high-ranking official in the Society of Jesus of Argentina when a military junta was installed in the South American country in 1976. According to the Los Angeles Times, priests Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics were kidnapped in May of that year by the navy. "They surfaced five months later, drugged and seminude, in a field," the Times reported. A 2005 lawsuit accused Bergoglio of unspecified involvement in the abductions. Reuters explains that "the military government secretly jailed [Yorio and Jalics] for their work in poor neighborhoods." A spokesman for Bergoglio called the claims "old slander."

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Has the time come for a pope of color?

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Michelle Boorstein - Mar. 10 (Opinion) - When Catholicism’s cardinals meet in the Sistine Chapel to select a new pope, they will be surrounded by an explosion of divine artistic images in one of the most famous places on Earth to seek the face of God. Read full article >>

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Social media help make conclave a historic one

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Salt Lake Tribune - Mar. 10 () - by Rachel Zoll The Associated Press Published Mar 9, 2013 09:54PM MDT Vatican City • A pastor in Ontario wondered about behind-the-scenes politicking ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope. He could have read news reports or listened to briefings by the Vatican spokesman. Instead, he asked a cardinal. Less than an hour later, the response arrived. “What I see is a real desire to know, and so evaluate, the papabili against criteria of qualities demanded by situations,” wrote Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, South Africa, using the term “papabili” for cardin... ...

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When the Pope Is Chosen, His Tailors Will Be Ready

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By GUY TREBAY - Mar. 09 (Special Report) - No matter who the next pope is, the papal tailors will be prepared: They’ve made three sets of vestments in sizes small, medium and large.

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Chimney raised over Sistine Chapel as cardinals prepare for conclave - CNN International

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - By Laura Smith-Spark, Richard Allen Greene, Dan Rivers, - Mar. 09 (News Report) - Vatican workmen scaled the roof of the Sistine Chapel Saturday, as they installed the chimney which will release the black or white smoke that signifies whether a new pope has been elected.

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The Men Who Might Be Pope

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Real Clear Politics - By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times - Mar. 09 (Opinion) - With the terrifying grandeur of Michelangelo's "Last Judgment" looming over them, senior leaders of the Roman Catholic Church will begin casting their ballots inside the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect a successor to Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.

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Fascism in the Church: Ex-Priest On "The Pope's War," Clergy Abuse and Quelling Liberation Theology

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Matthew Fox, Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - Feb. 28 (Interview) - we turn to a former Catholic priest who was silenced and expelled by the pope, then-Cardinal Ratzinger, in the 1980s. Matthew Fox chronicles his story in the book "The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved." Pope Benedict’s tenure was marked by several scandals, most notably his handling of the widening sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, including allegations that he ignored at least one case of abuse while serving as a cardinal. Documents show that in 1985 he delayed efforts to defrock a priest convicted of molesting children. "I’ll take the pope at his word here when he says he’s tired. I would be tired, too, if I left as much devastation in my wake as he has," Fox says. "I think that the Catholic Church as we know it, the structure of the Vatican, is passé. We’re moving beyond it. And it’s become a viper’s nest. It’s really sick, what’s going on, obviously — the cover-up of the pedophile priests."

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What’s Wrong with America? Hint: It Rhymes with Salvation

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

nationofchange.org - By Thomas Magstadt - Feb. 21 (Opinion) - Ideologues with vast resources can grab an idea and spin it for selfish purposes; and the original idea – however well-grounded in science – can be reinvented as a kind of religion. Which exactly what the Neocons and Wingnuts have done to capitalism, which they equate and conflate with deregulation and the zany belief in a fictive "free market". Or the even zanier notion that what the biggest bad-ass capitalists of all – the multinational corporations and banks too big to fail – really want is competition!

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