Daily Archives: June 19, 2008

The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States

The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States by B. F. Morris was published in 1865. Recently, the Right Wing of the United States discovered this book, and wishes to present it as evidence that the United States is officially Christian.Whatever.I’m sure they are wrong, but the United States definitely is, and the Right Wing is in particular, driven by mercenary tendencies. So Human Events (which I monitor) is now hawking a commercial reprint of this early book. Here are some of the things the Right Wing is saying about this book: Continue reading The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States

How to get a death certificate BEFORE getting a birth certificate

In India, a baby was stillborn, apparently dead of the effects of complications at a seven month delivery. The mother had been suffering convulsions of some kind and was heavily medicated.The next day, as the parents were on the way to the burial ground with the corpses of their baby, it started to gurgle and breath and stuff.The baby …”showed attempts to breathe … Under such circumstances, it would appear that doctors had no reason to assume that the baby was dead,” said Dr Suleiman Merchant, acting dean of Sion Hospital in Mumbai.Apparently the drugs the mother had been given repressed the heartbeat to the level at which it was not detected. The infant is still in critical condition.

Some News of Africa

Do you have any idea of what is going on in Zimbabwe? And has been for quite some time? I’ve not chosen to make any effort to note the African news that I semi-regularly follow, but I think it is time for that to change. Expect a bit more. I don’t know how much insightful commentary I can add, but I can at least point to goings on of interest.In ZImbabwe, we have a situation of a long term leader who won’t seem to go away even though many people seem to want him to. There was an election recently, and that may have been co-opted by the ruling party. And this, today:

The bodies of four opposition activists have been found near the Zimbabwe capital, after being abducted, the Movement for Democratic Change says.An MDC spokesman accused supporters of President Robert Mugabe of being behind the deaths, ahead of next week’s poll.The body of Harare’s recently elected opposition mayor’s wife has also reportedly been found, badly burnt.source

Continue reading Some News of Africa

New Dinosaurs and Old Rhinos

Utah announces ‘major dinosaur fossil discovery’ from PhysOrg.com
(AP) — A newly discovered batch of well-preserved dinosaur bones, petrified trees and even freshwater clams in southeastern Utah could provide new clues about life in the region some 150 million years ago.
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Finally, the Congo totally screws up, as expected, and the very last of the only remaining northern White Rhinos are probably dead. There is little reason for optimism…

Group: Northern white rhinos near extinction from PhysOrg.com
(AP) — The northern white rhino of central Africa is on the verge of being wiped out, a conservation group said Tuesday.
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