Religion & Law

India: Muslims demand headscarves in Christian school

Posted on July 07, 2010
Spero News: "Muslims in Kerala state, India, say they will intensify their protest against a Catholic school that refuses to allow girls wearing headscarves to attend classes. It is 'our fundamental right to practice our religion,' said Abdul Jabbar, district secretary of the Popular Front of India, a confederation of Muslim organizations...

Who needs law school? One man tries different route to bar exam

Posted on July 07, 2010
Wall Street Journal / Law Blog: "A handful of states allow an aspirant to bypass law school by apprenticing with an active lawyer or judge, but for the most part, if you wanna be the next David Boies, you?ve pretty much got to go the law-school route...

Russia?s impending internet crackdown

Posted on July 07, 2010
Newsweek: "There are disturbing signs that the Federal Security Service (FSB) is preparing a new crackdown on the Web, the one medium not under tight government control. A law currently before the Duma would give the FSB and prosecutors the most sweeping powers they have had since the fall of the Soviet Union, from censoring Internet sites to arresting people for 'obstructing investigations...

?I love you, you?re perfect, now sign here?

Posted on July 07, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Baby boomers looking to protect their assets are increasingly turning to prenuptial agreements?legal contracts drawn up before a marriage that dictate what happens to assets in the event a couple should part ways, either by divorce or death...

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Dutch establishment rejects election results

Posted on July 07, 2010
Hudson New York: "Dutch Queen Beatrix does not like Member of Parliament Geert Wilders, the winner of the recent elections in the Netherlands; she is attempting to prevent the formation of a right-wing coalition that includes him. ... June's general elections in the Netherlands resulted in a clear victory for the right...

TSA withdraws ?controversial opinion? restriction on web use

Posted on July 07, 2010
A TSA spokesman tells The Washington Examiner: "I wanted to let you know that after further review, TSA determined the 'controversial opinion' category may contain some sites that do not violate TSA?s policy and therefore has concluded that the category is no longer being considered for implementation...

DC Opportunity Scholarships: The education debacle of the decade

Posted on July 07, 2010
The Daily Caller: "Dr. Patrick Wolf spoke to a packed audience in the Capitol Visitors Center last Monday. Previous studies by Wolf showed an improvement in academic performance, to the point that a student participating in OSP from kindergarten through high school would likely be 2 ½ years ahead in reading...

Hawaii: Lingle vetoes civil unions bill, ACLU plans suit

Posted on July 07, 2010
"The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay-rights group, plan to file a lawsuit in Circuit Court alleging Hawaii has failed to provide equal rights to gays and lesbians short of marriage."

?Gay asylum seekers win UK appeal?

Posted on July 07, 2010
"To compel a homosexual person to pretend that his sexuality does not exist or suppress the behaviour by which to manifest itself is to deny him the fundamental right to be who he is."

Obama to bypass Senate to name health official

Posted on July 07, 2010
"The recess appointment was somewhat unusual because the Senate is in recess for less than two weeks and senators were still waiting for Dr. Berwick to submit responses to some of their requests for information. No confirmation hearing has been held or scheduled...

ADF, 9 countries appeal crucifix ban

Posted on July 07, 2010
OneNewsNow: "The European Court of Human Rights has heard arguments in an appeal of a decision that would ban crosses in Italian schools, and a final ruling should come within a couple of months. ... 'Our religious symbols do have a place in the public square, and you can't censor a message just because you don't like it,' [ADF Attorney Roger Kiska] contends...

Pennington County hits church with property taxes

Posted on July 07, 2010
Dakota Voice: ‘Government officials should not be allowed to ignore the law, the Constitution, and supporting court precedents to target a church for exorbitant taxes it doesn?t truly owe,’ said Stephen J. Wesolick, one of nearly 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance...

German court allows gene screening of IVF embryos

Posted on July 07, 2010
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2010/07/06/german_court_allows_gene_diagnose_of_ivf_embryos

Wisconsin Supreme Court rules unanimously to uphold gay ?marriage? ban

Posted on July 07, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "'Voters adopted the marriage amendment in Wisconsin for one clear and simple reason: to protect the institution of marriage,' said ADF Litigation Counsel [Jim Campbell]. 'We should be strengthening - not undermining - marriage, which is one man and one woman...

Religious intolerance threatens Nigerian democracy: Jonathan

Posted on July 07, 2010
AFP: "Religious intolerance which has killed hundreds of people in central Nigeria this year alone, threatens democracy in the country, President Goodluck Jonathan warned on Tuesday."

Law Review: When Customary International Law Violations ?Arise Under the Laws of the United States?

Posted on July 07, 2010
Gwynne Skinner, When Customary International Law Violations ?Arise Under the Laws of the United States? (July 2, 2010). Brooklyn Journal of International Law, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1634134 "In this Article, I conclude that common law claims for violations of customary international law arise under the 'laws of the United States' for general federal question jurisdiction and within Article III, but only where such claims or defenses to them implicate uniquely federal interests, such as foreign relations...

North Korean Christian tortured to death for having Bibles at home

Posted on July 07, 2010
Asia News: "A North Korean Evangelical Christian was tortured and then killed in a Pyongyang?s prison. The victim?s brother pieced the story together and made it public. In a long interview, he slams the North Korean regime, calling it 'hypocritical', trying to be above any law, be it man-made or divine...

Vietnam: A Con Dau Catholic dies shortly after being released by police

Posted on July 07, 2010
Asia News: "Nam Nguyen, a Catholic from Con Dau parish, in the Diocese of Da Nang died last Saturday, just hours after being released by police. The man, already in recent months, had been arrested, beaten and threatened by agents, following protests from residents over the closure of the cemetery of the parish and the announced destruction of their homes to build a tourist centre...

Poland?s new president opposed by pro-life leaders

Posted on July 07, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Pro-life leaders in Poland are dismayed over the outcome of the country?s presidential election on Sunday. The Polish people elected liberal Bronislaw Komorowski to fill the spot left open after the late president Lech Kaczynski perished April 10th in a mysterious plane crash on Russian soil...

NJ: Asbury Park rejects topless beach

Posted on July 07, 2010
Associated Press: "Asbury Park shot down a proposal Wednesday night to allow women to go topless on one of its beaches."

Sealed church in Bogor, Indonesia appeals to UN

Posted on July 07, 2010
Compass Direct News: "The Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Taman Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java, has filed a religious discrimination appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, church leaders said. Since April 11 the congregation has held services on the roadside in front of the sealed church in stifling heat...

Is the Christian Legal Society?s loss a loss for everyone?

Posted on July 07, 2010
Alec Hill, president of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, writing at Christianity Today: "As president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA?and as a former professor of law?I have concerns about how this decision may impact our 860 chapters and other campus ministries...

UK: Labour loses vote on sex education

Posted on July 07, 2010
UKPA: "Labour has failed in an attempt to make it compulsory for academies to teach sex education. Peers backed the Government's stance on the issue by 245 votes to 156, a majority of 89, despite claims children may be 'suffering' because of a lack of good personal, social and health education (PSHE)...

Christian leader arrested for praying outside abortion clinic not charged by Feds

Posted on July 07, 2010
Evangelical Examiner: "During the arraignment of Rev. Patrick Mahoney in Washington, D.C., the US Attorney failed to appear and file formal charges against Rev. Mahoney for his June 8 arrest on a public sidewalk in front of a Planned Parenthood in Washington, D...

TX: Burnet County mulls complaint over meeting places

Posted on July 07, 2010
Highland Lakes Newspapers: "Burnet County Commissioners briefly discussed, but wound up taking no action on a proposed policy on the use of county-owned public meeting spaces. The discussion sprang from a recent letter to the Marble Falls Library from the Alliance Defense Fund organization of Leawood, Kan...

Travis Barham: Adams appeals and wins some friends

Posted on July 07, 2010
ADF Attorney Travis C. Barham writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "Back in March, a federal district court in North Carolina ruled that Dr. Mike Adams? nationally syndicated columns were not protected by the First Amendment. ... Well, the next chapter in Dr...

Maloney bill: Another effort by abortion industry to shut down competition

Posted on July 07, 2010
ChristianNewsWire: "Care Net, a network of more than 1,100 pregnancy centers, calls a summer attack by the abortion industry and its advocates, 'just another attempt to shut down the competition.' NARAL, an abortion activist group, has launched an effort to harm pregnancy centers' ability to advertise their services online...

OH: Mansfield amends sexually oriented business ordinance

Posted on July 07, 2010
WMFD: "Mansfield City Council Tuesday night approved legislation to amend its sexually-oriented business ordinance. Council hopes the legislation will settle a lawsuit filed the parent company of Adultmart, which claimed the original law was unconstitutional...

Scotland: Top doc warns of danger posed by end-of-life bill

Posted on July 07, 2010
The Christian Institute: "A leading doctor has warned that a Bill which would legalise assisted suicide would betray 'Scottish values' for the benefit of a vocal few. The End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill, proposed by Margo MacDonald MSP, would allow the terminally ill and people who are ?permanently physically incapacitated? to seek assistance in ending their lives...

Spanish gov?t fines media group for family values ad

Posted on July 07, 2010
The Christian Institute: "The Spanish Government has controversially fined a Roman Catholic media group for airing a commercial in defence of traditional family values. Spain?s Ministry of Industry fined Intereconomía 100,000 Euros (around £83,000) for airing the advert as part of a broader campaign to protect family values in the nation...

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