ATHEISM
Atheism v. Religion
American Chronicle - Beverly Hills,CA,USA
Atheism wins, because it relies on a single claim: there is none higher than the voice of reason. On this view, the notion of a supernatural God cannot be ...
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/56119

Shaheed Bhagat Singh - The Atheist Revolutionary
Great Indian Mutiny - Bangalore,Karnataka,India
But for anyone who has read and understood Why I am an Atheist in its entirety, irrespective of whether they subscribe to his ideologies or not, ...
http://mutiny.in/2008/03/24/shaheed-bhagat-singh-the-atheist-revolutionary/

Letter: Column lacked solid facts
Virginia Tech Collegiate Times Online Edition - Blacksburg,VA,USA
Japan has one of the highest percentages of atheism in the world at about 60 to 65 percent, depending on the source, and has an exceptionally low crime rate ...
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/2008/03/26/letter__column_lacked_solid_facts

Letter: Atheist actions can be selfless
Virginia Tech Collegiate Times Online Edition - Blacksburg,VA,USA
I'm writing in response to the column, "Defending morality in an atheist's culture is challenging" (CT, March 25). The author implies that a lack of faith ...
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/2008/03/27/letter__atheist_actions_can_be_selfless

BOOKS, FILM, THEATRE, TV, YOU TUBE
Good Faith
New York Times - United States
... this construct of “overlapping consensus” to be “a much more helpful idea to think with than the bare idea of ‘separation’” between church and state. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/books/review/Bazelon-t.html?em&ex=1206244800&en=b1d223247da996a1&ei=5087%0A

EVOLUTION, CREATIONISM, I.D.
Intelligent Design Movie Is Not for Heathens
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies - Hartford,CT,USA
They also interviewed an even higher-profile biologist, Richard Dawkins, under similar false pretenses. Myers has a formidable presence on the internet, ...
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/blackford20080322/

Good Book: Science Academy Says Don’t Confuse Religion With Biology
Americans United - Washington,DC,USA
Attempts to sneak biblical creationism into public school science classrooms under the auspices of “intelligent design” (ID) are also addressed. ...
http://blog.au.org/2008/01/04/good-book-science-academy-says-dont-confuse-religion-with-biology/

Evolution Bill Moves Forward
Tampa Tribune - Tampa,FL,USA
By NICOLA M. WHITE It's about protecting the rights of students and teachers who don't agree with the science behind Darwinian evolution, the Republican ...
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/27/me-evolution-bill-moves-forward/

SCIENCE
Helping Others IS Selfish
Lew Rockwell - Burlingame,CA,USA
Richard Dawkins' book "The Selfish Gene" may provide some insight into why a parent, for instance, might choose to die in order to save her child, ...
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/020117.html

New Fossil Is World's Oldest Plant-Eating Lizard
National Geographic - Washington,DC,USA
A rare fossil discovered in Japan is the oldest known plant-eating lizard, which could shed light on an evolutionary puzzle that Charles Darwin described as ...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080324-lizard-evolution.html

Math used to ID an organism's evolution
United Press International - USA
The new mathematical method determines the "selective signature" of a gene -- the pattern of fast or slow evolution of that gene across a group of species ...
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/03/24/math_used_to_id_an_organisms_evolution/8385/

Evolution Of New Species Slows Down As Number Of Competitors Increases
Science Daily (press release) - USA
ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2008) — The rate at which new species are formed in a group of closely related animals decreases as the total number of different ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325083359.htm

Collider may provide proof for string theory of physics
Deseret News - Salt Lake City,UT,USA
At the turn of the 20th century, Albert Einstein asked himself how gravity worked. How could the sun reach across 93 million miles and affect the motion of ...
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695265340,00.html

Voices: Plate Tectonics: The silent threat
Metro.us - New York,NY,USA
... plates over time — was, much like global warming, once rejected by the scientific establishment, with Einstein himself referring to it as “super-lame. ...
http://ny.metro.us/metro/blog/my_view/entry/Voices_Plate_Tectonics_The_silent_threat/12117.html

SEPARATION CHURCH / STATE
Bush Erases the Wall of Separation
Yahoo! News - USA
The Nation -- Thomas Jefferson observed in his January 1, 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists that America was not a church state. As such, he explained, ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080322/cm_thenation/1301487

National Prayer Breakfast to attract 1000 in Ottawa
Hill Times - Ottawa,Ontario,Canada
... with the narrow Christian right agenda," he said, adding that the separation of church and state is more of an American notion than a Canadian one. ...
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=2008/march/24/national_prayer_breakfast/&c=2

Leading article: A vote based on conscience is a principle to be ...
Independent - London,England,UK
It is perhaps ironic that the United States, where Church and State are separate under the Constitution, has allowed itself to drift to a situation where ...
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-a-vote-based-on-conscience-is-a-principle-to-be-upheld-799888.html

Crosses not allowed at courthouse
Cumberland Times-News - Cumberland,MD,USA
Americans Untied for the Separation of Church and State is a national advocacy group which promotes religious freedom in the United States. ...
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_088095620.html

Ten Commandments monument can stay in Everett, court says
HeraldNet - Everett,WA,USA
Card was joined by several private attorneys around the country as well as the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ...
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080328/NEWS01/406142893&news01ad=1

Keep church and state separate in Florida
MiamiHerald.com - Miami,FL,USA
So we've got a system now that seems to work pretty well within a constitutional framework that respects the separation of church and state. ...
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/469063.html

MISCELLANEOUS
No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film
New York Times - United States
By CORNELIA DEAN Two evolutionary biologists — PZ Myers of the University of Minnesota, Morris, and Richard Dawkins of Oxford — tried to go to the movies at ....
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/science/21expelledw.html?ref=science

Bishop condemns embryo study plan
BBC News - UK
He accused ministers of pushing through legislation from "a militantly atheist and secularist lobby." The Anglican bishop also criticised the treatment of ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7310329.stm

Atheism renounced to avoid working bank holiday weekend
NewsBiscuit (satire) - London,England,UK
Charles Richards, a previously strident atheist, was forced to renounce his beliefs under exerted pressure from his employer to work on Good Friday and ...
http://newsbiscuit.com/article/atheism-renounced-to-avoid-working-bank-holiday-weekend-242

Thanks for being in our film. Now leave.
Pioneer Press - St. Paul,MN,USA
Mathis did not recognize Dawkins, who also is in the film and says Mathis tricked him into an interview. "What surprised me is it is a really lousy film, ...
http://www.twincities.com/ci_8657674

Constant Big Storms in US Believed to be Darwin's Punishment for ...
The Spoof (satire) - UK
A recent "appearance" of an image of Charles Darwin on a fish found in New Orleans harbor has sparked speculation that the great evolutionist may be behind ...
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s5i32402

In His Name We Pray, Ramen
Escapist Magazine - Durham,NC,USA
It's also known as "intelligent design," and as far as some adherents are concerned, it should replace the chapters in science textbooks about evolution. ...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_142/3048-In-His-Name-We-Pray-Ramen

DARWIN AWARDS 2007
Gather.com - Boston,MA,USA
by Jason S. For those of you who hav'nt seen the 2007 Darwin awards, here it is! I believe this proves why stupid people should't breed, because if they do ...
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977294760



  CONVENTIONS / MEETINGS / EVENTS


Madalyn Murray O'Hair (Birthday)        April 13, 2008

Gift for Life Day (Blood donation)       May 1, 2008 

Atheists Alliance International             Sept. 25-28, 2008  Long Beach, Ca.

Freedom From Religion                      Oct. 10-12, 2008  Chicago

Gift for Life Day(Blood donation)       Nov. 4, 2008    


        CFA Program

The Center for Atheism (CFA) was established by the New York City Atheists as a separate and independent national organization to propose, develop, and be a catalyst for new national activities supporting the objectives of atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, secularists and separation-of-church-and-state advocates. 

CFA will accept and review suggestions from individuals and other secular organizations that will foster our goals.


          Special Notices

          There are no special notices this week.