DALLAS - Gay couples legally married in other states cannot get a divorce in Texas, where same-sex marriage is banned, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 5th Texas Court of Appeals ruled that a Dallas district court judge didn't have the authority to hear a divorce case involving two Dallas men who married in Massachusetts in 2006. Republican state Attorney General Greg Abbott's office had appealed after Judge Tena Callahan, a Democrat, said she did have jurisdiction and dismissed the state's attempt to intervene. "Today's court of appeals decision overruled the district court's improper ruling, confirmed the constitutionality of Texas' traditional definition of marriage and correctly found that Texas courts lack the legal authority to grant divorces to same-sex couples," said Abbott spokesman Jerry Strickland.
DALLAS - Gay couples legally married in other states cannot get a divorce in Texas, where same-sex marriage is banned, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The 5th Texas Court of Appeals ruled that a Dallas district court judge didn't have the authority to hear a divorce case involving two Dallas men who married in Massachusetts in 2006. Republican state Attorney General Greg Abbott's office had appealed after Judge Tena Callahan, a Democrat, said she did have jurisdiction and dismissed the state's attempt to intervene.
"Today's court of appeals decision overruled the district court's improper ruling, confirmed the constitutionality of Texas' traditional definition of marriage and correctly found that Texas courts lack the legal authority to grant divorces to same-sex couples," said Abbott spokesman Jerry Strickland.
The Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster has distanced himself from an aide who said gay rights and the commercialisation of sex had turned Britain into a "selfish, hedonistic wasteland" and "the geopolitical epicentre of the culture of death".The comments from Edmund Adamus, director of pastoral affairs at the diocese of Westminster and an adviser to the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, have angered gay rights and secularists groups and provoked embarrassment among the Catholic hierarchy weeks before the pope visits Britain.
The Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster has distanced himself from an aide who said gay rights and the commercialisation of sex had turned Britain into a "selfish, hedonistic wasteland" and "the geopolitical epicentre of the culture of death".
The comments from Edmund Adamus, director of pastoral affairs at the diocese of Westminster and an adviser to the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, have angered gay rights and secularists groups and provoked embarrassment among the Catholic hierarchy weeks before the pope visits Britain.
Either way, it's obvious that this guy has never been to Vegas.
"the geopolitical epicentre of the culture of death"
If being homeless had an upside, you might suppose that at least it's free. Except it's not -- not if you want to stay at most Central Florida shelters.For years, the region's shelters have charged small fees to those who spend the night -- in part to offset their own costs, in part to encourage people to get a job and move on. But in the worst economy in decades, even the homeless are getting poorer, with many struggling to come up with as little as $2 to $10 a night.
If being homeless had an upside, you might suppose that at least it's free. Except it's not -- not if you want to stay at most Central Florida shelters.
For years, the region's shelters have charged small fees to those who spend the night -- in part to offset their own costs, in part to encourage people to get a job and move on. But in the worst economy in decades, even the homeless are getting poorer, with many struggling to come up with as little as $2 to $10 a night.
HONOLULU (AP) â€" The head of the Hawaii Republican Party is calling GOP Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona the only "righteous" gubernatorial candidate while urging pastors to bar Democrat Mufi Hannemann from campaigning in their churches. In an undated e-mail that came to light Sunday in three Hawaii political blogs, Jonah Kaauwai also wrote that a vote for Hannemann or Democrat Neil Abercrombie is "succumbing to fear and advancing unrighteousness." The e-mail frequently cites Bible verses and uses other religious language to allege that Hannemann deceptively wants to visit church services to boost his support in the Sept. 18 Democratic primary.
In an undated e-mail that came to light Sunday in three Hawaii political blogs, Jonah Kaauwai also wrote that a vote for Hannemann or Democrat Neil Abercrombie is "succumbing to fear and advancing unrighteousness."
The e-mail frequently cites Bible verses and uses other religious language to allege that Hannemann deceptively wants to visit church services to boost his support in the Sept. 18 Democratic primary.
The firm concluded there were approximately 90,000 people at the rally and right-wing bloggers howled in protest. Of course, they didn't take issue with the science of the estimate. They just didn't like the results and so they whined. A lot. In response to those complaints, Professor Stephen Doig of Arizona State University, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and crowd estimate expert who worked on the CBS crowd estimate, noted the irony in conservatives attacking his work today. The irony was that back in Jan., 2009, when Doig came up with a crowd estimate for Obama's inauguration, and the estimate (800,000) was much smaller than most other crowd estimates, conservatives loved Doig's work. He writes: I am amused to see that those who embraced my Obama inauguration estimate as soberly realistic are now attacking the Beck rally estimate, produced using exactly the same methods, as deliberately biased.
The firm concluded there were approximately 90,000 people at the rally and right-wing bloggers howled in protest. Of course, they didn't take issue with the science of the estimate. They just didn't like the results and so they whined. A lot.
In response to those complaints, Professor Stephen Doig of Arizona State University, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and crowd estimate expert who worked on the CBS crowd estimate, noted the irony in conservatives attacking his work today. The irony was that back in Jan., 2009, when Doig came up with a crowd estimate for Obama's inauguration, and the estimate (800,000) was much smaller than most other crowd estimates, conservatives loved Doig's work.
He writes:
I am amused to see that those who embraced my Obama inauguration estimate as soberly realistic are now attacking the Beck rally estimate, produced using exactly the same methods, as deliberately biased.
In our new issue Sam Geall, deputy editor of the website China Dialogue, introduces the Chinese science cops - the debunkers who are bravely tackling the prevalence of quackery and shoddy (often fraudulent) science that so often prevails in the People's Republic. The bad science ranges from nutritionists offering mung beans as a cure-all solution for dietary issues, through the discredited and harmful "science" of earthquake prediction, to the troubling fact that, according to a Chinese government study, over a third of 6,000 Chinese scientists surveyed have practised "plagiarism, falsification or fabrication".In the piece, Geall points to the work of two particular debunkers, Fang Zhouzi (pictured) and Fang Xuanchang, who have both played prominent roles in taking on the peddlers of pseudoscience; Zhouzi through running the influential watchdog site New Threads and Xuanchang in his role as science and technology editor at Caijing magazine.
Montgomery County police have confirmed the Discovery Communications headquarters on Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring has been evacuated after the report of a man possibly with explosives inside the building. A man entered the lobby and may have fired a weapon and declared, "Nobody is going anywhere," Montgomery County police said. In a phone interview on ABC 7 News and TBD TV, Discovery Communication employee Lisa Lucas said the building is in lockdown, with an unknown number of employees sheltering in offices. Police have established a cordon around the building. She said that about 1:20 p.m., "we heard, Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop." Police have not confirmed that multiple shots were fired.
Montgomery County police have confirmed the Discovery Communications headquarters on Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring has been evacuated after the report of a man possibly with explosives inside the building.
A man entered the lobby and may have fired a weapon and declared, "Nobody is going anywhere," Montgomery County police said.
In a phone interview on ABC 7 News and TBD TV, Discovery Communication employee Lisa Lucas said the building is in lockdown, with an unknown number of employees sheltering in offices. Police have established a cordon around the building.
She said that about 1:20 p.m., "we heard, Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop."
Police have not confirmed that multiple shots were fired.
`The planet does not need humans' Lee appears to have posted environmental and population-control demands online, saying humans are ruining the planet and that Discovery should develop programs to sound the alarm. "I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so. I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it," the alleged manifesto reads, adding:"Nothing is more important than saving ... the Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels. The humans? The planet does not need humans."
`The planet does not need humans' Lee appears to have posted environmental and population-control demands online, saying humans are ruining the planet and that Discovery should develop programs to sound the alarm.
"I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so. I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it," the alleged manifesto reads, adding:"Nothing is more important than saving ... the Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels. The humans? The planet does not need humans."
I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it," the alleged manifesto reads, adding:"Nothing is more important than saving ... the Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels. The humans? The planet does not need humans."
I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it to calmly report to the nearest disintegration station for processing," the alleged manifesto reads, adding:"Nothing is more important than saving ... the Lions, Tigers, and Bears (Oh MY!) Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies (WTF?), Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Squirrels, and, of course, the Cats and Kittens, especially cats named Truffles. The humans? The planet does not need humans, except to feed their cats."
I would then go on to recommend my favorite porn sites, and you know, ... In the end, might makes right. Nothing has changed since the caveman.
In the end, might makes right. Nothing has changed since the caveman.
IN NOVEMBER 2005, three senior aides to Britain's royal family noticed odd things happening on their mobile phones. Messages they had never listened to were somehow appearing in their mailboxes as if heard and saved. Equally peculiar were stories that began appearing about Prince William in one of the country's biggest tabloids, News of the World.
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques while editor of the News of the World and "actively encouraged" a named reporter to engage in the illegal interception of voicemail messages, according to allegations published by the New York Times.Coulson, who resigned as editor of the News of the World in January 2007 after its royal correspondent was jailed for intercepting voicemail messages, has always insisted that he had no knowledge of illegal activity when he edited the paper or at any time as a journalist. He told a Commons select committee last year: "I have never had any involvement in it at all."The New York Times website published a trail to a story due to appear in its Sunday magazine. It made detailed allegations likely to bring intense new pressure on Coulson and the Metropolitan police force, which stands accused of favouring Rupert Murdoch's newspaper group by cutting short its investigation, withholding crucial evidence from prosecutors and failing to inform victims of the newspaper's crimes against them. Coulson declined to comment on the allegations. The News of the World and Scotland Yard have denied all the charges.
The prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, freely discussed the use of unlawful news-gathering techniques while editor of the News of the World and "actively encouraged" a named reporter to engage in the illegal interception of voicemail messages, according to allegations published by the New York Times.
Coulson, who resigned as editor of the News of the World in January 2007 after its royal correspondent was jailed for intercepting voicemail messages, has always insisted that he had no knowledge of illegal activity when he edited the paper or at any time as a journalist. He told a Commons select committee last year: "I have never had any involvement in it at all."
The New York Times website published a trail to a story due to appear in its Sunday magazine. It made detailed allegations likely to bring intense new pressure on Coulson and the Metropolitan police force, which stands accused of favouring Rupert Murdoch's newspaper group by cutting short its investigation, withholding crucial evidence from prosecutors and failing to inform victims of the newspaper's crimes against them. Coulson declined to comment on the allegations. The News of the World and Scotland Yard have denied all the charges.
One of the odors emanating from Washington, D.C., these days is from journalists marking their territory. Whatever awkwardness previously existed as journalists desiring a federal shield law wooed the legislators they're supposed to be watching, it's now worse. In recent weeks, the two groups have publicly joined forces to exclude WikiLeaks from possible protection under the bill. In doing so, journalists have managed both to look territorial and to endanger the independence they're striving to create. On Aug. 4, Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat and Senate sponsor of the Free Flow of Information Act, announced that he intended to include in the proposed law new language specifying that WikiLeaks and organizations like it would not be able to use the act to protect the identities of confidential sources.
One of the odors emanating from Washington, D.C., these days is from journalists marking their territory.
Whatever awkwardness previously existed as journalists desiring a federal shield law wooed the legislators they're supposed to be watching, it's now worse. In recent weeks, the two groups have publicly joined forces to exclude WikiLeaks from possible protection under the bill. In doing so, journalists have managed both to look territorial and to endanger the independence they're striving to create.
On Aug. 4, Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat and Senate sponsor of the Free Flow of Information Act, announced that he intended to include in the proposed law new language specifying that WikiLeaks and organizations like it would not be able to use the act to protect the identities of confidential sources.
God did not create the universe, the man who is arguably Britain's most famous living scientist says in a forthcoming book.In the new work, The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity.In his 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking had seemed to accept the role of God in the creation of the universe. But in the new text, co-written with American physicist Leonard Mlodinow, he said new theories showed a creator is "not necessary".
God did not create the universe, the man who is arguably Britain's most famous living scientist says in a forthcoming book.
In the new work, The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity.
In his 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking had seemed to accept the role of God in the creation of the universe. But in the new text, co-written with American physicist Leonard Mlodinow, he said new theories showed a creator is "not necessary".
Not wanting to join the goddoneit crowd, but the current state of physics doesn't quite work as a first cause.
If there was one.
An interesting essay that offers more background to a discussion here at ET, a few days ago, concerning gender in language.
The long article ends with this:
For many years, our mother tongue was claimed to be a "prison house" that constrained our capacity to reason. Once it turned out that there was no evidence for such claims, this was taken as proof that people of all cultures think in fundamentally the same way. But surely it is a mistake to overestimate the importance of abstract reasoning in our lives. After all, how many daily decisions do we make on the basis of deductive logic compared with those guided by gut feeling, intuition, emotions, impulse or practical skills? The habits of mind that our culture has instilled in us from infancy shape our orientation to the world and our emotional responses to the objects we encounter, and their consequences probably go far beyond what has been experimentally demonstrated so far; they may also have a marked impact on our beliefs, values and ideologies. We may not know as yet how to measure these consequences directly or how to assess their contribution to cultural or political misunderstandings. But as a first step toward understanding one another, we can do better than pretending we all think the same.
Call it a crash course. A group of undergrads at the University of Colorado at Boulder got to participate in an unusual and awesome classroom activity on Monday, the culmination of a weeks-long process to decommission a NASA science satellite: they crashed a satellite into the atmosphere, sending it to a fiery death.
