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An abuse of faith * Font Size: Decrease Increase * Print Page: Print David Sharrock | May 22, 2009 Article from: The Australian PATRICK Walsh was two years old when he was taken to court with his two brothers, aged three and four, and a sister of six months. The crime: their mother was in an unhappy marriage and had left her husband. "She was viewed as the guilty party by church and state," Walsh says. "My father denounced her because she wanted a divorce, which was illegal. We were put in the dock, charged and sentenced for 'having a...

AUSTIN – Advocates for more technology in the classroom – and fewer textbooks – are stepping up their arguments for change this year, trying to convince Texas lawmakers that the future of electronic textbooks is now. The technology push is getting a boost from a special House committee that warned about the consequences if Texas is stuck in the past when it comes to classroom materials. Among the reasons: the higher cost of printed books, the expense of transporting and storing them, and the fact that they can be outdated before students get them. "Our current system just seems outdated...

I was pitched headfirst into the world of e-books in 2002 when I took a job with Palm Digital Media. The company, originally called Peanut Press, was founded in 1998 with a simple plan: publish books in electronic form. As it turns out, that simple plan leads directly into a technological, economic, and political hornet's nest. But thanks to some good initial decisions (more on those later), little Peanut Press did pretty well for itself in those first few years, eventually having a legitimate claim to its self-declared title of "the world's largest e-book store." Unfortunately, despite starting the company...

* Girl abused for years * Kills stepfather after forced into oral sex * May not have acted in self-defence, court told A VICTORIAN teenager has been ordered to stand trial for the murder of her stepfather who allegedly took nearly 10,000 pornographic pictures of her in four years. The Shepparton Magistrates' Court was told that on March 13 last year, the stepdaughter shot the 34-year-old in the back of the head to put an end to daily sexual abuse that began when she was 14. The man's dismembered torso was unearthed in a shallow grave in the backyard of...

In the days following the raid on the Texas polygamous compound, I took a call from a St. Louis radio host requesting one of our reporters to come on his show to "talk about the situation in Utah." Early in this cordial conversation, I informed him that this newspaper is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that I am a member of this church. After a few minutes, it became clear that he thought I was somehow affiliated with the FLDS group. I felt like an anthropology specimen. The questions were friendly and good natured,...

Census sheets found in a safe at a polygamous sect's ranch in west Texas both support and contradict the state's claim of a widespread culture of underage marriage. Texas authorities used the sheets to convince a judge that there was a "pervasive pattern" among the FLDS of marrying underage girls to older men. A review of the "Father's Family Information" sheets shows a handful of 16-year-old wives, 13 young monogamous couples and 24 men with multiple wives - including one man with 21 wives and 36 children. A Texas Ranger testified about the census sheets during an April 17-18 court...

The evil father who locked up his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathered her seven children was pictured on a 'boys holiday' to Thailand in the 1990s, it has been revealed. Josep Friztl is believed to have stockpiled food in the dungeon where Elisabeth and her three children were being held. The four were expected to survive alone for up to two weeks until Fritzl returned. Snaps of the electrical engineer enjoying himself were made public for the first time today. They come as it was revealed that Fritzl has told police he acted alone. He has...

A friend of Mine teaches Media Studies in New Zealand. Some of her students have an entry for the youngest age bracket in an annual film competition for students ages 12 to twenty four.

The staff of Newsweek will shrink dramatically, after 111 staffers on its news and business sides accepted a buyout last week. Among those leaving are some of the magazine's best-known, most-admired and longest-service critics, including David Gates, David Ansen and Cathleen McGuigan. Harold Shain, a former president of the magazine who moved over to sister publication Budget Travel at the beginning of this year, is also departing. 146 staffers were offered the chance to leave the magazine, with as much as two years of their current salary as a departing bonus, depending on their age and length of service. The...

Miami-Dade County officials: Christian groups no longer required to acquire land for prayer meetings ADF attorneys file to dismiss case after officials agree to drop 2.5-acre land requirement Thursday, December 27, 2007, 2:40 PM (MST) | ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020 Miami-Dade County officials: Buy 2.5 acres, or cancel Bible study MIAMI — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have agreed to drop a lawsuit on behalf of two groups of Christians originally told they must either purchase 2.5 acres of land, or stop meeting for prayer and Bible study. Miami-Dade County officials issued cease-and-desist orders to both of the...

Ed Lasky The decline of the New York Times as a reputable newspaper has been matched by the decline of its business management. The running (or running down of the newspaper) by "Pinch" Sulzberger, descendant of the family which had purchased and remade the paper generations ago, has progressively destroyed the value of the Times (the apple does fall far from the tree-especially after several generations). The paper has suffered disproportionably more than its peers on the stock market. It will suffered another indignity this morning. A huge block of shares was sold early this morning off the New York...

Do you agree with former men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler's decision to sue the University? Yes No

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --Former Duke University men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, who resigned under the pressure of allegations that three of his players raped a stripper, has filed a lawsuit against the private Durham university, school officials said Friday. ~ Snip ~ The Herald-Sun of Durham reported Friday night on its Web site that Pressler's lawsuit was filed in state court, alleging the university broke the terms of the confidential settlement when university senior vice president John Burness made disparaging comments about the former coach. The suit said one of the comments was made April 9 in Newsday, when Burness...

A gay gang that allegedly raped victims lured on the Internet, drugged them and infected them with the AIDS virus has shocked the Netherlands and raised questions over its liberal sex culture. Health Minister Ab Klink on Thursday called the case "horrible", as the press splashed the news across its front pages. The matter came to light Wednesday, when police said they had arrested three seropositive homosexual men two weeks ago after four victims, men aged 25 to 50, accused them of rape and premeditated bodily harm. Ronald Zwarter, the police chief in the northern town of Groningen, where the...

New video on the lacrosse case.

Tired of Rudy Rudy Rudy! Pence Pence Pence! Hillary is gonna win 'cause the RNC has sold us out. Had enough?How about some continuity with our current aproach to the war with Islam From a political angle... And a military angle...

The Show That Should Have Been.

A common thread of Free republic Polls seems to be taking a liberal RINO wet dream of a November '08 ballot and seeing who would still vote republican. Or Who would we choose if the republican primaries were down to these same weasles.So how about we turn it around? Instead ask... If the Republican primaries were between Rudy, McCain, and Condoleezza Rice, And the democratic primaries were between Al Gore, Kerry, Hillary and Zell Miller, Which (if Any) primary would you register to vote in? Republican, for Rudy.Republican, for McCain.Republican, for CondoleezzaDemocrat, for Wierd Al.Democrat, for John Kerry.Democrat, for the...

The city of St. Pete Beach, Fla., has filed suit against five residents who say they are opposed to a redevelopment plan officials claim will increase population and tax bases. In what appears to be another case of eminent domain, with the city claiming an unchallengeable right to redevelop the quiet beachfront community, officials say they retained legal services after the rebellious residents collected signatures on a petition demanding the issue be put to a vote, WTSP-TV in Tampa-St. Petersburg reported yesterday.