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A DVD exposing Christianity, the Banking System and 9/11

Poll Shows Religion Dwindling

from Newsweek --
A nation facing problems of biblical proportions appears to be looking less and less to religion for answers. According to a Newsweek poll released this week, the percentage of Americans who think faith will help answer all or most of the country's current problems dipped to a historic low of 48 percent, down from 64 percent in 1994.

The poll also shows changing perceptions about the religious makeup of the United States and its politics. Since President Obama took office earlier this year, the number of people who consider the U.S. a Christian nation has fallen to 62 percent, down from higher numbers during the Bush administration (69 percent last year and 71 percent in 2005).

Germany to Ban GMO Corn

from Reuters --
Germany will ban cultivation and sale of genetically modified (GMO) maize, German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said on Tuesday. The ban affects Monsanto's MON 810 maize which may no longer be sown for this summer's harvest, Aigner told a news conference. MON 810 maize is the only GM crop currently approved by the EU for commercial use. "I have come to the conclusion that there is a justifiable reason to believe that genetically modified maize of the type MON 810 presents a danger to the environment," Aigner said. Monsanto declined comment. The Environment Ministry also believed GMOs presented a threat to the environment. The decision to ban was based on scientific factors and was not a political decision, Aigner said. It was an individual case and not a fundamental decision against GMO crops, she added

Seal With Arms Discovered

from National Geographic --
A newly discovered prehistoric seal with "arms" is the no-longer missing link between seals' land-based ancestors and the ocean-dwelling, flippered creatures we know, a new study says. Measuring about three and a half feet the twenty million-year-old "walking seal" had heavy, muscular limbs like those of a land mammal, a long tail, and webbed feet. Unlike the shuffling seals of today, the newfound species may have walked as gracefully as it swam, researchers say. Many marine mammals, such as whales and manatees, are believed to have roots on land—an idea that originated with Charles Darwin 150 years ago.

Charley the Tuna Feels Pain

from Science Daily --
Fish don't make noises or contort their faces to show that it hurts when hooks are pulled from their mouths, but a Purdue University researcher believes they do feel pain. Joseph Garner, assistant professor of animal sciences at Purdue, helped develop a test that found goldfish do feel pain, and their reactions to it are much like that of humans. Garner and Janicke Nordgreen, a doctoral student at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, independently conducted numerous pain response experiments, following established protocols. "The experiments showed that fish do not only respond to painful stimuli with reflexes, but change their behavior also after the event," Nordgreen said. "Together with what we know from experiments carried out by other groups, this indicates that fish consciously perceive pain. The findings could raise questions about slaughter methods and how fish are handled in research. Garner said standards of care could be revisited to ensure fish are being treated humanely.

Back To Protecting our Environment

from bradsblog.com --
Officials at the Interior and Commerce departments this week said they have reimposed the consultation requirement that assured the government's top biologists involved in species protection will have a say in federal action that could harm plants, animals and fish that are at risk of extinction. Such consultation had been required for more than two decades until the Bush administration made it optional in rules issued last December, just weeks before the change in administrations. Environmentalists argued that the change severely reduced the protection afforded under the federal Endangered Species Act.

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