Search for "cheap airline ticket from fort myers to virgin islands round trip phone number 1-800-299-7264"

Mexico’s Religious Conservatives Seek Anti-LGBT Constitutional Amendment, LGBT Activists Defend Secular Government; Cash From Qatar Funds ‘Traditional’ Family Activism Worldwide; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…hostile to human rights. Qatar: Qatari money funds “traditional values” efforts around the world At Medium, journalist Brian Whitaker reports that in addition to funding Islamist groups, funds from Qatar also support non-Muslim religious groups promoting “traditional” views on gender and family at the United Nations and around the world. They include the Catholic University of America, a conservative think tank in Britain and a business school in…

A Meditation on Shopping and Desire

By Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado

…We have an unprecedented access to cheap goods, yet we must recognize that cheap goods are cheaply made. I am not speaking of quality, I am speaking of cheap labor. We must recognize that through the act of shopping, whether it is for an article of clothing, a toy, a pint of strawberries, or even our morning cup of coffee, we participate in a global economy that values profit over people. Disposable goods are made by disposable people, faceless in…

Chicken or Egg? Now We Know…

By Lauri Lebo

…rent protein is responsible for creating the shell. So, it’s not all that groundbreaking, despite the breathless claims of the news stories. As a matter of fact, the evidence remains quite clear on this one. Chickens, as did all birds, evolved from dinosaurs. Dinosaurs laid eggs. Ergo, the egg came before the chicken. But why such defensiveness from folks like Myers? I mean, yes, it’s kind of a lame story. But it’s summer. It’s hot. And all that s…

Top Ten Religion & Science Stories of 2009

By Lauri Lebo

…around nine months after Darwin’s birthday, Young Earth creationist Ray Comfort was grabbing the religion headlines. Comfort’s best-known argument against evolution is the cultivated banana because it comes in a biodegradable package and is designed for easy gripping by the human hand. Accompanied by former child actor Kirk Cameron, Comfort led a crusade at college campuses across the country to distribute altered copies of Origin. Comfort penned…

Atheist Schism?

By Katie Toth

…ndamentalist Christians. I think we need to do the same thing with Islam.” Myers, who’s supportive but not directly involved, has few qualms about leaving behind those “who consider the social justice issue that Atheism Plus is prioritizing to be unimportant.” And if it causes a schism, well, he’s fine with that: “I think that’s wonderful. Yes, let’s divide.” Since the initial burst of infighting and corresponding media attention, buzz around A+ h…

Nuns on the Bus: 2700 Miles, Nine States, and a Rock Star DC Welcome

By Mary E. Hunt

…es of people who embrace the world, who “hug people to life, not to death” as Simone Campbell put it. If you can still say that after a two-week bus trip, no wonder people are inspired and willing to ante up for a ticket….

Corporations Have Consciences and Contraceptives Are Cheap: Hobby Lobby at the Supreme Court

By Sarah Posner

…gy. This one was raised by Justice Samuel Alito, who pointed to a Danish effort that would close kosher and halal slaugherhouses through a law that would ban killing an animal without stunning it first. Verrilli described that law as “targeted” at religion in a way the ACA is not. But, Verrilli noted, the contraception benefit is different, as is the companies’ objection. In this case, Verrilli argued, the rights of the employees of Hobby Lobby an…

Some Christian and Muslim Leaders Urging ‘No’ Vote in Australian Mail Ballot on Marriage Equality; and More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…d by Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCR) in 2013, around half of Taiwanese support same sex unions whereas 75% of the opposition came from the Christian community. In addition, there are also Taiwanese who oppose same-sex unions on the grounds of upholding traditional Chinese family tradition,” she notes. “Therefore, if the same logic is applied to Indonesia then I think ‘Islamic teaching’ is just a short-sighted excuse to…

Holy Father, You’re Not Helping: The Problem with the Pope’s Plan to Consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

By Katherine Kelaidis

…ful twin—has seldom missed an opportunity to leverage Eastern Christian misfortune to its own advantage. The Crusades themselves are an excellent example, but Catholic power grabs in places like Ukraine during the 16th century around the fall of Constantinople also demonstrate this problem. Which brings us back to Thursday’s consecration. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was free from Original Sin, is not…

In Sermon on Birth of the ‘Fatherland,’ Putin’s Patriarch Kirill Equates Invasion of Ukraine with Defense of Orthodox Faith

By Katherine Kelaidis

…the Russians’ prayers were likely more effective on a day dedicated to the Virgin Mary, implying that the Russian victory that day had been a direct result of the interventions of the Holy Mother. Not that the woman whom Orthodox Christians widely refer to as the Theotokos (the God-bearer)—i.e. the Virgin Mary, whose birth is the cause of the feast day—gets much attention the rest of the oration. Because she doesn’t. Instead, Patriarch Kirill rema…