Innocents Betrayed - The History of Gun Control

Why I Left Islam - Abdu

Christmas in Bethlehem: Cross banished to appease Islam

by Howard Portnoy

Never mind dreaming of a White Christmas. This Christmas, tourists and pilgrims to the Holy Land will need to keep their piety under wraps. AsiaNews reports that in Bethlehem, the city of Jesus’ birth, the Cross has been banned for fear of stirring up unrest among followers of Islam (aka, the religion of peace).

Some textile workshops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell T-shirts depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross. Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from T-shirts of football teams.

Samir Qumsieh, director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, is reported as having said, "I want to launch a campaign to urge people not to buy these products,” adding “removal of the cross is an intimidation against Christians, it is like saying that Jesus was never crucified.”

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Global warming update: Summer snow strikes Australia

by Dana McCauley

THONGS and board shorts gave way to beanies and scarves yesterday as summer gave way to a wintry blast of snow and icy temperatures in the country's southeast. While the bitter freeze in Europe continues, Victoria and NSW have had a cold snap of their own, with off-season ski slopes transformed into winter wonderlands.

About 30cm of snow fell at Perisher in NSW yesterday, while Victoria's Mount Hotham received a 10cm dusting on Sunday. It was surprising to see the Kosciuszko Chalet Hotel blanketed with snow at this time of year, resort manager Michelle Lovius told The Australian yesterday. "I'm sitting inside in my scarf and beanie," she said. "When you walk in it, it's up past your ankles and it's just started snowing heavily again."

In Sydney yesterday, there were blustery winds and unseasonably low temperatures of just 13C. The western suburb of Horsley Park recorded 9.8C and the Blue Mountains dropped to -2C.

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Obama MPG Regulations Will Cost $6,400 Per Car

by Henry Payne

New mpg limits foisted on automakers by the Obama administration will add 20 percent to the sticker price of new cars, according to new study by the Center for Automotive Research.

The Michigan-based center said the 60 mpg average mpg goal by 2025 would add an average $6,400 per vehicle.

The willful, random mandates (why not 100 mpg? 150 mpg?) set by Washington’s green zealots would also gut manufacturing jobs as it “would prompt consumers to hold on to their cars for far longer, costing more than 220,000 auto manufacturing jobs as new vehicle sales fall,” the study added.

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