Interesting if proven

clipped from news.discovery.com Kepler Scientist: 'Galaxy is Rich in Earth-Like Planets' In a recent presentation, Kepler co-investigator Dimitar Sasselov preempted the official announcement that the exoplanet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope has discovered about 140 candidate worlds orbiting other stars that are "like Earth." Although he refers to these exoplanets as "candidate" Earth-like worlds, Sasselov goes on to talk about the statistical prevalence of small planets throughout the Milky Way. Undoubtedly, this is huge news. If officially confirmed by NASA -- and only then would it be advisable to pop the champagne corks -- the discovery of dozens of worlds of comparable size to Earth is historic. Speculation about the existence of alien life will have another strong case to suggest that if planets like Earth are not rare, than perhaps "life as we know it" is ubiquitous throughout the Milky Way.

China's Air Pollution Crisis

clipped from www.dailygalaxy.com A man stands by windows as a sandstorm hits Beijing in March 2010. China's air pollution has increased this year for the first time since 2005, due to sandstorms, a rise in construction and industrial projects, as well as more cars, said the country's environmental protection ministry. China's air pollution increased this year for the first time since 2005 "More construction and industrial projects that started this year due to economic recovery and the rapid increase in automobiles should also be blamed," Chai Fahe, vice head of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, told the China Daily newspaper. The ministry also found that more than a quarter of surface water in China was contaminated, and fit only for industrial or agricultural use. Acid rain was also a problem in the first half of the year -- out of 443 cities the ministry monitored, 189 suffered from the harmful precipitation.

"Religious Freedom May Not Count For Muslims"

clipped from tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, currently running third in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary race, says he's not sure if Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion apply to the followers of the world's second-largest faith, Islam. At a recent event in Hamilton County, Ramsey was asked by a man in the audience about the "threat that's invading our country from the Muslims." Ramsey proclaimed his support for the Constitution and the whole "Congress shall make no law" thing when it comes to religion. But he also said that Islam, arguably, is less a faith than it is a "cult." "Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult whatever you want to call it," Ramsey said. "Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face."

Politician calls Islam 'cult': Church to burn Quran

Has it gotten that ugly for Christians in United States?

clipped from content.usatoday.com According to Religion News Service, the church is planning "International Burn A Quran Day," on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks this year -- smack during Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic feast days at the conclusion of the Ramadan fast. Jones tells him this is not about hate but about Christian truth -- and bringing Muslims to convert. Brent Michael Dykes, blogging at Yahoo's The Upshot, observes Christians might be surprised to discover the Quran mentions Jesus 25 times and considers him a prophet, great spiritual leader and teacher. This also adds fuel to the anti-Islamic fires evident at mosque-building protests in New York this month.

Oh yes, because what the EU really needs is more Muslims!

Unbelievable.

clipped from www.independent.ie David Cameron is expected to strongly align himself with Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union, hailing its potential as a "unifier" between East and West. On a visit to Ankara, the Prime Minister is due to say Turkey has a major role to play in securing international peace and security. He will dismiss concerns among some in the EU about allowing a Muslim country into the union, praising the country's secular democracy and its support for the Nato military alliance. Mr Cameron will use a keynote speech in the Turkish capital to promise to be the "strongest possible advocate" of its ambitions of a seat in Brussels. "Turkey can be a great unifier, because instead of choosing between East and West, Turkey has chosen both," he will add. His stance on Turkey's accession to the EU is at odds with that of many Tory right-wingers. Turkey is the world's 16th largest economy and is expected to be the third fastest-growing, after China and India, by 2017.