DesMoinesRegister.com
5:15 PM, Oct 14, 2012
Written by David Pitt (AP)

Politics and religion have collided at a Burlington church after pamphlets encouraging voters to remove an Iowa Supreme Court justice were made available at a Sunday service. A woman who attended the City Church service on Sept. 30 told a pastor she believed it was illegal for a church to display material that promotes specific political action.

That pastor told her it wasn’t illegal, and in an Oct. 7 sermon another pastor, the Rev. Steve Youngblood, castigated her for raising objections about the pamphlets that back the removal of Justice David Wiggins. “Don’t call yourself a Christian and do that,” Youngblood said in the sermon. “We need to draw a line in the sand. We need to begin to say that at City Church this is how we’re going to be.”

Under a 1954 federal law, it is illegal for tax-exempt organizations, including churches, to promote political candidates or ballot issues. Those who violate the law can lose their tax-exempt status, which allows tax deductions on money given to a church and allows a church to avoid paying property taxes.

*snip*

“The IRS is prohibited by law from commenting on any specific taxpayer or entity,” spokesman Christopher Miller said. In his Oct. 7 sermon, the audio of which was posted online, Youngblood speaks of the woman who complained, saying he’d “like to slap her” and that her husband should rise up and “correct her." What makes me madder is that this person’s husband won’t correct them,” he said. “I don’t like rebellious women. I don’t like rebellious men, either. They’re even worse.”

RT
Published: 13 October, 2012, 11:38


[font color=gray]The Basilica of St. Bartholomew, located on the
island Isola Tiberina in Rome. (AFP/Vincenzo Pinto)[/font]

Italy’s Catholic Church will be forced to pay taxes starting in 2013 after the EU pressured the country’s government to pass a controversial law stripping the Church of its historic property tax exemption.

­The Catholic Church in Italy is excluded from paying taxes on its land if at least a part of a Church property is used non-commercially – for instance, a chapel in a bed-and-breakfast.

"The regulatory framework will be definite by January 1, 2013 – the start of the fiscal year – and will fully respect the [European] Community law," Italian premier Mario Monti's government said in a statement on Tuesday.

The move could net Italy revenues of 500 million to 2 billion euros annually across the country, municipal government associations said. The extra income from previously exempt properties in Rome alone – including hotels, restaurants and sports centers – could reach 25.5 million euros a year, La Repubblica daily newspaper reported.

Published on Oct 12, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

The company that operated Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant has admitted that it played down safety concerns before the March 2011 Tsunami. The announcement on Friday is the first time the company has acknowledged that the meltdown of three reactors at the plant, could have been avoided. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports.

Published on Oct 12, 2012 by NTDTV

Yet another product from China is raising safety concerns in the US. In a recent test of Chinese made airbags, the devices that are meant to protect travelers either didn't inflate, inflated partially, or blew up.

US Transport authority, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has now issued warnings for these air bags. So far no injury resulting from the fake airbags has been reported.

These substandard Chinese-made airbags look just like the real ones, but US consumers can get them at about a quarter of the regular price. The NHTSA warns that if you bought an airbag for less than $400, there is a chance it could be a fake.

It also advises that if you bought a used car recently or had your airbag replaced at an auto shop not associated with a dealership, you could be at risk too. Vehicles labeled salvaged, rebuilt, or reconstructed are also suspect, especially if sold within the last three years.

Police have arrested a few dealers peddling the fake airbags, but thousands of the knock-offs have already been sold.

The US government estimates about 0.1% of US cars have been affected, which is about 240 thousand vehicles.

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Published on Oct 4, 2012 by slatester

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That faint whirring sound you hear is every alchemist spinning in his grave.

Scientists have discovered bacteria that eats toxic material and, well, poops pure gold. This microbial magician, named Cupriavidus metallidurans, when placed in a minilab full of gold chloride, a nasty toxin, gobbled up the poison and, in about a week, processed it out as 24-karat nuggets of the precious yellow metal. The bacteria was found to be 25 times more resistant to the gold-based toxic chemical than believed and most likely does its amazing alchemy regularly in nature.

Is it the answer to the international debt crisis? Probably not. It takes gold to make gold chloride which makes the toxin about as rare as the precious metal itself—and it costs a mint to manufacture in a lab. But it's nice to know that something out there is helping our environmental cause AND making us a small profit in the process.

Published on Oct 4, 2012 by Ladyparts Justice

IT'S THE LAW PRODUCED BY LIZZ WINSTEAD
Since 2011 there have been hundreds of creepy laws passed that strip away a woman's right to privacy and access to healthcare. This is one of them. For the sake of your lady parts, vote this November.

Published on Oct 8, 2012 by FoxExclusiveMedia

Leo Guarente found $114,000 in U.S. bonds while cleaning out a deceased woman's house. He returned them to her family.

Published on Oct 9, 2012 by RussiaToday

Thousands fled when two villages were evacuated following a series of huge explosions near a military testing ground some 40 kilometers from the city of Orenburg in Central Russia - READ MORE http://on.rt.com/0vkvcq

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