Jesus may have walked on ice? - Yahoo! News

Jesus may have walked on ice? - Yahoo! News: "A drop in temperature below freezing could have caused ice thick enough to support a human to form on the surface of the freshwater lake near the western shore, Nof said. It might have been nearly impossible for distant observers to see a piece of floating ice surrounded by water.

Nof said he offered his study -- published in the April edition of the Journal of Paleolimnology -- as a 'possible explanation' for Jesus' walk on water.

'If you ask me if I believe someone walked on water, no, I don't,' Nof said. 'Maybe somebody walked on the ice, I don't know. I believe that something natural was there that explains it.'

'We leave to others the question of whether or not our research explains the biblical account.'

When he offered his theory 14 years ago that wind and sea conditions could explain the parting of the Red Sea, Nof said he received some hate mail, even though he noted that the idea could support the biblical description of the event."

Lack of women turns tables on suitable boys - Yahoo! News

Lack of women turns tables on suitable boys - Yahoo! News: "The sex ratio in many of Rajasthan's districts has dropped to 922 girls for every 1,000 boys, according to the last census. In one or two villages, it has plummeted to less than 500, the paper reported.

The joint engagement pact, called 'aata-saata,' or the 'double-couple plan,' has emerged as young women find themselves much in demand in a state where the traditional preference, as in much of India, has been for sons.

Heavily skewed sex ratios have emerged in several parts of India as couples use ultra-sound technology to achieve their desire for a baby son despite such tests being illegal.

A joint study carried out by researchers in India and Canada recently suggested that half-a-million unborn girls may be aborted in India every year.

But now the absence of girls is changing village dynamics, the newspaper said.

'There are no girls. If there is one in a house, the father is like a king. He can demand anything,'"

CowPi: A Foul Question

CowPi: A Foul Question: "Aristotle: Actuality precedes potentiality in terms of value. An egg is a potential chicken. A chicken is actual. Therefore, the chicken came first.

Evolutionist: There existed a bird, a proto-chicken, whose DNA mutated when it laid an egg from which the first chicken hatched. So, the egg came first.

2nd Evolutionist: Ah! That was a proto-chicken’s egg, not a chicken egg. A chicken must come from a chicken egg. The chicken came first.

Biblical Creationist: The chicken was first according to Genesis 1:21, “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.”

Non-Biblical Creationist: At first it seems that either the egg or chicken could be created first. But if the egg was created first, there would be no chicken around to feed and care for the first hatchling. So, the chicken would have been created first.

Existentialist: What is the true meaning of the “essence of chickenness”? What were the circumstances of the pre-chicken prior to it becoming a fully actualized chicken? In other words, how did the pre-chicken exist without enough “chicken essence”? Whatever the answer, it was the egg that contained the necessary “chicken essence” needed to eventually become the chicken. Therefore, the egg was first.

Geneticist: For passing along its DNA, a chicken is an egg’s way of making another egg.

Rationalist: I lay eggs, therefore I am a chicken.

Postmodern Relativist: From the egg’s point of view, the chicken came first. From the chicken’s point of view, the egg came first.

Hindu: The egg and chicken are only stages within the cycle of life. There is no beginning or end to the cycle. So, neither one came first.

Pagan: The egg is a symbol of life, an initiator of things to be.

Taoist: The egg and chicken are one.

Zen: How many feathers does a chicken have?

The Matrix: There is no chicken. There is no egg.

Lexicon: Chicken comes before egg in the dictionary.

Culinary: Depends on the recipe."

The Straight Dope: Is astrology for real?

The Straight Dope: Is astrology for real?: "...But to say astrology can be helpful doesn't mean it has any objective validity. Studies have shown that (1) astrologers trying to deduce someone's personality from his chart do no better than chance; (2) astrologers studying the same chart come to opposite conclusions as often as not; (3) the birth dates of people with occupations linked to certain signs (e.g., politicians, scientists, soldiers) are in fact randomly distributed throughout the zodiac; and (4) couples with 'incompatible' signs get married and divorced at the same rate as compatible couples."

Two U.S. soldiers die in Honduras accident

Two U.S. soldiers die in Honduras accident: "Two U.S. soldiers die in Honduras accident

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- A speeding bus crashed into a small van carrying a group of U.S. soldiers in northern Honduras, killing two and injuring one, authorities said Thursday.

The accident happened Wednesday near the village of Agua Caliente, on the Atlantic coast 220 miles north of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, Transport Police Commissioner Jose Luis Flores said.

The U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa declined to confirm the identities of the victims pending notification of next of kin.

Flores said the driver of the bus was speeding before he crashed into the van carrying the soldiers. The soldier driving the van was unable to avoid the collision.

The bus driver was uninjured but was immediately detained by police.

The soldiers were traveling from La Ceiba to the industrial city of San Pedro Sula, Flores said. They had been participating in joint military exercises with their Honduran counterparts for the past month."

"Psychic" admits bilking elderly clients - Yahoo! News

I keep saying, "I told you so." Stop believing. Start doubting."Psychic" admits bilking elderly clients - Yahoo! News: "MIAMI (Reuters) - A self-proclaimed psychic and fortuneteller pleaded guilty Thursday to bilking elderly clients in south Florida out of more than $2 million over an eight-year period, federal officials said.

Linda Marks, 57, of Delray Beach, was accused of preying on the elderly and people suffering from incurable diseases, telling them she could cure them by praying over their money."

US Scientists enlist clergy in evolution battle - Yahoo! News

US Scientists enlist clergy in evolution battle - Yahoo! News: "...pastors are speaking out against it. Warren Eschbach, a retired Church of the Brethren pastor and professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania helped sponsor a letter signed by more than 10,000 other clergy.

'We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests,' they wrote.

Catholic experts have also joined the movement.

'The intelligent design movement belittles God. It makes God a designer, an engineer,' said
Vatican Observatory Director George Coyne, an astrophysicist who is also ordained. 'The God of religious faith is a god of love. He did not design me.'"

At Churches Nationwide, Good Words for Evolution - New York Times

Christian Fundamentalists read carefully...
At Churches Nationwide, Good Words for Evolution - New York Times: "On the 197th birthday of Charles Darwin, ministers at several hundred churches around the country preached yesterday against recent efforts to undermine the theory of evolution, asserting that the opposition many Christians say exists between science and faith is false."

U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster - New York Times

Glad to see that the USA is such a big supporter of democracy. Oh wait, that is only for government that support a pro-US stance. Can't have governments democratically elected that oppose the USA, unless of course, the possess nuclear weapons. Ever wonder what Iran is up to or why?
U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster - New York Times: "JERUSALEM, Feb. 13 — The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats.

The intention is to starve the Palestinian Authority of money and international connections to the point where, some months from now, its president, Mahmoud Abbas, is compelled to call a new election."

Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com

Just love the fact that he talked non-stop.Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com: "SYDNEY (Reuters) - A former New Zealand navy diver left adrift at sea for three days survived by eating crayfish and sea slugs after he became separated from friends while diving near an island off the country's coast.

Robert Hewitt, 38, was suffering hypothermia and severe dehydration when he was found in mist and rain by former navy colleagues who joined police divers after an air search was called off, New Zealand Press Association reported.

'This defies survivability, it's bloody awesome,' said police search and rescue Senior Sergeant Bruce Johnson.

Hewitt was found wearing only the bottom of his wetsuit and a yellow catch bag containing the remains of the crayfish and sea slugs that he had eaten during the ordeal, NZPA reported.

Johnson said the diver may have been protected by the thickness of his navy-issue divesuit, and was alert and 'talked non stop' when rescued."