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Maybe. Article here.

Honor killings. Family members killing women they feel have shamed the family. Common in Islamic countries and in Islamic communities in Europe. Article here.

Three cheers for multiculturalism. All cultures indeed are equally worthy. But wait, you say. Honor killings are a perversion of Islam. If so, why are we not seeing a massive effort to eradicate honor killings from Muslim communities? Why are we not seeing massive and popular discussion in Islamic forums on how to "de-patriarchalize" the Quran, a book explicitly addressed to men, with occasional references to their women? Stupid is as stupid does. A religion is as that religion does. Show me the practice, not some idealized version with little or no reflection in the real world.
This article from Frontpage is damning for the WCC simply by stating the facts. (Link from The Institute on Religion and Democracy)The tyrant of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, was aided in coming to power by church money through the WCC, especially from American Methodists. Even at an early stage Mugabe showed his brutality, his group committing atrocities on civilians white and black. The WCC owes the world, and the people of Zimbabwe, an apology.

Jesus told his disciples to be harmless as doves and as wise as serpents. The two characteristics go together. When churchmen are not wise as serpents then they can do great harm. Not every group with "Liberation" in its name is on the side of the angels. (As I think David Read once observed.) Another example of the Jane Fonda fallacy, I suppose: side A is evil therefore their opponents side B must be righteous.

The Church should always be on the side of justice. And the Church should exercise wisdom in weighing options for support. Shame on the WCC for its lack of wisdom.
Rick Weiss of the Washington Post has written a surprisingly even-handed account of the embryonic stem-cell funding bill just passed by the Senate. The president promises a veto.
According to CBS, President Bush will veto legislation to provide Federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, if the bill makes it out of the Senate. The bill is similar to one he vetoed previously.

Good for Dubya. Not only has adult stem-cell research shown more promise, but taking innocent human life is immoral.
Congress is now considering new legislation to give employees more latitude in expressing religious beliefs in the workplace. Story here. Link from The Layman Online.

Here is a link to the text of the bill. HR 1431 IH

Summary: H.R.1431
Title: To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to establish provisions with respect to religious accommodation in employment, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] (introduced 3/9/2007) Cosponsors (14)
Latest Major Action: 3/9/2007 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.


Cosponsors:
COSPONSORS(14), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] - 3/9/2007 Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7] - 3/9/2007
Rep Cantor, Eric [VA-7] - 3/9/2007 Rep Davis, David [TN-1] - 3/20/2007
Rep Edwards, Chet [TX-17] - 3/9/2007 Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-2] - 3/9/2007
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 3/9/2007 Rep Jindal, Bobby [LA-1] - 3/9/2007
Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] - 3/9/2007 Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3] - 3/9/2007
Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] - 3/9/2007 Rep Wamp, Zach [TN-3] - 3/9/2007
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] - 3/9/2007 Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 3/9/2007