On:

The war against Islamic fundamentalists means that we in the West need to accept the moderate version of Islam?since the religion itself is here to stay. Prince Sultan of Saudi Arabia has said, “As we believe in Moses and Jesus, so the Jews and Christians should also believe in our Prophet Mohammad.” One of the things that troubles Westerners most about this idea is the treatment of women in so many Islamic countries, especially when it comes to female circumcision, which these governments say is part of their religion. Now a leading Swedish Muslim leader has announced that this practice is actually forbidden by Islam.
read more

On:

We need to face the fact that the climate is changing throughout the world, and the sooner we plan for it, the better we?ll be able to deal with it. Nature, in the form of pollution, wildfires and floods, is constantly forcing California to plan for the future, and now they’re planning for a future after global warming as well.

“Climate change is upon us. In 20 to 25 years, we really will be working with a different climate,” says U.S. Geological Survey biologist Michael Dettinger. Don Thompson writes that California will be more affected than some other areas because of its long coastline and its dependence on mountain snow for water and hydroelectricity.
read more

On:

Despite denials from the White House, talk has started up in some government circles about reinstating the draft, in order to have enough manpower to rebuild the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq. The long tours of duty the current soldiers are undergoing in Iraq are leading to exhaustion and even driving some of them to suicide.
read more

On:

Supposedly, this is a true story and was the 1st place winner in the recent Criminal Lawyers Award Contest. For a good time at the expense (as usual!) of the poor, beleaguered lawyers among us, keep reading.

A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars then insured them against fire, among other things. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost “in a series of small fires.”

The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued….and won!
read more