17 July 2013
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] Evangelical Presbyterian Church Joins With Others in “Standing Together for Religious Freedom”
[2] United Church of Christ Divests from Fossil Fuel Companies
[4] Monroe Congregational Church (Connecticut) Music Director Aims to Right a Wrongful Conviction
[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
[6] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[8] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
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[1] Evangelical Presbyterian Church Joins With Others in “Standing Together for Religious Freedom”
Stated Clerk Jeffrey Jeremiah, on behalf of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) and the endorsement of our Committee On Administration, signed an open letter to all Americans regarding the encroachment on religious freedoms that occur under the Health Care Mandate of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“Obamacare”). The letter was presented to the public at the National Press Club by representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to sign ‘Standing Together for Religious Freedom’ for the EPC,” said Jeremiah. “However, I’m very sad to be put in a position where we have to take a stand for the protection of religious liberty.”
The final paragraph of the open letter states, “Therefore, we call upon HHS [EPC ed; The Department of Health and Human Services] to, at a minimum, expand conscience protections under the mandate to cover any organization or individual that has religious or moral objections to covering, providing or enabling access to the mandated drugs and services. Further, because HHS claims to be acting on authority granted it by Congress, we ask Congress to consider how it might present such offenses from occurring in the future. Any policy that falls short of affirming full religious freedom protection for all Americans is unacceptable.”
You can read the full text of the letter by clicking this link.
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+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org
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[2] United Church of Christ Divests from Fossil Fuel Companies
At their recent denominational gathering, delegates to the United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod took aim at fossil fuels, pledging to divest from such energy companies by 2018.
“The realities of climate change require prophetic and strategic action by people of faith seeking to be faithful to the everlasting covenant God has made with us, with every living creature and with all future generations,” read a summary of the resolution. “If fossil fuel companies simply fulfill their purpose the earth will become inhospitable to life as we know it.”
The assembly resolved to divest church pension funds from oil, gas, and coal, becoming the first major U.S. denomination to reject at least in theory profits from ravaging the earth.
“This resolution becomes a model for all faith communities who care about God’s creation and recognize the urgent scientific mandate to keep at least 80 percent of the known oil, gas and coal reserves in the ground,” explained the measure’s proponent. “This vote expresses our commitment to the future. By this vote, we are amplifying our conviction with our money.”
The UCC is the successor body of the Congregationalist churches and several smaller reformed churches. It claims just under 1.1 million members in the United States.
Institute on Religion and Democracy President Mark Tooley commented:
“Arguably America’s most liberal Protestant denomination, the fast-declining United Church of Christ is not very concerned about evangelism. Instead, the UCC, or at least its elites, is always searching for a new leftist cause to animate the true believers in progressive religion.
“Decrying fossil fuels is typically the hobby of the wealthy and comfortable. Pillorying the oil companies is easy fare for this crowd, which is mostly insulated from the gritty realities of economic survival.
“The world, thanks to improving retrieval technology, now faces an unprecedented future of fossil fuel plenty. Oil’s discovery and development in the 19th century increased the material living standards of humanity as nothing had in all the previous millennia combined.
“New discoveries and improved harvesting of fossil fuels ultimately will enable hundreds of millions more who now hover at subsistence levels to have electricity, refrigeration, reliable heat and cooling, and safer transportation, along with healthier, longer lives for themselves and their children.
“Hopefully the UCC will be the first, and the last, major denomination, to endorse shutting down the global economy and perpetuating poverty.”
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+ Institute on Religion and Democracy, 1023 15th Street Northwest, Suite 601, Washington DC 20005-2601, 202-682-4131, Fax: 202-682-4136, info@theird.org
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
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Trunews radio host Rick Wiles chastised prominent members of the Religious Right for endorsing Mormon Glenn Beck’s recent Man in the Moon event. Approximately 18,000 people attended the three-day event held at the USANA Amphitheater near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Mr. Beck’s entertainment company put on an elaborate but bizarre outdoor spectacle. It was billed as the Man in the Moon. Mr. Beck himself played the role of the Man in the Moon who told the history of the world as seen from the moon watching the Earth over the ages. The event dazzled the eyes of the adoring fans with high definition video projections, live dancers, aerial performers, a massive robot, and pyrotechnics.
“If 18,000 people want to give Mr. Beck money to watch him pretend to be the man in the moon, that’s their business. Mr. Beck is first and foremost a showman. My business is to defend the ancient Christian faith delivered to the Apostles. I am first and foremost a preacher of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” said Mr. Wiles.
The Trunews radio host said it is his responsibility to remind Christians that Mr. Beck openly declares his belief in the Book of Mormon. “Evangelical Christian leaders who endorse him are guilty of spiritual malfeasance in office,” said Mr. Wiles. “The blurring of the lines between orthodox Christianity, Mormonism, and the libertarian political movement is another sign of the deepening apostasy in the American church today.”
Mr. Wiles devoted an entire one-hour program on Wednesday July 10 to discussing the spiritual significance of a deepening apostasy in the American Evangelical church community. LivePrayer.com founder Bill Keller and Trunews’ CFO Pastor Chris Steinle participated in the roundtable discussion.
The Trunews radio host described Glenn Beck as “the world’s first Mormon televangelist who is introducing American Christians to Mormonism’s bizarre beliefs.” Mr. Wiles said, “Sadly, Mr. Beck is receiving assistance from Christian leaders who ought to know better. Shame on them!”
Christian historian David Barton addressed the audience from the stage of the Man in the Moon event. Seattle pastor and former NFL linebacker Ken Hutchinson also spoke to the crowd. Bill Keller noted that Dave Barton is a board member of Mr. Beck’s nonprofit foundation Mercury One.
Wiles said one of the most troubling aspects of the Beck extravaganza was the participation of 12 Liberty University students. According to news reports, historical artifacts on display included Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s pocket watch, and the first edition of the Book of Mormon, the Mormon Doctrine and Covenants, and the Mormon Pearl of Great Price. There was one Liberty student assigned as a guide for each of the museum’s 12 thematically arranged stations.
Mr. Wiles said he was “appalled that Liberty University officials would dispatch Christian students to participate in Glenn Beck’s travelling road show highlighting artifacts from the Mormon cult.”
“It is bad enough that thousands of people paraded through the traveling circus-like freak show to look at Mormon artifacts. What is shocking is that they were greeted by young Liberty University students,” lamented Mr. Wiles.
The Trunews host admonished Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr. for spiritually polluting the souls of the students they sent to Glenn Beck’s event. “Jerry Falwell Jr. should repent before God for the sin of contaminating the souls of Christian students placed in their care by Christian families for a Christ-centered education,” said Mr. Wiles. “What in the world was Rev. Falwell thinking when he sent Liberty students to Mr. Beck’s Mormon traveling circus?” he asked.
Bill Keller added, “The Liberty University students should have been on the streets witnessing to people about the Mormon cult.”
The Trunews radio panel also discussed the link between the libertarian political movement and same-sex marriage. The panelists noted that many libertarians in the Republican Party support same-sex marriage rights. Rick Wiles cited several on-air quotes by Glenn Beck stating that he does not think same-sex marriage is a threat to the United States.
“The Evangelical leaders who are endorsing Mr. Beck as a born again Christian are compromising the integrity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All Bible-believing Christians must hold them accountable in a loving way,” said Mr. Wiles.
The Trunews host said he continues to pray for Glenn Beck to be spiritually delivered from Mormonism. “As long as Mr. Beck continues to publicly espouse his belief in the Book of Mormon, no responsible Christian leader should share a platform with him. He must first renounce Mormonism,” said Wiles.
“What if Mr. Beck declared the Islamic Koran or the Hindu Bhagavad Gita to be sacred scriptures given to mankind by God? Would Dave Barton, Ken Hutchinson, and Jerry Falwell Jr. still endorse him? The Book of Mormon is from satanic origins just as much as the Koran and Bhagavad Gita,” stated the radio host. “All three texts will guide souls to Hell.”
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+ TRUNEWS, Post Office Box 690069, Vero Beach, Florida 32969, 772-569-8880, info@truenews.com
+ Liberty University, 1971 University Boulevard, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502, 434-582-2000, jrmoore@liberty.edu
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[4] Monroe Congregational Church (Connecticut) Music Director Aims to Right a Wrongful Conviction
Written by Anthony Moujaes
July 15, 2013
Will Duchon isn’t a trial lawyer or criminal investigator, but he’s on a mission to free a man convicted of murder. He’s been director of music for Monroe Congregational Church, a United Church of Christ congregation in Monroe, Conn. for seven years — but Duchon has spent more time than that working to exonerate Shane Watson, because he thinks Watson is innocent and that society deserves the truth.
Duchon was certainly never obligated to help Watson, a man convicted of murder in the early 1990s. But he claims that Watson’s case was rife with prosecutorial and police misconduct, with a legal system that aimed at closing a file instead of seeking the truth. Because of that, Duchon has been working to free Watson for the past decade, not because it’s a quest for social justice or a statement, but because it is right.
“It seemed pretty clear to me that he didn’t belong there,” Duchon said. “I just decided I wanted to do what I could to get him out.”
Watson, who was convicted and imprisoned in 1993 for the murder of Mark Johnson, gunned down on a street in the Bronx, will face an appeals court on July 15, thanks to Duchon’s assistance.
“At this point, we’ve made tremendous progress. Our attorney made a motion to overturn the conviction, and our attorney wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t feel confident about it,” Duchon said.
Duchon started a blog, the Opus 30 Mission, in 2004 with the sole aim of one day helping Watson walk out of prison as a free man who was wrongly convicted.
“I was looking for a way to share his story. On a human interest level our friendship has been so unexpected and close, and it’s so unlikely that I would have known about him. The more publicity this gets, the more the possibility of people helping with legal expenses, but I felt Shane’s case was compelling because the case was so common,” Duchon said. The legal fees for the upcoming trial are about $12,000. “There are many people in prison who are there because they were rushed. His was a case that was rushed.”
Duchon’s blog outlines a case summary from a private investigator which lists numerous discrepancies in the eyewitness testimony that police and prosecutors used in Watson’s conviction. According to Doug Walter’s report, eyewitnesses said they saw the shooter run quickly from the scene. Watson, who has a steel rod in his leg from an accident, walks with a “noticeable limp.” Furthermore, in the two years between Watson’s arrest in 1991 and his conviction in 1993, the police never investigated anyone related to the victim, who was convicted of murder in the early 1980s, or his family, something the investigator thinks isn’t in line with proper procedure.
“One of the striking things about the case is that for two years he appeared at court hearings, not once did police go to his house to look for guns, gun powder residue, bloody clothes,” Duchon said. “Nothing.”
Duchon also said that one key witness recently gave a deposition that she was pressured into identifying Watson, 25 at the time, as the shooter.
Duchon befriended Watson in 2003, after listening to a radio program discussing prison reform. Intrigued by the conversation, Duchon sent a letter to the radio station, WBAI-FM in New York City, which randomly put him in contact with Watson. The two exchanged letters, and eventually Duchon asked Watson why he was imprisoned.
Duchon obtained copies of case transcripts and police reports, reading through hundreds of pages to realize that, even without legal expertise, Duchon realized that “the case never should have gone to trial,” so he began the Opus 30 Mission. In the years since, he has remained closed with Duchon and thinks of him as a brother.
“I know I’m biased, but it’s a compelling story and Shane is a compelling person,” Duchon said. Watson married his wife, Paula, at the prison three years ago, and they have two children
“I’ve tried never to make it about raising money, which is why I tell people to write to Shane,” he continued. “He writes back and is gratifying. He’s a human being, not a case or an issue.”
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+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
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[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
— Abortion Activist Tweets Death Threat to Pro-Life Texas Lt. Governor
— Pro-Abortion Activist Removed From Hearing after Threatening Legislators
— Liverpool Care Pathway Investigated After Doctors Euthanize Elderly Patient
— USA Today Laments Pro-Life Bill Might Protect Down Syndrome Babies
— Abortion Activists Chant ‘Hail Satan’ to Singing of ‘Amazing Grace’ Outside of Texas Capitol
— Congressman Shocked Congressional Budget Office Says Aborting Late-Term Babies Saves Money
— New York Times Writer: More Women Need to Rejoice over Aborting “Parasitic” Babies
— Canadian Family Wants to Euthanize Disabled Woman by Denying Her Food
— California Uses Tax Funds to Illegally Sterilize 148 Inmates
— Ambulance Transports another Carhart Abortion Client to Emergency Room
— Top Ontario Official Arrested For Child Porn Said Sex-Charged Equity Program Was a ‘Priority’
— Chinese Woman Gives Birth in Toilet, Throws Baby Girl Twelve Stories to Her Death: Police
— Daughter Proud of Her Mother for Aborting Her Older Sibling
— “BroChoice:” Man Complains Casual Sex More Difficult if Abortions Banned
— Ireland Parliament Votes 127-31 to Legalize Some Abortions
— Judge Holds Hearing on Doc Who Illegally Approved Abortions of Viable Babies
— Swiss Suicide Clinic Kills Italian Man after Botched Diagnosis, Not Terminally Ill
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+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ Christian News Network, Post Office Box 30000,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103,Contact Page
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
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[6] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
— ‘Hope’ For B&Bs Which Have Married Couples Only Policy
— U.S.: Patient Wakes Up Just Before Organs Harvested
— Suicide Clinics Could Come to U.K., Says Care Home Boss
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+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
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[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
— Hundreds of Families Respond to Priest’s Plea to Adopt Baby with Down Syndrome Slated for Abortion
— Homosexuality an Area of ‘Special Protection’ to U.K. Government, Police: U.K. Barrister
— Eighteen Jars Suspected Feces, One Jar Urine Confiscated by Texas Capitol Police at Abortion Debate
— Cosmopolitan Magazine Says Protesters May Throw Menstrual Blood on Texas Legislators
— Arguments Heard but No Decision in George Tiller Associate’s License Revocation Appeal
— Dominican Republic ‘Black Monday’ Protest against Obama’s Homosexual-Activist Ambassador
— Accused Child-Porn Maker Marched with Trudeau and Wynne in Toronto Pride 2013
— Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano to Resign, Called Pro-Lifers Terrorists
— Activists Push Raped Eleven-Year-Old Girl Who Wants Her Baby to Have an Abortion
— Three Generations of Eugenics: Sterilizing California Prisoners
— U.K. to Scrap Notorious Liverpool Care Pathway, Criticized as Gateway to Euthanasia
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+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
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[8] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
— Obama Signs Executive Order to Allow Shut Down of All U.S. Communications
— Obama Orders Federal Workers to Spy on Each Other
— Obama Commits to Signing United Nations Arms Trade Treaty While Congress at Summer Recess
— U.S Department of Justice Financing and Organizing Trayvon Martin Protests
— Justice Department Sets Up Email Address to Get Tips About Zimmerman to Build Civil Rights Case
— New Black Panthers: Zimmerman Verdict Means ‘War’
— Tampa Bay, Florida Area Reverend Wears Hoodie to Church Service
— Churches Hold ‘Hoodie Sunday’
— In Los Angeles, Trayvon Martin “Protesters” Rip Down Fence — Jump on Cars, Loot Stores
— Wounded Marine Says He Was Humiliated by Sacramento, California Security, Airport TSA
— U.S. Department of Justice ‘Facilitated’ Anti-Zimmerman Protests
— Tragic Killings of Christian South American Indians
— Obama to Use US$8 Billion of Taxpayer’s Money to Wage War on Coal, Leaving Thousands Unemployed
— Christian Who Runs Homeless Shelter in Belarus Facing Jail for Praying
— Texas Man Arrested for Making “Gun Gestures” with His Hand
— Utah Air National Guard Airman Punished for Objecting to Gay Marriage in West Point Military Chapel
— California Bill Exempts Public Schools from Sex-Abuse Lawsuits
— Coalition Says Christians in the U.S. Military are Being Silenced
— Ball State University Accused of Stacking the Deck against Christian Professor
— Transgender at Age Six: Maryland Family Embraces Decision to Let Daughter Live as Boy
— Churches Fear Lawsuits for Refusing Gay Weddings
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+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Mr. Conservative, mrconservative.com@gmail.com
+ Guns Save Lives, Contact Page
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ WTSP.com, 11450 Gandy Blvd North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33702, 727-577-1010, Fax 727-576-6924, Contact Form
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ CBS Studio City Broadcast Center, 4200 Radford Avenue, Studio City, California 91604, 818-655-2000, kcbstvnews@cbs.com
+ Examiner.com, 555 17th Street, Suite 700,Denver, Colorado 80202,contactus@examiner.com
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Barnabus Fund, 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX, England, 024-7623-1923, Fax: 024-7683-4718, info@barnabasfund.org
+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ AllChristianNews.com, Contact Page
+ Breitbart.com, 149 South Barrington Avenue #401, Los Angeles, California90049
+ Townhall Magazine, 1901 North Moore Street, Suite 701, Arlington, Virginia 22209, 703-247-1230, Fax: 703-247-1257, Contact Form
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Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
— Ex-Spy Chief: How KGB Created Modern Islamic Jihad
— Obama-backed Jihadists in Syria Have Enough Chemical Weapons to ‘Destroy a Country’
— Ramadan Bomb-a-thon Blast Wounds Eight Soldiers in Thailand
— Dad Beat Kids While Forcing Them to Read Quran
— Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Open Fire on Port Said Church
— Sharia Law in Uganda: Converts out of Islam Acid Attacked
— Iran Tries Convert from Islam to Christianity in Revolutionary Court
— Nigeria: Four Muslims Get Life in Prison for Jihad Bombings That Murdered Nineteen
— Referee’s Beheading in Brazil: Islam’s Growing Influence on South America?
— Boko Haram Leader in Nigeria Calls For More Schools Attacks after Dorm Killings
— Tortured in the Sinai: ‘I Was Hanged for Days’
— Saudis to Foreigners: Follow Rules of Ramadan
— Egypt: Islamic Wrath Falls on the Church
— Sudan Tracking Down Converts from Islam in Purge of Christianity
— Libyan Official Ties Former Egyptian President Morsi to Benghazi Attack
— Egypt Orders Arrest of Muslim Brotherhood Chiefs over ‘Massacre’ Deaths
— Hamas-CAIR Attacks Florida Professor’s Free Speech Exposing Connections between Islam and Terrorism
— 2013 Six Month Report: 5,635 Violent Islamic Attacks Committed Against Jews in Israel
— Egypt: Pro-Muslim Brotherhood Mob Hacks Christian to Death
— Ramadan Bomb-a-thon: Homicide Bomber Intercepted in Afghanistan
— UZBEKISTAN: Teaching Islam to Children a Crime, Raids And Large Fines Continue
— Boko Haram’s Alleged Ceasefire: CANAN Says to Nigerian Government, Terrorist Group: ‘Show Me’
— Syria: Christian Girl Falls Victim to Horrendous Sex Crimes by Jihadists
— California: Saudi princess Charged in Human Trafficking Case, Enslaving Maid
— California: Saudi Consulate Pays US$5 Million Bail for Muslim Princess Arrested for Slavery
— Saudi Arabia Targeting Iran and Israel with Ballistic Missiles
— Christian Found Decapitated in Egypt
— Egypt: Muslims Behead Second Christian in Sinai
— Ramadan Bomb-a-thon: Fifteen-year-old Jihad Bomber Strikes Afghan-Pakistan Border Gate
— Iraq: Jihadis Murder Nineteen with Bomb in Cafe Full of People Ending Day’s Ramadan Fast
— White House Met with Radical Cleric Who Supports Terrorist Groups in Gaza
— Petition Demands Nigeria’s Boko Haram Killers be Designated Terrorists
— Egyptian Military Bombards Islamist Militant Towns in Sinai
— Iran Exile Group Claims Evidence of Hidden Nuclear Site
— Muslim “Youth” Looting the Dead at French Rail Crash
— Egyptian Child Describes Torture by Muslim Brotherhood Supporters
— Sharia in Action: Afghan Court Ordered Release of Child-Bride Torturers
— Egyptian Government Freezes Assets of Muslim Brotherhood Chiefs
— U.K.: Muslim Prisoners Threaten to Stab Inmates Who Eat Pork in Front of Them
— Prophet’s Perps Raping Kids in Britain: No Kids Safe from Muhammed’s Minions
— Man Found Guilty and Given Life Sentence for Sending “Blasphemous” Text Messages
— Israel: Muslim Gets Life in Prison for Honor Murder of Sister
— Islamic History Will Now Be Foisted on All British Kids in School
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+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch
+ The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, England, 0-20-3353-2000, reader@guardian.co.uk
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+ The National, Post Office Box 111434, Abu Dhabi, 971-2-4145328, newsdesk@thenational.ae
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ Forum 18 News Service, Postboks 6603, Rodeløkka, N-0502 Oslo, Norway, f18news@editor.forum18.org
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ The Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, England, 020-7938-6000, news@dailymail.co.uk
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
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