Christians getting massacred in India as a part of religious cleansing

God and faith is in the heart, mind and souls of people; its in the morning sun-shine that they wake-up to, in the silence that they meditate in, in the tranquility of the evenings when they look towards the sky, in the thank-yous that comes from depth of their hearts... What can it be converted to? -- is it the name by which we call the same one God? Or is it the style of the rituals we do or the songs that we sing for the same one God?


While the intention of sharing this piece of news is certainly not to spread hatred or distrust between communities, it is important that we as humans and also as Indians realize the intensity and seriousness of such a carnage Whether it is a few political outfits sharpening weapons for next year's general elections, whether it is the ignorant black-sheeps of two religions getting over-zealous, the fact is that people are suffering. While they debate it out in the bright news studios, in the security of their mansions protected by followers or faithfuls, there seems to be no respite to the suffering of these people...these laymen out there at ground zero.

A defaced portrait of Jesus Christ hangs on the wall of a demolished house after a mob attack at Barakhama village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 30, 2008. Thousands of people, most of them Christians, have sought shelter in makeshift government camps in eastern India, driven from their homes by religious violence which has killed scores of people.

A Christian girl salvages belongings from her burnt home at Minia village, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) from the Bhubaneshwar, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008.

A Christian man looks at his destroyed house after a mob attack in Barakhama village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 30, 2008.

A Christian girl whose face was burnt during the recent religious violence, sits in a shelter at Raikia village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 31, 2008.

Christians set up tent shelters at Raikia village, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 31, 2008. Thousands of people, most of them Christians, have sought shelter in makeshift government camps in eastern India, driven from their homes by religious violence

Christians sit outside a shelter at Raikia village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 30, 2008.

A Christian woman cries outside her demolished house at Gatumah village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa

A Christian boy eats lunch under an umbrella inside a shelter at Raikia village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 30, 2008.

Christian villagers search the burnt remains of their household at Raikia bazaar of Kandhamal district in Orissa, India, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Thousands of Christian-run schools and colleges across India were closed Friday to protest recent Hindu mob attacks on churches and homes

Burnt vehicles are seen at Suleswar village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 31, 2008. Thousands of people, most of them Christians, have sought shelter in makeshift government camps in eastern India

Christians return for shelter after spending days in hiding in a forest at Naugram village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 30, 2008.

A vehicle burns inside a church in Nuagoan village in the Kandhamal district of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, August 25, 2008. REUTERS/Sanjib Mukherjee d.

A burnt doll is seen outside a Christian home at Suleswar village in the eastern Indian state of Orissa August 31, 2008

Christians and social activists protest against the recent communal violence in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. The protest by Christian institutions comes days after violence wracked eastern Orissa state where Christians have clashed with Hindu mobs targeting churches, businesses and homes

School children attend a prayer meeting to pay tributes to the victims of the recent clashes between Hindus and Christians in Orissa, in the northern Indian city of Shimla August 29, 2008. Hindu mobs ransacked a church and clashed with Christian villagers in eastern India on Thursday, police said

Citizens attend a protest against the killings of Christians in Orissa during a meeting in a Mumbai church August 29, 2008.

A Christian school teacher pleading to the VHP activists to spare him

All the Christians around the world should unite in protest against these atrocities. Spread the word.

Assault on the First Amendment rights of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Texas

Here is another blatant assault on the first amendment. The court has thrown out the State's abduction of (yes abduction) of over 460 children from Yearning for Zion, the compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) community.

I am not writing this to support any evil doers. If there were any under-aged or forceful marriages, any statutory rapes or other abuse on minors, the culprits should be tried and punished. If any of the adults in the community have committed such crimes or knowingly aided them, they all should be prosecuted to the maximum extend as allowed by law. The right of religious freedom won't protect them and first amendment does not excuse such crimes.

However, the lawyers of Child Protective Services have finally admitted that 15 of the 31 "child" mothers placed in foster care were actually adults. One is 27. A 14-year-old removed as a child mother apparently has no children. The state had raided the ranch after a 16-year-old girl called an abuse hot line saying she had been beaten and raped by her 50-year-old husband, but that girl has not been found at the ranch during the raid. Police traced the calls to 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman named Rozita Swinton. Swinton had earlier been arrested for making a false report, and accused of posing as "Jennifer," 16, who called 911 to report that her father had locked her in a basement for days. She is also accused of posing as other aliases.

That being said, in this case the Texas government officials jumped into this mess with the best of intentions. They forgot or ignored the legal procedure while earnestly trying to save another child from molestation. This lead to flagrant errors in evidence and identities of the parties involved. Even now the authorities cannot clearly find the ages, names and relationships of the 'children' taken away from the ranch. DNA tests of hundreds of people are taking weeks to process when many children are away from their parents despite of the lack of proof of any wrong doing.

The court ruling says in its third paragraph that "Removing children from their homes and parents on an emergency basis before fully litigating the issue of whether the parents should continue to have custody of the children is an extreme measure. It is, unfortunately, sometimes necessary for the protection of the children involved. However, it is a step that the legislature has provided may be taken only when the circumstances indicate a danger to the physical health and welfare of the children, and the need for protection of the children is so urgent that immediate removal of the children from the home is necessary."

The court talks about the following facts that were undisputed by the Department of Child Protective Services. The only danger to the male children or the female children who had not reached puberty identified by the Department was the Department's assertion that the "pervasive belief system" of the FLDS community groomed the males to be perpetrators of sexual abuse later in life and taught the girls to submit to sexual abuse after reaching puberty;There was no evidence that the male children, or the female children who had not reached puberty, were victims of sexual or other physical abuse or in danger of being victims of sexual or other physical abuse. Also, there was no evidence that any of the female children other than the five identified as having become pregnant between the ages of fifteen and seventeen were victims or potential victims of sexual or other physical abuse. Additionally, the Department conceded at the hearing that teenage pregnancy, by itself, is not a reason to remove children from their home and parents, but took the position that immediate removal was necessary in this case because "there is a mind-set that even the young girls report that they will marry at whatever age, and that it's the highest blessing they can have to have children."

It may sound outrageous when you hear about girls are married by guys who are old enough to be their dad. But keep in mind, a horror story alone is not a legal basis for removing hundreds of children form their parents. The Texas Court of appeals, Third District, at Austin is clearly right in pointing out that a good intention would not substitute legal procedures for proving that a child is in imminent danger.

What happened to our first amendment rights?

What happened to our first amendment rights?

To quote wikipedia, "The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. On its face, it prohibits the United States Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" (the "Establishment Clause") or that prohibit free exercise of religion (the "Free Exercise Clause"), laws that infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

As Politics Avalanche has mentioned before, the pro-abortion activists have the right to express their opinion, and if someone says anything against it, the whole media cries FOUL.

ACLU should show guts to fight for the very basic freedom of speech in this case. In America it is easier to defend criminals than the faithful that were peacefully showing their solidarity.