Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
Allah, it seems, is cool with brutal human-rights violations. Or at least the Sultan of Brunei is. The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world’s wealthiest rulers and a close ally of Britain, will this week oversee his country’s transition to a system of Islamic law with punishments that include flogging, the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death. Read more
As we’ve seen, the owners of Hobby Lobby, a national chain of craft stores, don’t like the part of the Affordable Care Act that would oblige them to cover emergency contraception in their employees’ healthcare plans. It’s against their religious beliefs, you see. So Hobby Lobby took its fight all the way to the Supreme Court, where a ruling is expected in June. Meanwhile, we can all marvel at these facts, unearthed by Molly Redden at Mother Jones: Read more
Short of a miracle, Benito Flores is lost at sea and must be presumed dead. He gave his life to help other people get all wet baptized. A California man remains missing a day after he was swept out to sea during an ocean baptism. Benito Flores, 43, was among several people helping his cousin, Pastor Maurigro Cervantes, baptize a man near the Guadalupe Dunes Preserve north of Santa Barbara. Two others were swept out by a huge wave but were able to swim to shore. Read more
