A video showing fifteen Pakistani soldiers being lined up and shot dead by a firing squad has been released by the Taliban.
The paramilitary troops were abducted on December 23 in what the terror group described as an operation to avenge the deaths of insurgents in Pakistan.
The release of the horrific video is intended to serve as a warning to Pakistan's 600,000-member army, which has failed to break the back of the insurgents despite superior firepower and a series of offensives against their strongholds in mountain regions.

The commanders in South Waziristan rejected any talk of peace. They said they would negotiate with the government only if Islamic law were implemented throughout the country, the army withdraws from the region and all Taliban prisoners are released.
'Despite all their resources and atomic power, America, NATO and Pakistan cannot defeat the Taliban as our suicide bombers will use their bones as bullets, their flesh as gunpowder and their blood as fuel,' Mehsud said. 'They have no way to counter to this spirit.'
Pakistan's spy agency has been accused of aiding other militants, such as the Haqqanis and other factions in the Afghan Taliban who carry out attacks on U.S. troops across the border.

And everyone wants to pretend the imposition of Sharia that is following each revolution won't be a problem, and could even be an improvement. After all, there's promise after promise of "moderate" Islamic governance. One consistent trait that betrays the outwardly friendly face of the revolutions is the antisemitic rhetoric that has accompanied them. "Praise Arab Spring, Except for Anti-Semitism," by Jeffrey Goldberg for Bloomberg, November 29:
The bravery of the youth of Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Libya can’t be denied. It isn’t pepper spray that they’ve been facing. Nor can the idealism of the Arab Spring be denied. The people of the Middle East are finally awakening to the promise of liberty.

There is another truth, however, that shouldn’t be denied. The desire of Arabs to be free of their spiteful and pitiless dictators is sometimes expressed in grotesquely anti-Jewish terms.

Nothing to see here. Repeat after me: the Muslim Brotherhood is "moderate." The Muslim Brotherhood is "largely secular," because the Obama administration's director of national intelligence said so. This is all a misunderstanding and has been taken out of context, because you don't speak Arabic, and surely there are nuances on the word "kill" to consider.
Nothing to see here. "Cairo rally: One day we'll kill all Jews," by Eldad Beck for YNet News, November 25:
A Muslim Brotherhood rally in Cairo's most prominent mosque Friday turned into a venomous anti-Israel protest, with attendants vowing to "one day kill all Jews."
Some 5,000 people joined the rally, called to promote the "battle against Jerusalem's Judaization." The event coincided with the anniversary of the United Nations' partition plan in 1947, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state.

This new-born baby may not have the easiest life as he grows up.The tot has been given the unfortunate name associated with the Muslim crusade against the west - Jihad.The Islamic term is used in the Koran to describe the religious war all followers are to wage against 'non-believers'.

Police said that Ortega had become 'obsessed' with Obama and that God had given him a personal mission to attack the White House.'He hates the president, he hates Washington, he hates society,' another official told the Washington Post.Gunfire was heard between the White House and the Washington Monument on Friday evening. An abandoned car with an assault rifle with a scope and nine spent shell casings were later discovered by police inside.

A Republican woman running for a state government position in Virginia admitted that she had a lesbian encounter with a minor while working as a high school gym teacher.
Linda Wall, 61, said that she is a completely different person from the time when the relationship occurred, and now she consistently speaks out against legislation that she feels promotes homosexual lifestyles.
'Forty years ago I was a different person. I was a heavy pot smoker with... impaired judgement and made some bad choices,' she told a local Associated Press reporter.

The parents accused of killing their 13-year-old adopted daughter, are being investigated over whether they were inspired by a book that encourages children to be biblically punished.The Washington couple deny homicide and child abuse charges relating to the death of Ethiopian-born Hana Willaims, who apparently lived in a closet and was denied meals for days at a time.But investigators are looking into whether the Christian book, titled 'To Train Up a Child' may have been involved in the death of Hana and will be shown in a CNN documentary.

Today we hear a heartwarming story—a story of love, commitment, trust and faith.

LOL. Yeah right. No. This is actually a story about a guy who tries to kill his son because the voice of God told him to.

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’

‘Here I am,’ He replied.

Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’” —Genesis 22:1&2

I’m not making this up, the Bible—GOD—really says that.

I would like to point out that this section in my Bible has lots of really long study notes to go with it. Everything up until this point has been relatively short and unnecessary, but Christians feel that this story needs a lot of explaining for some reason… I can’t imagine why…

First, notice that God ‘tests’ Abraham. The note in my Bible makes the distinction between ‘test’ and ‘tempt’ very clear. God doesn’t ‘tempt’, He only ‘tests’. Because ‘testing’ is so much better than ‘tempting’. Why would a perfect, all-knowing and merciful god need to ‘test’ anybody? And why would anyone want to worship a God who would test them in this way?

Second, God really stresses how important Isaac is to Abraham: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love…” It’s bad enough that God is telling Abraham to sacrifice his son, but also his only son (remember that Ishmael was effectively disowned when he was sent away). And not only is it Abraham’s only son, but he is also his son whom he loves.

And third: “Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.”—“Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering”—“SACRIFICE HIM there as a BURNT OFFERING”

“Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’” —Genesis 22:3-5

Abraham wouldn’t even beg and plead for his son’s life? What kind of dad is he? Instead, he just gets up the next morning and sets about getting ready for the big bonfire later. Unquestioning obedience to his God, something that Christian’s admire and seek after.

Just a bit of advice: if ‘God’ is telling you to sacrifice your children as a burnt offering, it probably isn’t ‘God’ and you PROBABLY SHOULDN’T DO IT!!! A God who is any kind of God doesn’t need sacrifice and especially not sacrifice of innocent young children. Christians: STOP GLORIFYING THIS!!!

Notice, too, that Abraham says that ‘we will worship and then we will come back to you.’ The note in my Bible says that Abraham was in denial, or he just believed that God would raise his son from the dead (after Abraham brutally murders him, of course). Seems more likely to me that he was lying because if he says ‘I will come back’ then the servants and his son might get suspicious. But his son get’s suspicious anyway:

“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’

‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.

‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’

Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.” —Genesis 22:6-8

This sickens me. Poor Isaac has full trust in his father and has no reason to think that his father would do him harm. Abraham lies to him and Isaac accepts the explanation without question. This exemplifies how children in the church are raised. They trust their parents and (as I can attest) can’t imagine how their parents could ever be wrong or why their parents would ever lie to them.

“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham’

‘Here I am,’ he replied.” —Genesis 22:9-11

I can’t even imagine what was going through Isaac’s mind. Christian’s like to sugar coat the story by saying that Isaac probably understood Abraham’s need to obey his god—but no. There is no possible way that Isaac, a scared little boy, had any conception of god, and if he did—it was not a nice friendly god, this god wanted to do Isaac harm! This god was NOT just. This god was NOT merciful. This god told Isaac’s father to KILL HIM! Isaac must have been terrified, he must have been screaming and crying and begging for his father to stop. He must have been struggling against the ropes and against the dried and splintered wood. He must have suffered bruises as he attempted to escape from his fathers clutches as he was strapped to the altar. He must have been bleeding from cuts and rope burn as he fought to free himself. Isaac was NOT okay with this, don’t let ANY Christian tell you otherwise—EVER.

Luckily for Isaac, God changed his mind at the last minute. I’m sorry, he didn’t change his mind, after all, he was just testing Abraham anyway. This story makes me physically ill.

“‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’” —Genesis 22:12

God’s like, ‘I just needed to be sure you were afraid of me, looks like you are, so we are good!’ What kind of god is this? You have got to be kidding me! God is supposed to be all-knowing, he should have been able to tell that Abraham ‘feared’ him WITHOUT making Abraham almost kill his son.

‘Fearing God’, according to Christians, means to trust absolutely in Him.

“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” —Genesis 22:13&14

So somehow this bloodbath gets made into a catchy phrase that people say ‘to this day’.

(If you can’t tell, this passage pisses me off)

“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you obeyed me.’” —Genesis 22:15-18

Great, so what does Abraham get out of almost sacrificing his son? The same @!$%#ing promise that he has been getting since he first left his father’s household!

“Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.” —Genesis 22:19

Still today, parents kill their children because ‘God’ or ‘angels’ or ‘demons’ etc. tell them to. This in NO WAY is justified. We call these people insane. Abraham is not exempt.

I’m just—I’m speechless guys. I really am. Stupidity like this is intolerable.

Totally ripped from http://atheistbiblestudy.tumblr.com/post/3494996882/god-tells-abraham-to-kill-his-son

A 12-year-old Christian girl was kidnapped and repeatedly raped for eight months in Pakistan by a man who then falsified marriage documents with her, it was claimed today.
The girl was lured on a shopping trip in Lahore by a friend, before she was driven 120 miles to Tandianwalla and raped by the friend's uncle in January this year.
Two days later, she was forced to sign papers consenting to marriage with the man and beaten for refusing to convert from Christianity to Islam.

The first thing to say, when reviewing the question of what America should do about those of its citizens who advocate the murder of random numbers of its civilians, is that it is flat-out astonishing to see the debate being conducted at all. Faced with jeering, sniggering, vicious saboteurs who hide from the daylight and pop up on blogs and cheap CDs, calmly awarding religious permission for the capricious taking of life, what do we imagine Vladimir Putin would do? Or the police and security forces of the People’s Republic of China? Or Israel or Saudi Arabia? To ask the question is to answer it.

HOUSTON — Christopher Hitchens, probably the country’s most famous unbeliever, received the Freethinker of the Year Award at the annual convention of the Atheist Alliance of America here on Saturday. Mr. Hitchens was flattered by the honor, he said a few days beforehand, but also a little abashed. “I think being an atheist is something you are, not something you do,” he explained, adding: “I’m not sure we need to be honored. We don’t need positive reinforcement. On the other hand, we do need to stick up for ourselves, especially in a place like Texas, where they have laws, I think, that if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ you can’t run for sheriff.”

Authorities have made four arrests in a string of Amish-on-Amish violence that has ravaged an Ohio community.
WKYC-TV reported that Levi Miller, Johnny Mullet and Lester Mullet were rounded up Friday for the alleged role in crimes by 'The Bergholz Clan.'
The group was allegedly part of a breakaway sect driving to homes and attacking fellow Amish with scissors, cutting off the men’s beards and the women's hair - which is seen as degrading in Amish culture.

Mr Dawkins, a former Oxford professor who found fame as an evolutionary biologist before becoming a vocal opponent of religion, is a longstanding critic of all faith schools.
But he has said that Islamic schools are worse than others, as their teaching is more likely to be influenced by a religious agenda.
Talking to the Times Educational Supplement, he described a trip he made to an 'utterly deplorable' Muslim school in Leicester.
According to the Daily Telegraph, he said: 'Every person I met believes if there is any disagreement between the Koran and science, then the Koran wins.
'It's just utterly deplorable. These are now British children who are having their minds stuffed with alien rubbish.'

Journalist, Best selling Author and Atheist Christopher Hitchens debates the question Does God Exist? with Author & Ph.D  William Lane Craig..Incredibly entertaining and enlightening...

The debate between William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens hosted on 4th April, 2009 from the Christian Biola University.

Christopher Eric Hitchens (born 13 April 1949) is an English-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008. He is a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits and in 2005 he was voted the world's fifth top public intellectual in a Prospect/Foreign Policy poll.

Identified as a champion of the "New Atheism" movement, Hitchens describes himself as an antitheist and a believer in the philosophical values of the Enlightenment. Hitchens says that a person "could be an atheist and wish that belief in god were correct," but that "an antitheist, a term I'm trying to get into circulation, is someone who is relieved that there's no evidence for such an assertion." He argues that the concept of god or a supreme being is a totalitarian belief that destroys individual freedom, and that free expression and scientific discovery should replace religion as a means of teaching ethics and defining human civilization. He wrote at length on atheism and the nature of religion in his 2007 book God Is Not Great.

William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher and theologian. He is known for his work on the philosophy of time and philosophy of religion, specifically the existence of God and defense of Christian theism. He has made major contributions to the philosophy of religion and his defense of the Kalām cosmological argument is the most widely discussed argument for the existence of God in contemporary Western philosophy. He has authored or edited over 30 books including The KalamCosmological Argument (1979), Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology (co-authored withQuentin Smith) (1993), Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time (2001), and Einstein, Relativity and Absolute Simultaneity (co-edited withQuentin Smith) (2007).

Craig has debated with prominent intellectuals such as Anthony Flew, A C Grayling, Daniel Dennett, Lawrence Krauss, Victor Stenger, Peter Atkins, and Christopher Hitchens, to name but a few. Craig maintains that science and faith are connected and that the physical sciences are more open to the idea of a creator than they have been in recent history. Sam Harris, a prominent atheist, described Craig as "the one Christian apologist who seems to have put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists"

A Muslim woman disemboweled her daughter as a sacrifice to God after she became convinced the four-year-old was possessed by spirits, the Old Bailey heard.Shayma Ali, 36, stabbed the girl up to 40 times and took out her liver while Koranic verses played in the background.When police arrived at their east London home, Ali was heard chanting: 'I seek refuge in God from the curse of Satan'.

My favorite Sam Harris speech. It's from 05, but certainly relevant today. This is a good one. The religious community may find it inflammatory. But if  my religious  friends do here on Newsvine, I would love to hear why. Regardless, I hope  eveyone's chimes in with an opinion. I'm not trying to change minds, I'm just convinced if I enjoy Sam Harris' speeches, you just might too.

Join famous atheist and prolific author Christopher Hitchens and the accomplished and controversial scholar Tariq Ramadan as they debate one of the most pertinent questions of our modern age.