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Warren Jeffs’ appeal is rejected by Texas state court

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:50:21 -0400

Warren Jeffs’ appeal is rejected by Texas state court

In August, 2011, a Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls “spiritual marriages.”

Jeffs has appealed his conviction with 'revelations' in which Jesus Christ allegedly demands his release, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has turned down the appeal.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...tate-court

Conviction upheld in FLDS sexual assault case

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:27:25 -0400

Conviction upheld in FLDS sexual assault case

In his appeal, Abram Harker Jeffs claimed that the state had insufficient evidence to prove that a sexual relationship had occurred between him and his wife, whom he married when she was 14 years old.

He was one of 12 men indicted after a 2008 law enforcement raid on the sect's Texas-based ranch.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...sault-case

Appeals court denies bid for freedom by Amish sect leader

Thu, 03 May 2012 23:03:36 -0400

Appeals court denies bid for freedom by Amish sect leader

Judges says Samuel Mullet had prior knowledge of the attacks and that he defended the assaults in media interviews.

They also said Mullet exerts such complete control over his community that members have refused to talk to the FBI until he gives permission.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ect-leader

Health officials shut down Narconon drug rehab centre in Canada

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:20:34 -0400

Health officials shut down Narconon drug rehab centre in Canada

Health officials have ordered the Narconon rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in Trois Rivières, Canada, to evacuate and relocate its 32 residents, citing concerns over procedures that "may represent a risk to health" and a lack of doctors on staff.

The agency's decision not to certify was based on visits to the Narconon centre in February, and the recommendations of a national committee of experts convened in March to discuss the case.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...-in-canada

Cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. found guilty of murdering wife

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:32:05 -0400

Cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. found guilty of murdering wife

Ten years after his wife was murdered, Philippine cult leader Ruben Ecleo was found guilty of parricide and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or at least 30 years’ imprisonment.

The former congressman who earlier this year was also sentenced to 31 years in jail for graft is missing.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ering-wife

Police: Spiritual cleansing with raw eggs leads to rape

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:44:56 -0400

Police: Spiritual cleansing with raw eggs leads to rape

A 36-year-old spiritual healer has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman during a cleansing with raw eggs, police says.

Alberto Flores Ramirez was taken into custody Tuesday and booked at the Santa Ana City Jail on suspicion of rape and making criminal threats.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ds-to-rape

Sound Doctrine Church pastor enters not guilty plea in rape charges

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:31:17 -0400

Sound Doctrine Church pastor enters not guilty plea in rape charges

The assistant pastor of Sound Doctrine Church in Enumclaw, Washington, charged with two counts of first-degree rape of a child, has plead not guilty to both counts.

Malcolm Fraser was arrested last month after the alleged victim, who is now 17, made a report to police.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...pe-charges

Turkey’s Religious Freedom Record Slides

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:22:43 -0400

Turkey’s Religious Freedom Record Slides

Sentiment against Christians in Turkey has persisted long enough for a U.S. religious rights monitor to recommend it as a “Country of Particular Concern.”

Many in Turkey see Christians as corrupt elements of the West out to shake the integrity of Turkey and Islam.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ord-slides

Trio from ‘cult’ church accused of torturing 13-year-old boy

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:50:48 -0400

Trio from ‘cult’ church accused of torturing 13-year-old boy

A pastor and two associates accused of physically assaulting a 13-year-old boy and forcing him to dig his own grave were charged with child abuse and other felonies.

Former members of Remmer's church refer to it as a cult.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ar-old-boy

Three girls led by ‘foremost expert on cults’ claim to cast out demons

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:32:55 -0400

Three girls led by ‘foremost expert on cults’ claim to cast out demons

Under the guidance of Bob Larson, who claims to be "the world’s foremost expert on cults, the occult, and supernatural phenomena," three girls 'cast out demons' -- for a price.

ABC Nightline says there are very serious questions about the safety and morality of what the girls are doing for others, especially those who might need mental health care.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...out-demons

Court in Egypt Sentences Young Christian for ‘Insulting Islam’

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:34:48 -0400

Court in Egypt Sentences Young Christian for ‘Insulting Islam’

In a show of partiality to Muslims who go unprosecuted for like offenses against Christianity, a juvenile court in Egypt sentenced a Coptic Christian teenager to three years in prison for allegedly insulting Islam.

The court claimed that he posted cartoons on his Facebook account in December that mocked the Islamic religion and its prophet, Muhammad.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ting-islam

Texas spent $4.5M+ on FLDS prosecutions

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:33:00 -0400

Texas spent $4.5M+ on FLDS prosecutions

In the four years since Texas authorities raided a ranch belonging to the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) state prosecutors have spent more than $4.5 million racking up swift convictions against him and 10 loyal followers on child sex and bigamy charges.

The total amount nears $20M if costs for the raid on the sect's ranch are included.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...osecutions

Arrests made following three human sacrifices by Santa Muerte devotees

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:00:02 -0400

Arrests made following three human sacrifices by Santa Muerte devotees

Eight people have been arrested in Mexico for the killing two 10-year-old boys and a 55-year-old woman in ritual sacrifices by the cult of La Santa Muerte, or Saint Death.

Until now there have been no confirmed cases of human sacrifices in Mexico to the saint.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...e-devotees

Sudan bombs churches, razes mosques and targets civilians in ethnic cleansing

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:16:34 -0400

Sudan bombs churches, razes mosques and targets civilians in ethnic cleansing

After Khartoum denied that it had bombed civilians earlier this month, Sudanese aerial strikes last week were aimed at church buildings and schools in Kauda, South Kordofan state.

Antonov airplanes dropped bombs, destroying some houses and cattle near the church buildings and schools.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...s-churches

Canadian police renews polygamy investigation into Bountiful

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:11:03 -0400

Canadian police renews polygamy investigation into Bountiful

Last week a special prosecutor was given the go-ahead to consider polygamy crimes in Bountiful, the Canadian branch of the polygamous FLDS sect. Now Canadian police have renewed their investigation into allegations that dozens of teen brides were spirited across the U.S. border to marry older men.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...-bountiful

MyBB 1.8 Update - TBA

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:33:05 -0400

[font='Trebuchet MS']MyBB 1.8 Tour: Introduction[/font]

On April 1st we announced a 1.6.7 Update which updated both MyBB and the Merge System. If you haven’t seen this or not upgraded yet please make sure you read the MyBB and Merge System 1.6.7 Release blog post. We also announced our plans for MyBB 1.8; it was no April Fool.
Back in 2010, just under 2 years ago, we released MyBB 1.6 which introduced over 40 new features – some more at home in commercial software. As MyBB’s popularity continues to grow, the rise of social networks, rival software and the greater expectations of users old and new gives us some of the hardest challenges we’ve faced; to stay on top, to deliver a brilliant product and provide it to you for free.
With our development roadmap for MyBB 2.0 getting underway soon, we quickly felt the need to bridge the large gap that would have been 1.6 to 2.0. We wanted to create something that would provide a legacy to users of the 1.x series – the best of the best – and there was only one way we could get that to our users; MyBB 1.8.
What You Can Expect From 1.8
Whereas 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 delivered over 100 new features 1.8 aims to be more of a subtle upgrade, a facelift and a move to more open source development so that others too can help create the best free forum software. We’ll of course be providing the usual bug fixes and working with large forum owners to see if we can help further improve performance and stability. MyBB 1.8 is a perfect chance for us to provide changes that we couldn’t typically do within our maintenance cycles.
A New Look
When we announced our new logo and mascot, Bolt, the Team soon realised that we didn’t want to wait until 2.0 was released to use them. The 1.6 default theme made these look out of place in its dated design (which was last updated in 2008) so we needed something more up to date. Justin, our lead designer, who created the Apart theme series (from which many MyBB communities either use or have customised the look for themselves) has worked on developing the series for the new 1.8 default theme. We worked together to figure out a method for enabling the Apart colours to be included by default but without the need for including 14 separate themes before the administrator even opened their forum. This method is what we call attachable base colours.
[font='Trebuchet MS']

The new default theme for MyBB 1.8

[/font]These changes to the theme system allow you to create colours to which you can attach stylesheets (just like you can attach stylesheets to pages). You can also set a display order for all your stylesheets so that they can override styles. Together, the changes mean you can add a theme with as many custom colours as you want. Using the parent/child theme structure that already exists in 1.x you can restrict or allow certain usergroups to use these colours and, as they inherit the main stylesheets, they’re very easy to manage. So, there is no longer the need to install a dozen different themes just for a different colour header.
A New Look Admin Control Panel (ACP)
Along with the new default theme there needs to be a new look Admin Control Panel (ACP). Our ACP is regarded as one of the easiest to use; it’s friendly and we didn’t want to change it much. Instead, we gave it a similar Apart makeover to our front-end.
[font='Trebuchet MS']

Screenshot of the MyBB 1.8 ACP

[/font]Please note that along with the default theme the look may change as development continues.
Powered by jQuery
While 1.8 won’t be able to make your cocoa or project your forum’s logo onto the moon, much to our disappointment, we really weren’t pulling a prank on this one; MyBB 1.8 will be powered by jQuery. The lighter and more powerful JavaScript library should be able to extend what both Theme Artists and Plugin Developers are able to do without causing conflicts or heavy loading pages. Both front-end and back-end will use the library. This change is probably the most destructive for themes and plugins in the 1.8 upgrade and we’ll be providing support throughout its beta period ready for a main release. In total, including the changes to the default theme, about 20 templates require updating from 1.6.
Along with jQuery comes a change in post editor. Although I’ve had my eye on an ‘off the shelf’ editor for quite some time we’ve yet to make a decision on whether we write our own or not; we’ll be covering that in a future tour. However, please don’t suggest which editor to use as our aim is to make it interchangeable so you can use your favourite one.
Trash Can
One of the most requested features for MyBB is a trash can – or as I prefer, the ability to recover deleted posts. In 1.8, you’ll be able to decide if a user’s deleted post is obliterated forever or is recoverable via the Mod CP. Global and usergroup permissions will allow this to be controlled across your users.
Spam Improvements
For those of you waiting for Spam Ninja I’m very sorry to disappoint as I did promise it to you last year. As soon as 1.8 was decided, I stopped developing it as a plugin and started integrating relevant parts into the core instead. We’ll be looking to improve spam prevention and detection in 1.8 which we’ll cover in a future tour.
Upgrading to 1.8
Upgrading to 1.8 will be similar to upgrading from 1.4 to 1.6; many plugins will only need to change their compatibility line and will only need some major changes if they use Prototype JavaScript, use login functions or make large theme changes. Throughout the beta period, we’ll be upgrading the Wiki with new information and providing support to plugin developers to help them with their new plugins.
Github
The Team has been trying to plan a move away from our current SVN setup to the popular social coding site Github for some time. We’ve come up against problems but feel confident that now is the time to open up our development to people outside of the MyBB Team. Github can be an extremely powerful tool for development and it is something we’re eager to do – we have been working on 1.8 in secret in one of our repositories there which will be made available after our first beta release.
We’ve gone outside of our usual box with 1.8 in that we’re actually telling you what we’re doing and what we’re planning even though none of this is public. We’re aiming to provide a beta of 1.8 in May so please be patient while we’re polishing our development and removing all the takeaways and soft drink cans.
Wrap
With MyBB 1.8, our aim is to fully complete the series with features and improvements that make us a better rival not only to our free forum software friends but also to commercial community software too. We want to make it more friendly, faster and go further than any of our products have been before. Everyone here at MyBB is looking forward to 1.8 and hope you are too!
See you at the next tour!

Islamic extremists detained in France planned to kidnap Jewish judge

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:32:49 -0400

Islamic extremists detained in France planned to kidnap Jewish judge

A group of Islamic radicals have been charged with planning to kidnap a French judge.

The head of France's Central Directorate for Domestic Intelligence (DCRI), Bernard Squarcini, said on Saturday that those arrested the previous day were French nationals involved in "warlike training, linked to violent religious indoctrination".

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...wish-judge

Requesting Prayer Megs Family

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:58:04 -0400

Meganne Campbells family she past away peacefully this morning she has been a fighter with having cancer she lived longer than the Dr. so please prayer for her family and God Bless You.. And We thank you in KY.

Texas court dismisses Warren Jeffs’ appeal

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:01:55 -0400

Texas court dismisses Warren Jeffs’ appeal

A Texas judge denied the appeal of fundamentalist sect leader Warren Jeffs on Thursday, the same day a jury considered testimony to determine how to sentence a key figure in his church after his own bigamy conviction.

Instead of the necessary paperwork Jeffs filed 'prophecies' with the court.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ffs-appeal

Double life sentence for ’3rd son of God’; 12 and 10 years for siblings manipulated into murder their parents

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:54:38 -0400

Double life sentence for ’3rd son of God’; 12 and 10 years for siblings manipulated into murder their parents

Mathew Naidoo, a man who manipulated his former girlfriend and her brother to murder their parents, has been received a double life sentence for his part in the crime.

His former girlfriend Nicolette Lotter was sentenced to 12 years in jail, and her brother Hardus to 10 years imprisonment.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionN...ir-parents