Eideard

A middle-school science teacher is accused of preaching Christianity during class and branding some of his students with crosses.

An independent investigation conducted on behalf of the school district concluded that John Freshwater used an “electrostatic device” to burn the religious symbols onto the arms of multiple students last December.

“Freshwater told investigators the marks were X’s, not crosses. But all of the students interviewed in the investigation reported being branded with crosses,” the paper says. “The investigation report includes a photo of one student’s arm with a long vertical line and a short horizontal line running through it.”

The Dispatch says parents had complained for years that Freshwater taught intelligent design and discredited evolution in his Mount Vernon, Ohio, classroom. Now they’re suing the school district in federal court…

In the name of God…

Update:

The school district has voted unanimously to fire this True Believer.

Strolling along Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue in May, Kevin Born was drawn to an ancient Chinese-style building with delicate wooden carvings and wash paintings — only to find it was a public toilet.

Inside, he found a granite floor, remote-sensor flushing, automatic hand drier and piped music. He found it difficult to believe that only three years ago when he first came to China, answering nature’s call was an experience not for the faint-hearted.

“You had to take a deep breath and dash into the toilet. You held your breath and your head high, and never looked down. Then you’d dash out quickly for another gasp of fresh air. All within 30 seconds,” recalls Kevin, 30, an engineer from Germany…

Now, Beijing is flushed with pride that all the 5,333 public toilets, boasting standardized white male and female figure signs, are available within a five-minute walk of any downtown location.

Cripes! Reminds me of my first travels to Mediterranean shores, decades ago. The search for lodging on the cheap always included a requirement for what were called “English toilets”.

A Danish appeals court has rejected a lawsuit against the newspaper that first printed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, saying the cartoons were not intended to insult Muslims…

The decision Thursday upheld a ruling last year by a lower court, which rejected claims by Danish Muslims that the 12 drawings were meant to insult the Prophet Muhammad and make a mockery of Islam.

The court ruled that terror acts had been carried out in the name of Islam and that it was not illegal under Danish law to make satirical drawings to illustrate that…

The Muslim groups filed the defamation suit in March 2007 after the top prosecutor in Denmark declined to press criminal charges, saying the drawings did not violate laws against racism or blasphemy.

The central issue remains protecting the public right to be critical, to speak out, to have an opinion.

The European Union, reeling from Ireland’s “No” vote to its reform treaty, has acknowledged that another member state, the Czech Republic, has a problem with ratifying the text for the moment.

“The European Council noted that the Czech Republic cannot complete the ratification process until the constitutional court delivers its positive opinion on the accordance of the Lisbon Treaty…,” the leaders agreed to say in a footnote to a final statement at a two-day summit, diplomats reported…

All 27 member states must ratify for it to take effect. The Czechs had sought to prevent any call for continued ratification after the June 12 Irish referendum defeat…

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek — seen as less keen on the treaty — said on Thursday night: “If the vote was today, I would not bet 100 crowns on the outcome.”

Neither would I.

AT&T is paying Apple a $325 subsidy on each new iPhone 3G sold in the US in addition to offering the electronics maker a hefty bounty for each subscriber addition it gains from sales of the handset at Apple retail stores, according to a new report.

Oppenheimer equity research analyst Yair Reiner told clients in a research report that the subsidy is more than 50 percent higher than most other smart phones, which are typically subsidized by about $200.

He said the abnormal concession on AT&T’s part reflect the carrier’s confidence in the iPhone’s ability to grow its subscriber base and drive an overall increase in the average revenue it makes off customers through higher margin services and data plans…

What’s more, Reiner said he also believes that AT&T is paying Apple an extra $100 for each new subscriber to AT&T signed up through Apple’s brick-and-mortar stores, for a total commission of $425.

All the fanboyz, all the antifanboyz, together – thought it was $200.

A French court has overturned an order annulling the marriage of a French Muslim woman who is accused by her husband of lying about being a virgin. The decision means that the marriage is once again valid until an appeal court rules in September.

The man’s request for an annulment was granted last month after a court ruled he had been tricked into the marriage…

Under the French civil code, a marriage can be annulled if a spouse has lied about an “essential quality” of the relationship – in this case virginity.

The decision to overturn the annulment came after the French government asked the public prosecutor to appeal lest it set a precedent where people could legally insist on virginity as a requirement for marriage.

Looks like this started out trying to use annulment as a no-fault divorce. I’ll bet it ends up being more expensive by the time it’s over.

The auction house thought the portrait was a 17th century Rembrandt knockoff, and valued it at just $3,100. But the British buyer who paid about 1,500 times more than that apparently knew what he was doing.

Experts have confirmed “Rembrandt Laughing” — bought for a bargain price of $4.5 million at an English auction house in October — is a self-portrait by the Dutch master himself, depicted with his head tilted back in easygoing laughter.

William Noortman from Noortman Master Paintings, specializing in Dutch and Flemish masters, said it’s worth $30 million to $40 million, adding: “I’m very surprised it didn’t make more at auction.”

“A self-portrait by Rembrandt, that’s absolutely unique — not in my lifetime,” Jan Six said.

Better than watching Antiques Roadshow!

Thanks, K B