Headlines (December 22)

‘Tis The Season To Be Surveyed - A national survey of 1100 physicians conducted by HCD Research and the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City has found that 74% of doctors believe that miracles have occured in the past and 73% believe they can still occur today. Physicians surveyed crossed all religious and denominational boundaries. “The picture that emerges is one where doctors, although presumably more highly educated than their average patient, are not necessarily more secular or radically different in religious outlook than the public, stated Dr. Alan Mittleman, Director of The Finkelstein Institute.” They survey also found that over half regulary attend worship surveys and nearly half believe that prayer is very important to their lives. I have to wonder if these statistics are too vastly different from any cross-section of the American population. You can find more about it here [2].

What Makes Google Tick? - Every time we need to do a search we just know that Google will be there, waiting patienty to comb the Internet on our behalf. But of course behind that simple, plain little page is some of the most incredible technology known to man. ZDNet takes a fascinating look behind the scenes [3] at Google. Did you know that Google only uses small, cheap servers rather than huge, expensive ones? Did you know that they have tens of thousands of these machines searching and indexing the web? Did you know that they handle over 1000 searches per second?

Bush Supports Cross-Hating Movement - Here is a strange story. President Bush and his father have both expressed support for a group of church leaders that endorse throwing crosses into the trash. One leader said: “The fact that the cross is a symbol of division, shame, suffering and bloodshed prove that it is not of God but Satan. On this 18th day of April 2003, we are beginning a new history. Pastors, please, help me to bring the cross down, because it is not of God but the devil.” The movement is closely affiliated with Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church who is positioning himself as the new messiah. Last week, the movement’s leaders presided over a Washington prayer breakfast featuring messages of thanks from both Bush presidents. Of course one has to wonder if the message of thanks was merely some mostly-meaningless, standard message or if it was a personal greeting actually written or endorsed by the President. You can read more here [4] and here [5].

Support Scott Peterson - Would you like to support a man who murdered his wife and child? If so, this story [6] is for you! Scott Peterson’s lawyer is now accepting online donations to fund the continued investigation into who really killed Laci Peterson. “We believe Scott Peterson has been unjustly convicted. This site will continue to monitor the happenings in this case until justice is finally served.” If you have always dreamed of donating money to a murderer and a slimely defense lawyer for whom no crime is too vile, this is your chance!