“‘Who succeeded in the great cultural battle over race and rights … those who could use religion to inspire solidarity and self-sacrificial devotion to their cause.'” Joe Crea, of Washington Blade, quotes author David L. Chappell on the function of the church in the civil rights struggle, and whether or not gay activists must likewise find a religious leader to personify their cause, and employ religious arguments against inequality. However, as Crea notes, that could be a problem for gays who’ve been “‘beaten up'” by organized religion and want to wash their hands of it.

“The dry tax code might seem the opposite of a values-rich opportunity; in fact, it is anything but.” The Palm Beach Post’s Jac Wilder VerSteeg tabulates the obvious red-state code, and obvious blue, to see what a Christian tax-payer should do.

Afghanistan’s Minister of Culture will request the return of the 2000-year old “Dead Sea Scrolls of Buddhism” from the British Library, which admits that it has no idea how it came into possession of the earliest known Buddhist scripts. The Afghan government believes the scrolls were looted during the country’s early-90s civil war, by mercenary gangs who sold artefacts abroad.

Philip Nitschke, an Australian euthanasia advocate, has announced plans for a suicide pill that could be assembled at home with accessible ingredients and an instruction handbook. The “peaceful pill” is being rushed through development due to the prospect of legislation which could soon ban Nitschke’s work.