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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

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Dearborn Arab Festival turns confrontational

By Ed Brayton | 06.20.11 | 8:09 am

After two years of protests, arrests and lost legal cases for the city, this year’s Dearborn Arab International Festival featured several groups of Christian missionaries seeking to protest against Islam and encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity.

In addition to the now-infamous Quran-burning Florida Pastor Terry Jones, who held a rally at city hall and briefly attempted to hold one at the festival site itself, there were several other Christian groups there as well. Acts 17 Apologetics, the group that had several members arrested (and acquitted) last year for disorderly conduct, returned this year. Famous evangelist Josh McDowell was also there, as was a group led by George Saieg, who filed a successful lawsuit last year to be allowed to hand out literature throughout the festival site.

Perhaps emboldened by winning several lawsuits that guaranteed their right to proselytize at the festival, attended primarily by Muslims, the Christian groups seemed more confrontational and aggressive this year. In addition to targeting Muslims, some of them even held signs calling Catholics “idolators” and saying that all Catholics go to hell. Others carried huge vertical signs calling Muhammad a “pervert” and telling people to “study and obey the Bible.”

Patch.com reports that six people were arrested after a mob led by the anarchist group By Any Means Necessary rushed Jones as he tried to walk from city hall to the festival site. As a result, Jones canceled his appearance at the festival site itself. Patch also reports the arrest of several counter-protestors who threw bottles and other objects at another group of missionaries.

There are many privately shot videos available on Youtube showing events. This is one of a mob of counter-protestors rushing Jones and his followers as they walked to the festival site:

And here is one of much of the action at the festival site itself:

Comments

  • Dit l’âne Bzizzle

    Interesting article but I don’t know that “anarchist” is the correct term for BAMN. They are far left, but they want to impose a system of affirmative action rather than rid the world of hierarchies as an anarchist would.

    I know anarchist has come to mean any activist who may use more confrontational tactics in some media circles, but that’s lazy. Let’s say what we mean.

    Now go read some Emma Goldman.

    On the other hand, BAMN does not contribute much to civil discourse. They spend too much time shouting to listen. They are the bane of Detroit’s town hall meetings. Ginned up like Christians with the idea that they’re members of the oppressed voiceless minority, they stack the line with speakers who ignore anything that was actually said during the speech and spout talking points. Bobb and Bing know what I’m talking about.

    • Anonymous

      agreed.

      MM, you’ve been gettin a sloppy….

      BAMN is not anarchist.

      They’re rhetoric is Trotskyist at best, and BAMN itself will even deny that.  

  • Thomas Allen

    This country guarantees the right to freedom of religion. Why do ‘christians’ choose to ignore this constitutional privilege by trying to force feed Jesus to non-christians. It’s this bigoted, self-righteous “We’re right and you’re wrong” attitude about faith that makes me happy to be an atheist.

  • http://www.facebook.com/yomam1 Yoma Ma

    I will add my two cents, Muslims have every right to worship what they please, but as far as I knew- you can stand out in public and hand out literature for whatever reason you deem.   I am not defending the dangerous Christian groups by ANY MEANS AT ALL, but also consider that in Muslim countries and in public outside the festival you are not allowed to hand out literature about Christianity as well?   The Muslims demand tolerance but show none on their side of their so called religion- frankly I have deemed myself more of an Atheist as well- and you are going to damn Jesus you need to be prepared for the backlash and the cursing of Mohomed.  It works both ways and for all the liberals out there, in time you will see what I mean.   I have seen it in Europe and after coming back from Indonesia recently which is a more moderate Muslim country – I asked how the Christians live here and there was a large Catholic university and my guide who has lived there for 12 years says, they are left alone as long as they do not talk about Christianity in public?   That seems to be the trend and the cause of the backlash against Islam- on top of the violence and hatred it has bred as well. 
    Again you have a multitude of Catholic groups that are off in their own world, (can you say Westboro?)- but I dont know of how many are taught to bomb and kill those who are beneath them because they are not of the same faith????   Dearborn is now Mecca- so good luck to you. take a look in Europe and see what has happened there and now here as well…..

    • Anonymous

      Try going to Liberty University or the giant prayer meeting Perry is hosting in Houston with signs saying “Jesus was a pervert,” and “Moses was a child molester,” etc and then talk about freedom of speech.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BFVP3DQYEXNVAKOMGJGEIWN2DI Shafee

        test

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BFVP3DQYEXNVAKOMGJGEIWN2DI Shafee

        To claim “Moses was a child molester” is state what is false. But to claim “Mohammad was a child molester” is in line with the truth and history. Mohammad at age 52 married a 6 year old girl and consumated his marriage when she turned 9. Here’s the account of this marriage from the horse’s mouth:

        ‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.”  Bukhari Book 008, Number 3310:  http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/muslim/008.smt.html 

        • Anonymous

          Maturity is culturally bound, i.e., technically, when a woman begins menstruating she is ready to copulate and have children. We have decided, for cultural reasons, that it’s much better for children to wait until later to begin to have sex and have children. That’s our culture.

          To claim that his culture’s norms make Mohammad a child molester is not only jingoistic, it’s narrow-minded, and reflects a level of ignorance ordinarily only found in in-bred rednecks with a questionable genetic integrity species-wise.

          Moses, however, was pretty obviously schzophrenic and a sociopath. He suffered from fixed delusions, had both auditory and visual hallucinations, and claimed that the voices were telling him it’s ok to commit genocide and rape.

  • http://www.facebook.com/yomam1 Yoma Ma

    PS- I see preaching of HATE everyday in NY among the militant Black groups – that preach of the white man being the devil and on and on and on and starting arguments on the streets with their nonsense- but I guess it only works one way ?   And yes these militants are muslim.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1580611162 Betsy Rose

    Whatever happened to “God is Love?” 

  • Rob Preece

    I have no problems with people trying to convert others to their beliefs. I would think that holding signs saying “mohammed is a pervert” or “catholics are idolatars” would be more about being intentionally offensive than about converting others. Certainly burning the Koran (or the Bible) is more about offending than about converting. Maybe people have a right to intentionally offend others who are minding their own business but if so, let’s call it what it is rather than pretending it’s freedom of religion.

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