LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY catvincent)

Found via Buzzflash

"Most Americans pay little attention to what's going on in Africa, and even less to the work evangelical Christian organizations are doing there. Except for the occasional article about the AIDS pandemic, a devastating drought, or an armed conflict, generally speaking only Africa-focused academics, inveterate news junkies, and/or former and current Peace Corps volunteers have their fingers on the pulse of developments in Africa.

Several high-powered U.S.-based Christian evangelical organizations are not only following developments in Africa, but they are making news. Some of these groups view the small countries of Africa as a Petri Dish for religious and social transformation."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY diala)

Barbie Accused of Being Part of the Transgender Movement

"The Concerned Women for America were … well, concerned. Outraged, even. Was Barbie becoming part of the transgender movement?

On Dec. 30, CWA, a leading Christian conservative group, noted on its Web site that on the Barbie Web site, www.Barbie.com, "there is a poll that asks children their age and sex."

...

The age choices were 4 to 8 but children "are given three options for their choice of gender": I am a Boy, I am a Girl and I Don't Know.

Bob Knight, director of CWA's Culture and Family Institute, said Barbie manufacturer Mattel was being influenced by the "transgender movement."

To pose "this transgender question at little girls, they've really crossed the line," Knight said, who added that "bisexuality gender confusion" is the Web site's agenda, which is "very dangerous."

...

"This was just an innocent oversight," says Lauren Bruksch, a spokeswoman for Mattel. As a rule of thumb, Bruksch said, the questionnaires at barbie.com always try to have a neutral answer or nonresponse option. For gender, this third option should have been "I don't want to say," rather than "I don't know." The Web site has since been fixed."

Not really a shock, but amusing as hell.