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The state assembly of Uttarakhand, northern India, has passed legislation providing jail time for slaughtering cows.  The house was in an uproar during the contentious debate.

Under the bill, the slaughter of the cow in Uttarakhand would be an offence punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may be extended up to 10 years but not less than three years and a fine which may be extended up to Rs 10,000 but not less than Rs 5,000.

When the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Bill, 2007 was tabled, opposition Congress members protested the move and trooped into the well of the House.

However, the bill was declared passed by the Chair amid pandemonium with the ruling BJP and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal members raising their hands in support.

The Act states that a penalty would be imposed on anyone found selling beef or possessing it.

In pushing the bill through the assembly, the BJP fulfilled a campaign promise.  The opposition Congress Party pointed out that similar schemes to protect sacred cows have failed in other states.

Previous related post: Catholic MP tossed from Indian Parliament for “misusing religion”

Both Logos Bible Software stores in Bellingham, Washington, were vandalised with pornography and Satanic and Nazi symbols last weekend.  Police apprehended a suspect at the scene and took him to hospital for evaluation.

Police spotted graffiti on the shipping department building Saturday morning when they responded to a report of a man throwing Froot Loops cereal and pieces of paper out an apartment window in the building. They asked the man, Dale Sadler, 34, and he allegedly admitted to vandalizing the building, said Bellingham Police Lt. Flo Simon.

Police said this has not been classified as a hate crime. Sadler told officers he felt the company was charging him money for Bibles when he could get them for free, according to police.

He was throwing Froot Loops out a window.  How appropriate is that?

This joker did a real number on the stores.  He spray-painted graffiti on both buildings, installed red light bulbs in the bathrooms, and hung some very bad paintings.  Photos are posted here.

h/t: Acton Institute PowerBlog

In the social and economic crisis brought on by government oppression, and now compounded by hyperinflation and price controls, even Zimbabweans with jobs are having difficulty buying food and other basic necessities.  People are turning to the church for help, and the church is responding.

Ray Motsi, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Bulawayo, says his church members really didn't have a choice in responding to the needs of their fellow countrymen: the needs walked through the door one Sunday. It happened two years ago, after Operation Clean up the Trash, when the government demolished homes that were allegedly built illegally. Those left without a home or a job were forced back to the villages with no way to support themselves.

"The community literally walked into our church. We didn't go to them," Motsi says. "We never planned to go to them, but God had other plans for us. He wanted His church to become the oasis of life in a crisis. It's a task we are still learning."

Churches across Zimbabwe report hundreds of people coming to them each week with needs ranging from school fees to medicine and food.

Many churches in Zimbabwe have initiated ministries to meet everyday survival needs.

Such acts of Christian charity are a far cry from the decision by Anglican Bishop of Harare Nolbert Kunonga to refuse to facilitate food shipments to his fellow Zimbabweans.

Previous related posts:

• Price controls: A scheme to seize Zimbabwe’s private sector?
• Mass arrests, internal dissension over Zimbabwe’s price rollback