Yoga in school not same as teaching religion, California judge rules

By Marty Graham

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A California judge refused on Monday to block the teaching of yoga as part of a public school's physical fitness program, rejecting parents' claims that the classes were an unconstitutional promotion of Eastern religions.

Judge John Meyer acknowledged that yoga "at its roots is religious" but added that the modern practice of yoga, despite its origins in Hindu philosophy, is deeply engrained in secular U.S. society and "is a distinctly American cultural phenomenon."

He also said the Encinitas Unified School District had developed its own version of yoga that was not religious but distinct and separate from Ashtanga yoga.

"A reasonable student would not objectively perceive that Encinitas School District yoga does advance or promote religion," he said.

While school district officials were pleased by the ruling, the lawyer for the parents said they probably will appeal.

"If yoga is a religion and has religious aspects, it doesn't belong in the public schools," said Dean Broyles, who represents Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock, whose two children opted out of yoga for physical education. "There is a consistent anti-Christian bias in these cases and a pro-Eastern or strange religion bias."

Encinitas, about 20 miles north of San Diego, began a pilot yoga program in one of its nine elementary schools in 2011. About 40 to 45 students - out of the 5,500 in the district - were taken out of the classes by their parents.

The Sedlocks filed suit against the district in February, arguing that yoga is inherently religious and asking teaching of the classes be banned. The parents claimed that children who opted out of the program faced bullying and teasing.

Their suit expressed concern that the school district had implemented the program with a $500,000 grant from the Jois Foundation, which promotes Ashtanga yoga.

The case was the latest twist in a broader national clash over the separation of religion from public education that has seen spirited debate on issues ranging from the permissibility of student-led prayer to whether science instructors can teach alternatives to evolution.

The plaintiffs objected to eight-limbed tree posters with Sanskrit characters that they said were derived from Hindu beliefs, as well as to the use of the Namaste greeting in class and several yoga poses said to represent worship of Hindu deities.

But by the start of the 2012-2013 school year, the Sanskrit and Namaste had been eliminated from the program, and poses had been renamed with "kid-friendly" descriptions, poses now called gorilla, turtle, peacock, big toe, telephone and other terms, according to testimony. The lotus pose, for example, is called criss cross apple sauce in Encinitas schools.

However, the plaintiffs' expert, professor of religious studies Candy Gunther Brown, testified that yoga practice indoctrinates Hindu religious practices whether the individual knows it or not.

Brown cited research suggesting yoga practice changes the user's brain and thoughts, a sort of gateway drug to the occult, Meyer said.

The judge did not agree with her, saying, "Dr. Brown has an obvious bias and can almost be called being on a mission against yoga."

School district Superintendent Timothy Baird applauded the ruling, and pointed out that the district had been represented for free by lawyers provided by parents whose kids take yoga in the district.

"We always want our parents to be happy and we try to work with our parents on everything we do," Baird said.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yoga-school-not-same-teaching-religion-california-judge-011647428.html

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New laws, great and small, hit the books

By Sophia Rosenbaum, NBC News

People in Colorado can no longer buy a gun without a background check, same-sex couples can marry in Delaware, young teens in New Jersey can't artificially tan and voters in Kentucky can now have an adult beverage on election day.

Starting Monday, that's the law.

July 1 marks the start of the fiscal year, which means hundreds of new state laws go into effect. Many of the laws focus on topics that are part of a national debate like gun control, abortion rights drone surveillance and Internet privacy. On a lighter note, some of Monday?s laws affect smaller-scale changes, such as ordering edible landscaping to be grown around the Statehouse in Maine or finally being able to play the lottery in Wyoming.

Colorado?s gun legislation in effect today is similar to the kind of comprehensive gun control reform President Barack Obama?s administration is trying to pass on a national level.

Just shy of a year after the deadly movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., where James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 58 during the midnight premier of The Dark Knight Rises, Colorado passed one of the most progressive gun reform laws in the country. Starting Monday, the state now requires background checks for both private and online gun sales. It also banned high-capacity ammunition magazines like the one Holmes used.

Despite major mass shootings like Aurora and December?s school massacre that left 20 children and 7 adults dead in Newtown, Conn., 18 states actually passed loosened gun laws that also take effect Monday. In Kansas, individuals can carry guns into more public buildings. Most notably, school employees can now carry concealed handguns.

State legislators in many states are looking to crack down on abortion limits. About 13 states passed stricter abortion laws after state legislators proposed more than 300 bills aimed at limiting abortions in 2012, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. North Dakota passed the strictest abortion law in the country, which takes effect in August, banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Currently, Texas legislators are battling over a bill that would restrict abortions in the state after 20 weeks. Texas Gov. Rick Perry convened a special legislative session to push the abortion bill through despite state Sen. Wendy Davis? historic 11-hour filibuster June 25. The session starts July 1 and can last up to 30 days, making it unlikely Texas Democrats will be able to block the bill.

Legislators in eight states passed laws that protect employees? social media accounts. Individuals no longer have to provide their social media passwords to their employers.

U.S. legislators continue to enact stricter laws involving mobile devices in moving vehicles. ?Hawaii and West Virginia drivers are now part of the growing number of states that ban the use of handheld devices while driving. Some states banned texting while driving or enacted more stringent punishments for those who try to multitask by texting and driving.

States are also looking to take advantage of mobile devices as four states can now use their smart phone to show proof of car insurance.

Over the past year, Americans learned through leaked top-secret documents about heightened drone surveillance. Six states, including Idaho and Virginia, passed stricter drone laws that take effect Monday. ?Virginia?s ban prevents authorities from using drones for the next two years.

Other notable laws include:

• Washington state lawmakers are stripping the state?s books of sexist language. As of Monday, words that include men will become more gender neutral. For example, ?his? will appear as ?his or her? and college ?freshmen? will become ?first-year students.?
• Kentucky lifted a longstanding Prohibition-era law that banned the sale of alcohol while the polls were still open. Now, Blue Grass State residents can enjoy a drink on election day.
• New Jersey has a checkered past with its relationship with tanning, as the cast of Jersey Shore is famous for its orangey glow. It is one of dozens of states that passed stricter tanning laws to keep minors away from the fake sun. Spray tans for Jersey?s youth are also banned as of July 1.
• Wyoming residents can finally take part in the lottery, leaving only a few states that do not offer the big prize drawing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/2e0c01d5/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A70C0A10C1923310A60Enew0Elaws0Egreat0Eand0Esmall0Ehit0Ethe0Ebooks0Dlite/story01.htm

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Obama to announce new power initiative for Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Sunday will announce a new initiative to double access to electric power in sub-Saharan Africa, part of his effort to build on the legacy of equality and opportunity forged by his personal hero, Nelson Mandela.

Obama, who flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town Sunday, will pay tribute to the ailing 94-year-old Mandela throughout the day. The president and his family will visit Robben Island, where the anti-apartheid leader spent 18 years confined to a tiny cell, then deliver a speech at the University of Cape Town that will be infused with memories of Mandela.

During that address, Obama will unveil the "Power Africa" initiative, which includes an initial $7 billion investment from the United States over the next five years. Private companies, including General Electric and Symbion Power, are making an additional $9 billion in commitments with the goal of providing power to millions of Africans crippled by a lack of electricity.

Gayle Smith, Obama's senior director for development and democracy, said more than two-thirds of people living in Sub-Saharan African do not have electricity, including 85 percent of those living in rural areas.

"If you want lights so kids can study at night or you can maintain vaccines in a cold chain, you don't have that, so going the extra mile to reach people is more difficult," Smith said.

Obama will also highlight U.S. efforts to bolster access to food and health programs on the continent. His advisers said the president sees reducing the poverty and illness that plague many parts of Africa as an extension of Mandela's example of how change can happen within countries.

The former South African president has been hospitalized in critical condition for three weeks. Obama met Saturday with members of Mandela's family, but did not visit the anti-apartheid icon in the hospital, a decision the White House said was in keeping with his family's wishes.

Obama's weeklong trip, which opened in Senegal and closes later this week in Tanzania, marks his most significant trip to the continent since taking office. His scant personal engagement has come as a disappointment to some in the region, who had high hopes for a man whose father was from Kenya.

Obama has visited Robben Island before as a U.S. senator. But since being elected as the first black American president, Obama has drawn inevitable comparisons to Mandela, making Sunday's visit particularly poignant.

The president said he's also eager to bring his family with him to the prison to teach them about Mandela's role in overcoming white racist rule, first as an activist and later as a president who forged a unity government with his former captors.

He told reporters Saturday he to "help them to understand not only how those lessons apply to their own lives but also to their responsibilities in the future as citizens of the world, that's a great privilege and a great honor."

Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Mandela's vision was always going to feature prominently in the speech. But the former South African leader's deteriorating health "certainly puts a finer point on just how much we can't take for granted what Nelson Mandela did."

Harkening back to a prominent theme from his 2009 speech in Ghana ? his only other trip to Africa as president ? Obama will emphasize that Africans must take much of the responsibility for finishing the work started by Mandela and his contemporaries.

"The progress that Africa has made opens new doors, but frankly, it's up to the leaders in Africa and particularly young people to make sure that they're walking through those doors of opportunity," Rhodes said.

Obama will speak at the University of Cape Town nearly 50 years after Robert F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech from the school. Kennedy spoke in Cape Town two years after Mandela was sentenced to life in prison.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announce-power-initiative-africa-085714963.html

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