How you can help firefighting and disaster relief efforts in Washington State http://www.tricityfreethinkers.org/2015/08/how-you-can-help-firefighting-and-disaster-relief-efforts-in-washington-state/ Some you may have noticed that most of Eastern Washington is on fire. We may joke a lot about that area, but this is serious situation. The Tri-city freethinkers are asking that any physically fit person with some experience in disasters contact them. If you are able and willing to go help, send an email to jennifer@tricityfreethinkers.org to be put in touch with this volunteer. You can donate $10 by texting “redcross” to 90999. For more information on how to donate to or volunteer with Red Cross, visit http://www.redcross.org/support. California: Land Purchase Saves Veterans’ Memorial Cross in San Diego http://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/california-land-purchase-saves-veterans-memorial-cross-san-diego A 27-foot-tall cross, positioned on top of Mount Soledad in San Diego’s La Jolla neighborhood, which served as a veterans’ memorial, is no longer threatened with being removed, after the half acre property on which it is perched, worth $1.4 million, was recently sold to a private group called Mount Soledad Memorial Association. The completion of the sale makes the group, which has maintained the property since 1954, its sole decision-maker for the first time in its history. WARNER BROS. HEADS TO THE COSMOS WITH CARL SAGAN BIOPIC http://www.tracking-board.com/tb-exclusive-warner-bros-heads-to-the-cosmos-with-carl-sagan-biopic/ Warner Bros. is developing a biopic about astronomer Carl Sagan, with his widow, Ann Druyan, among the producers. No plot details have been revealed, though Zach Dean (Deadfall) has been announced as the film’s screenwriter. Sagan was a best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and in addition to his scientific work he is also known as co-creator and host of the 1980 public television series Cosmos. That show was revamped into an Emmy-winning updated series in 2014, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Victoria (Australia) Finally Scraps Religious Indoctrination Classes from State School Curriculums http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/08/20/victoria-australia-finally-scraps-religious-indoctrination-classes-from-state-school-curriculums/ Australian public schools have been offering “special religious instruction”. The intention was to expose children to different religions. However in most cases it exclusively Christian. IN one case they used a worksheet to find hidden letters that spell out the name Jesus. According to Fairness in Religions In Schools, http://religionsinschool.com/cre-curriculum/vic/, whose mission is to provide an “inclusive school curriculum” in the SRI instruction and to stop evangelizing during class, many programs not only ignored non-christian religions but also actively evanalized to the kids. Victorian schools will scrap special religious instruction from class time, with changes to the state’s curriculum throwing the future of the controversial program in doubt. The Andrews government has ordered that the weekly 30 minute program move to lunchtime and before and after school in 2016 to make way for new content on world histories, cultures, faiths and ethics. "Extracurricular programs should not interfere with class time when teachers and students should be focused on the core curriculum," the government said in a statement. Federal prisons agree to recognize humanism as religion http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20150727/NEWS03/150729102/1035/Federal-prisons-agree-to-recognize-humanism-as-religion