THE creator of a calendar featuring buff Mormon missionaries has been excommunicated as punishment by local church leaders.

Chad Hardy said he bore no ill will toward the council of elders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over his punishment.

"I felt like I spoke my truth,'' the 31-year-old entertainment entrepreneur said after the disciplinary meeting in Las Vegas.

"Bottom-line, they still felt the calendar is inappropriate and not the image that the church wants to have,'' the Associated Press reported.

Men on a Mission, which has sold nearly 10,000 copies, features pictures of 12 returned missionaries wearing trousers but not their trademark white shirts.

The men are photographed in traditional missionary garb and share their religious beliefs in biographical sketches.

Some of the 12 featured have also been called to disciplinary meetings but have been punished.

Frank Davie, the senior leader of a group of Mormon congregations in the Las Vegas area, confirmed the 12-member council's decision to the AP.

Mr Hardy said the purpose of the 2008 calendar was not to tear down the church or its 13 million members.

"The project is about stepping outside the stereotypes and stepping outside of the image,'' he said.

"Not everybody fits the image and I let them know we're not trying to portray an image for the entire church.''

Source: News.com.au

The American flag has many labels: Stars and stripes. Old Glory. And sometimes, made in China.

Congress can't halt the flow of Chinese-made flags, but lawmakers can try to control where they are flown. The House declared Monday that any flag flown on federal property should be made in the U.S.A.

"It's not a major problem facing the nation," admitted Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif. "But it's an irritant."

Chinese-made flags seemed to pop up everywhere after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. People rushed to show their sense of patriotism by buying American flags, and U.S. manufacturers couldn't keep up with demand.

Foreign imports of American flags, worth around $1 million annually at the time, surged to nearly $52 million in the weeks that followed.

Then as demand subsided, lawmakers took action, requiring the Defense Department to buy American-made textiles and the Veterans Affairs Department to use American-made flags for burials.

And in the city where Congress meets, only U.S.-made flags fly over the nation's Capitol.

Still, more than 8,000 other federal buildings — courthouses, post offices, border stations, office buildings, among others — are under no such obligation.




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Oakland Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker was found unconscious on a Las Vegas street early Monday morning, the apparent victim of a robbery.

The police report of the incident says that officers responded to a report of a downed man at Winnick Avenue and Koval Lane in Las Vegas at approximately 7:19 a.m. local time.

They found an unconscious male, who was then transported to Sunrise Hospital with "significant injuries." Walker remained hospitalized on Monday night.

Las Vegas television station KTNV confirmed that the Walker listed in the police report was indeed the professional football player.


It was probably someone from his own team.

LMFAO

or it could have been someone from the Bengals