Be Quieters v atheists

Apr 25th, 2010 12:36 pm | By

It reminds me of the old Bugs Bunny line – “Of course you know, this means war.”

This means war. The grotesque punishment meted out to Harry Taylor might as well be an official government announcement that atheists have no rights.

It is a common accusation that the “new” atheists are bullies who gang up on poor innocent bystanders like Mooney and De Dora and other Be Quieters.

Well – not so fast. Let’s pause and consider. Who exactly is bullying whom?

Which is the majoritarian view? Which is the conventional wisdom? Atheism? Hardly. No, the majoritarian conventional wisdom is, at the very least, that religion deserves an almost infinite amount of “respect” and that any atheist who falls short … Read the rest

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It’s even more of an outrage than I thought

Apr 25th, 2010 11:47 am | By

Manic street preacher reports that

Mr Taylor seemed like a perfectly rational, intelligent and calm man who wanted to put his point across and was certainly not the “crackpot” that several bloggers, including myself to an extent, had presumed him to be. He was clearly still deeply affected by his horrendous childhood experiences of a strict Catholic upbringing by the Christian Brotherhood and was so distressed by the prospect of receiving a custodial sentence that he had to leave the courtroom midway through the hearing after nearly fainting.

He also quotes the Telegraph with more and even nastier details:

Judge James told him: “Not only have you shown no remorse for what you did but even now you continue to

… Read the rest

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Put out an APB for Cardinal Bernard Law

Apr 25th, 2010 11:09 am | By

Hitchens gently suggests that the pope should be questioned like anyone else.

His apologists have done their best, but their Holy Father seems consistently to have been lenient or negligent with the criminals while reserving his severity only for those who complained about them.

As this became horribly obvious, I telephoned a distinguished human-rights counsel in London, Geoffrey Robertson, and asked him if the law was powerless to intervene. Not at all, was his calm reply. If His Holiness tries to travel outside his own territory—as he proposes to travel to Britain in the fall—there is no more reason for him to feel safe than there was for the once magnificently uniformed General Pinochet, who had passed a Chilean law

… Read the rest

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Masons bring down innocent Catholic church

Apr 25th, 2010 10:50 am | By

It gets crazier and crazier every day. Now a Colombian Cardinal tells us what’s what.

A senior cardinal defended the Roman Catholic Church’s practice of frequently not reporting sexual abusive priests to the police, saying Thursday it would have been like testifying against a family member at trial…

“The law in nations with a well-developed judiciary does not force anyone to testify against a child, a father, against other people close to the suspect,” Castrillon told RCN radio. “Why would they ask that of the church? That’s the injustice. It’s not about defending a pedophile, it’s about defending the dignity and the human rights of a person, even the worst of criminals.”

The cardinal seems to be confused. The … Read the rest

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Colombia: cardinal defends church secrecy *

Apr 25th, 2010 | Filed by

Reporting rapist priests to the police would have been like testifying against a family member.… Read the rest

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Legal victory raises profile of Gaylor and FFRF *

Apr 25th, 2010 | Filed by

‘Society is becoming more secularized. It’s becoming acceptable to be atheist and agnostic. And there are more of us.’… Read the rest

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Foreign office apologizes to Vatican *

Apr 25th, 2010 | Filed by

Facetious memo suggested pope should do something useful; FO cites disrespect, grovels.… Read the rest

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Ben Goldacre on evidence-based voting *

Apr 25th, 2010 | Filed by

Alongside the science of individual claims, it’s also worth looking at what the parties say about science itself.… Read the rest

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My magisterium is bigger than yours

Apr 24th, 2010 5:04 pm | By

As is well known, Stephen Jay Gould offered ‘the principled resolution of supposed “conflict” or “warfare” between science and religion’ in his short book Rocks of Ages.

No such conflict should exist because each subject has a legitimate magisterium, or domain of teaching authority—and these magisteria do not overlap (the principle that I would like to designate as NOMA, or “nonoverlapping magisteria”).

The net of science covers the empirical universe: what is it made of (fact) and why does it work this way (theory). The net of religion extends over questions of moral meaning and value. These two magisteria do not overlap, nor do they encompass all inquiry (consider, for starters, the magisterium of art and the meaning of

… Read the rest

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Mo is upset about the bear costume *

Apr 24th, 2010 | Filed by

Well Mo, it is South Park after all, not the prayer room at Liverpool Airport.… Read the rest

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It’s an outrage

Apr 24th, 2010 11:38 am | By

Harry Taylor left some religion-mocking leaflets and cartoons in a “prayer room” at Liverpool airport. (Why does Liverpool airport have a “prayer room”?) For that he was charged with “three counts of causing religiously aggravated harassment” and convicted by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court. He was given a suspended six-month sentence and an Asbo forbidding him to carry anti-religious leaflets in public.

One of the posters Taylor left at the airport depicted a smiling crucified Christ next to an advert for a brand of “no nails” glue. In another, a cartoon depicted two Muslims holding a placard demanding equality with the caption: “Not for women or gays, obviously.” A third poster showed Islamic suicide bombers at the gates

… Read the rest

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Andrew Brown on a particular kind of ‘faith’ in politics *

Apr 24th, 2010 | Filed by

You can’t have large-scale voluntary action without faith: a combination of self-discipline and hope in an uncertain future state.… Read the rest

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Jon Stewart is like Media Matters, but funnier *

Apr 24th, 2010 | Filed by

He criticizes Fox News a lot because it is “truly a terrible, cynical, disingenuous news organization.” … Read the rest

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Suspended sentence and Asbo for mocking religion *

Apr 24th, 2010 | Filed by

Harry Taylor was convicted of “religiously aggravated harassment” for putting religion-teasing leaflets in an airport “prayer room.”… Read the rest

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Susan Jacoby on Dorothy Height *

Apr 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

She didn’t choose to be out of the limelight, she was shoved there.… Read the rest

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Teacher Oluwatoyin Oluseesin murdered by students *

Apr 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

She confiscated some books to prevent cheating, and was beaten to death because one was the Koran.… Read the rest

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Akwa-Ibom Child Witches *

Apr 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

Yemi Ademowo Johnson would like to be able to close down refuges for children accused of witchcraft. Alas, not yet.… Read the rest

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The law simply acknowledges

Apr 23rd, 2010 12:39 pm | By

And what business does the Obama administration have appealing the ruling that the “National Prayer Day” is unconstitutional? Yes I know they are under pressure from Fox News, but that’s going to be the case no matter what they do, and they weren’t elected to jump when Fox says jump.

Crabb ruled the government could not use its authority to try to influence when and whether individuals pray, writing: “In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”…

The administration had argued the law simply acknowledges the role of religion in the United States.

What is that supposed to mean? And how can a law merely “acknowledge” something? And even … Read the rest

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Secular Coalition for America Calls Upon Pentagon to Cancel ‘Christian-Themed’ Event

Apr 23rd, 2010 | By Secular Coalition for America

The Pentagon should respect the constitutional separation of church and state and cancel a planned National Day of Prayer event, particularly in light of its recent labeling as a “Christian-themed event” by an Army spokesman, the Secular Coalition for America said today. The Pentagon should also sever all operational ties to the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a radical right wing organization headed by the wife of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, and housed in Focus on the Family’s headquarters.

“It is bad enough that the administration is going ahead with an observance of the National Day of Prayer, correctly ruled unconstitutional by the courts only last week. But for the Pentagon to hold an explicitly ‘Christian-themed event’ … Read the rest

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Obama admin will appeal Prayer Day ruling *

Apr 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

“I would have expected something better from a legal scholar,” FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said.… Read the rest

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