All entries by this author

One hand is enough

Sep 19th, 2011 2:08 pm | By

It doesn’t matter what you believe. The important thing is how you live.

An Islamic sharia court in Nigeria has sentenced two men to amputation at their right wrists for stealing a bull, with the amputation to be carried out in
public if it is given final approval.

The sharia court in the village of Nassarawan Mailayi in the northern state
of Zamfara on Thursday ordered that Auwalu Abubaka, 23, and Lawalli Musa, 22,
have their right hands chopped off for stealing a bull worth 130,000 naira
($867, 628 euros).

… Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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Sharia court in Nigeria sentences two to amputation *

Sep 19th, 2011 | Filed by

The sharia court in Zamfara state ordered that Auwalu Abubaka, 23, and Lawalli Musa, 22, have
their right hands chopped off for stealing a bull.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Don’t think, just live

Sep 19th, 2011 12:19 pm | By

Via PZ, I find the latest iteration of John Gray’s world-weary anti-liberal schtick.

Most of it is the familiar Armstrongesque “religion is not belief it’s practice.” Silly atheists are barking up the wrong hydrant trying to say the beliefs are all eyewash because the beliefs don’t matter so ha. Art and poetry aren’t about establishing facts and religion is like that so ha. Myths aren’t silly and wrong, they’re great stories, except the one about science being a good thing, which is silly and wrong because humanity isn’t marching anywhere because it forgot to bring its boots so ha. You know the kind of thing.

Human beings don’t live by argumentation, and it’s only religious
fundamentalists and ignorant

… Read the rest

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Teach evolution, not creationism! *

Sep 19th, 2011 | Filed by

Creationism and ‘intelligent design’ are not scientific theories, but they are portrayed as such by some fundamentalists who try to have their views promoted in publicly-funded schools.… Read the rest

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Scientists want tougher guidelines on creationism in schools *

Sep 19th, 2011 | Filed by

A group of 30 UK scientists have signed a statement saying it is “unacceptable” to teach creationism and intelligent design, whether it happens in science lessons or not.… Read the rest

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With X at the center

Sep 19th, 2011 10:04 am | By

A non sequitur.

Led by the biologist Richard Dawkins, the author of “The God Delusion,” atheism has taken on a new life in popular religious debate. Dawkins’s brand of atheism is scientific in that it views the “God hypothesis” as obviously inadequate to the known facts. In particular, he employs the facts of evolution to challenge the need to postulate God as the designer of the universe. For atheists like Dawkins, belief in God is an intellectual mistake, and honest thinkers need simply to recognize this and move on from the silliness and abuses associated with religion.

Most believers, however, do not come to religion through philosophical arguments. Rather, their belief arises from their personal experiences of a spiritual

… Read the rest

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Is the Australian Christian Lobby dominionist? *

Sep 19th, 2011 | Filed by

Dominionism has already made huge inroads into every aspect of American government and society and is now spreading its tentacles across a number of third-world countries.… Read the rest

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Yet another “beyond ‘new’ atheism” *

Sep 19th, 2011 | Filed by

“Mere liberation from theism is not enough.” Well no kidding.… Read the rest

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New ex-Muslims tell their stories

Sep 18th, 2011 5:01 pm | By

Read them.

Lastly, I discovered the beauties of Science That really opened my mind to new possibilities. There was just so much wonder in the world that Islam seemed too petty and small.  Why would Allah who creates the Universe worry about little things us humans do? Surely he has better things to do, and don’t tell me he watches over us because he cares for us and loves us. Have you read the Quran? If anything, Allah hates us considering the only ability he has shown in the Quran is the ability to find any excuse to torture you and bring you pain.  Islam seemed to diminish the beauty of the Universe by teaching that you are born

… Read the rest

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Steven Pinker argues humans are becoming less violent *

Sep 18th, 2011 | Filed by

Pinker shows that, with notable exceptions, the long-term trend for murder and violence has been going down since humans developed agriculture 10,000 years ago.… Read the rest

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Which twin has the Toni?

Sep 18th, 2011 3:28 pm | By

Now it’s time for an ironic juxtaposition. Are you ready?

First, from Vision Forum -

Housewives Desperate for God

 

Next, from lawyer-turned-designer Duncan Quinn -

 

… Read the rest

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Good girls don’t

Sep 18th, 2011 3:14 pm | By

They laughed when I pointed out that Laundry Girl’s mouth and lower face were hidden (artistically) by her pile of laundry.

Well…

Coincidence? I think not!… Read the rest

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Dramatic interlude

Sep 18th, 2011 12:40 pm | By

I’m reading Patricia Churchland’s Braintrust, with much interest and profit.

There’s a great bit at the beginning of chapter 6, “Skills for a Social Life.”

The social world and its awesome complexity has long been the focus of performances – informally in improvised skits around the campfire, and more formally, in elaborate productions by professionals on massive stages. Among the cast of characters in a play, there is inevitably a wide variation in social intelligence, sometimes with a tragic end, as in King Lear. [p 118]

I love that, because it’s not always noticed enough that much of Lear’s problem is that he’s just stupid. He’s stupid in the way that people who have too much status and flattery … Read the rest

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We wanted to do a bruised-up Barbie shoot

Sep 18th, 2011 12:05 pm | By

Commenter Grace pointed out an interesting fashion shoot by the photographer Tyler Shields…

Amusing, eh?

“Even Barbie gets bruises,” writes Shields on his blog, where he’s hawking 100 limited edition prints from the shoot.

More shocking than the photos’ light-hearted depiction of domestic violence, is the de ja vu factor. Haven’t we seen this before, like, a lot? Only a few weeks ago, we were talking about a Salon ad with a photo of a bruised model. And before that, a handful of high fashion campaigns featuring women being beaten, bruised, and impaled. Domestic violence, it seems, has become the surefire way to get your fashion spread to stand out.

“In no way were we promoting domestic violence,”

… Read the rest

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Dexter Filkins on the murder of Saleem Shahzad *

Sep 18th, 2011 | Filed by

Only a few other journalists had written as aggressively about Islamist  extremism in the military, and not all of them had survived.… Read the rest

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The New Yorker offers God’s blog commenters *

Sep 18th, 2011 | Filed by

A month old but funny.… Read the rest

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Lawyer gets rich off “persecuted Christian” suits *

Sep 18th, 2011 | Filed by

The crusade against secularism pays well.… Read the rest

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The minister for the menz

Sep 17th, 2011 11:52 am | By

Amity Reed at The F-Word and Cath Elliott have been finding out more about our new friend and regular commenter MRA Tom Martin.

Reed pointed out a Twitter account of his, Min4Men. One striking tweet is

MIN4MENThe Missing Minister

All Muslim women are whores, as The Holy Whoran says men MUST provide for women. If you’re a woman WITH a job, then you’re NOT a true muslim

15 MarFavoriteRetweetReply

Elliott found a lot of material, including a lengthy ad for a would-be comedy group seeking members -

Over the next three months, we are mounting a street-based campaign, in conjunction with a website, to raise awareness and fighting funds, to help a man

… Read the rest

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Ben Goldacre on detecting dodgy stats *

Sep 17th, 2011 | Filed by

Forensic statisticians have ways of spotting suspicious patterns in the raw numbers, thus estimating the chances that figures from a set of accounts have been fiddled.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Tom Martin, LSE, and the Missing Minister *

Sep 17th, 2011 | Filed by

He has been busy.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News