Monday, 3 May 2010

More Child Abuse

See the next generation of USA scientists being educated!!

Monday, 26 April 2010

Homework for Ratzi in the UK

Launch of 'Benedict' condoms


Review of Vatican attitude on condom use

Bless a civil partnership

Reversal of policy on women bishops/ordain woman

Open an abortion ward

Speech on equality

Statemen on views over adoption (change of stance)

Training course for all bishops on child abuse allegations

Harder line on child abuse—announce sacking of dodgy bishops

Vatican sponsorship for network of AIDS clinics

Meet young unemployed people

Apologize for… …

Canonise/pseudo canonise a group

Announce whistle blowing system for child abuse cases

Go to job centre

Debate on abortion

All catholic schools should be free entry to all

Speech on democracy

Vatican and C of E funded committee on dialogue

Launch helpline for abused children

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Frustrate the Mormons

PZ Myers using the hundreds of thousands who read his Pharyngula blog, is trying to frustrate a Mormon campagn to have a Mormon video toprated on youtube -see here to help
International campaign to Frustrate Mormons

Mormon campaign co-ordinated on facebook

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Clever Crows with Tools!

New Caledonian crows have been observed using three tools in succession in order to obtain a treat, scientists say. Fantastic video!
Clever Crows

Sunday, 18 April 2010

Hey you forgot about me!

Arrest the Pope!

Here's a video of Christopher Hitchens speaking to US news channel MSNBC about what he sees as the legal case against Pope Benedict XVI. (Found via RichardDawkins.net)



Thursday, 15 April 2010

SIMON SINGH IS SINGING

Great News for science and free speech - British Chiropractic Assn. admit defeat vs Simon Singh

TIMES ONLINE
Jack of Kent blog

He said he would be pursuing the BCA for his legal costs. “The issue of costs is still outstanding. I suppose it will cost the BCA upward of £300,000, and I want to make sure they end up paying my legal costs, which will be over £100,000. It could be that I don’t get that money back: that explains why people don’t fight libel cases.”
We still need to get Libel Reform so if you haven't signed the petition
sign here - it's now over 50,000

Sunday, 11 April 2010

Never trust a Murdoch paper!

quoting Richard Dawkins from here
Needless to say, I did NOT say "I will arrest Pope Benedict XVI" or anything so personally grandiloquent. You have to remember that The Sunday Times is a Murdoch newspaper, and that all newspapers follow the odd custom of entrusting headlines to a sub-editor, not the author of the article itself.

Friday, 9 April 2010

Vote for the Ulster Museum!

A single award of £100,000 is presented to a museum or gallery whose entry, in the opinion of the judges, best meets the Prize criteria through a project completed or mainly undertaken in the previous calendar year.
Click here for more about the prize and vote
The're in second place at the moment!

Tuesday, 6 April 2010

New blasphemous art exhibition opens in Dublin

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From atheist.ie
A new art exhibition titled Blasphemous opened (appropriately) on Good Friday in the Irish Museum of Contemporary Art (IMOCA) in Lad Lane, off Baggott Street, Dublin 2. It’s the second art exhibition to highlight and challenge the new Irish blasphemy law, which became active on 1st January 2010.

Since then, the Irish Justice Minister has responded to the campaign against the law by saying that he will propose a referendum, later this year, to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Irish Constitution, thus enabling the blasphemy law to be repealed.

This makes the new exhibition in IMOCA not just a challenge to the blasphemy law, but also a celebration of artistic freedom, and freedom of expression generally. The exhibition runs until 25 April and is open from 12 noon to 5 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment through contacting IMOCA.






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Monday, 5 April 2010

The State is beginning to see the merits of the humanist perspective, writes DICK SPICER

Irish Times Mon, Apr 05, 2010

Dick Spicer is chairman of the Humanist Association of Ireland

EQUALITY AND parity of esteem for the non-religious community is being achieved – but at a pace so slow it can sometimes evoke justifiable impatience. On the other hand, it is important to balance this disappointing rate of progress against the backdrop of the more pressing efforts of the State over the past couple of years to avoid national bankruptcy.

That said, however, the State and its institutions have made significant beginnings in areas requiring reform. Those registering progress are education, health and law reform. Of these, the key problematic area in our State has long been securing the rights of children in primary education.

Thursday, 1 April 2010

The Simon Singh Song



Sciencefilms — 22 March 2010 — Support libel reform and sign up at www.libelreform.org/sign

Ariane Sherine sings 'The Simon Singh Song" backstage at the Big Libel Gig, 14 March 2010. Find out why Ariane and 40,000 others are backing libel law reform.

Update - 2:30pm
Simon has won the right to rely on the defence of fair comment in the libel action, in a landmark ruling at the Court of Appeal.
see here

Shakespeare in the Psikhushkas

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This is an advance review by Brian McClinton to be published in the May/June edition of Humanism Ireland

Contested Will • James Shapiro • 2010 • Faber • 367pp • £20

DELIA BACON, the 19th century American bluestocking who believed that Shakespeare was written by a group led by Francis Bacon, eventually went mad. The founder of the Oxfordian authorship theory was a man called Looney. And, according to most literary scholars, anyone who doubts that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare is probably more or less insane. The whole notion, it is said, belongs in the manic realm of flat-earthers, Princess Di conspirators and holocaust deniers.

In the Soviet Union dissidents were sent to psychiatric hospitals called psikhushkas because the authorities were afraid that the people might listen to them. In the ‘free’ west there is no need of psikhushkas for dissidents because derision and indifference are more effective in stifling their opinions.

Saturday, 27 March 2010

My vote sorted!




No - I will attend the poll - even if it's just to spoil my vote!

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Thursday, 25 March 2010

Trick or Treat?

Atheists in the Pulpit

In a new study co-authored by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola and funded by Tufts University preachers open up on their non-belief

“I went to college thinking Adam and Eve were real people. And I can remember really wrestling with that when my Old Testament professor was pointing out the obvious myths and how they came to be. And I kind of joked at the time that I prayed my way all the way to atheism. Because in the early days, it was wrestling with God; praying to God.”
continue reading the  Fascinating report here - pdf

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Friday, 19 March 2010

Ireland to have referendum on blasphemy

Ahern, who was criticised for increasing the fine for blasphemy to €25,000 last year, said he never regarded the provision in the new Defamation Bill as anything more than a short-term solution. “There was a lot of nonsense about that blasphemy issue and people making me out to be a complete right-winger at the time,” he said. “There was an incredibly sophisticated campaign [against me], mainly on the internet. I was only doing my duty in relation to it, because clearly it is in the constitution. The attorney general said ‘there is this absolute, mandatory thing… it is an offence, punishable by law.” A final decision on a blasphemy referendum rests with the cabinet, but if Ahern remains justice minister after this month’s reshuffle, he is likely to propose that it be added to the autumn list. The government is already committed to referendums on children’s rights and establishing a permanent court of civil appeal.
Let's have another look..........


Sunday, 28 February 2010

PZ Myers on Sunday Sequence

William Crawley has eventually broadcast the interview with PZ Myers recorded when he recently visited Ireland -
 listen to it here

Read PZ's blog

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

From our sponsor

If you are in Ireland watch this at your peril!

Monday, 8 February 2010

Visit the Blasphemy Exhibition in the Oonagh Young Gallery



The blasphemy exhibition in the Oonagh Young Gallery continues until Saturday 27 February, and is open from 12 to 6pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s a fascinating show, and well worth a visit.
Oonagh Young Gallery
1 James Joyce Street
Liberty Corner
Dublin 1