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"We live in a fascinating, beautiful and, let's face it, dangerous enough universe without complicating matters with gobbledegook."
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THE VIEW FROM
NUMBER 80 |
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Given the dynamic nature of the web it is possible that some of the sites that were live when last visited have gone the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon. This is sadly beyond 80's control and your forbearance is requested. (Tip - a search for cached versions of missing sites is often productive using either Google or The Internet Archive Way Back Machine.)
Jesus Aliens Robosnakes
Dec 99 more to
follow - eventually
Backwards Glances 2002
Backwards Glances 2003 part 3 Backwards Glances 2004 part 1 January 7th to March 31st Backwards Glances 2004 part 2 April 3rd to May 30th Backwards Glances 2004 part 3 June 1st to July 31st Backwards Glances 2004 part 4 Aug 2nd to Sept 30th Backwards Glances 2004 part 5 Oct 1st to Dec 30th Backwards Glances 2005 part 1 Jan 1st to Feb 14th Backwards Glances 2005 part 2 Feb 15th to March 31st Backwards Glances 2005 part 3 April 1st to July 30th Backwards Glances 2005 part 4 July 1st to Sept 30th Backwards Glances 2005 part 5 Oct 1st to Dec 31st Backwards Glances 2006 part 1 Jan 7th to Mar 14th Backwards Glances 2006 part 2 Mar16th to May 15th Backwards Glances 2006 part 3 June 19th to Dec 24th Backward Glances 2007 part 1 Jan 6th to May 16th Backwards Glances 2007 part 2 May 19th to Aug 20th Backwards Glances 2007 part 3 Sept 5th to Dec 21st Backwards Glances 2008 part 1 Jan 6th to May 1st Backwards Glances 2008 part 2 May 6th - Sept 16th Backwards Glances 2008 part 3 Sept 4th to Dec 27th Backwards Glances 2009 part 1 Jan 17th to ... A word of warning - owing to the Glance's attempted topicality some of the links below may be even more ephemeral than usual. (Tip - a search for cached versions of missing sites is often productive using either Google or The Internet Archive Way Back Machine.) These are large pages and may be a little slow to load depending on your internet connection. SITE SEARCH
LINKS PAGE (the above is seriously out of date) BAD ARCHAEOLOGY COMMITTEE FOR SKEPTICAL INQUIRY (formerly CSICOP) SWIFT - JAMES RANDI'S EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION BLOG the user manual for your brain, in comic-form Space News Historical Jesus or Jesus Myth: The Jesus Puzzle
The European Human Rights Centre (EHRC)
represents over 100 non-governmental and other not-for-profit
organisations interested in the promotion of Human Rights throughout
Europe and beyond
IS
THERE A GOD?
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Why Number 80? This is a question that
arises often (well, twice) and refers to the reason for the name of this
site, rather than "why bother?" - to save searching
here
is the lowdown on Number 80 - so now
you know............. |
Old issues of the original newsletter, Past Views, are archived in the sidebar and run from December 1999 to May 2005. Below you will find the current content which is also archived in the sidebar under, unsurprisingly, Number 80 Archive. The email link at the bottom of the page is for feedback and comment if you think it may help. If you place a link to Number 80 on your own website could you please link to this homepage - thanks. You can now search this site here. Faith-Based News - check out Faith-Based News, a collection of links to news and comment reflecting the influence of religion/superstition/pseudoscience/irrational beliefs (this now includes so-called "alternative medicine") around the globe, with some occasional observations and asides. Doubly Unclean - a while back 80 speculated as to whether a devout Muslim (or Jew, for that matter) would feel defiled if they caught swine 'flu. Not only would they have contracted a possibly fatal illness but also they, albeit unwittingly, would have broken their religion's porcine taboo as well. That "unwittingly" won't let them off either, Yahweh and Allah, originally a storm god and a moon god respectively, are not exactly known for being reasonable. The organizers of the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to the birthplace of that Arabian religion, Mecca, expect a possible 4 million attendees this year and obviously many of them will be infected, even if they exhibit no obvious symptoms. Saudi health officials have sensibly requested that "The elderly, young, infirm and pregnant should stay away from this year's hajj..." Also fever detecting cameras will be installed at the main airport in Jeddah. In addition pilgrims are being asked "...to cover their noses when sneezing, cough into tissues and wash their hands with soap." All very sensible precautions but one is given to wonder why the god at the center of all the ballyhoo let swine 'flu exist in the first place. But then 80 never could understand the finer points of theology. Come to think of it, 80 never found any point to theology in the first place... "Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing." H.L. Mencken "Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn’t there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything." Robert A Heinlein CSI Vatican - taking advantage of the current media fascination with forensic investigations Pope Ratzinger has revealed his own astounding skill. The pontiff (and ex-Luftwaffe flak gunner) recently stunned the world with his ability to identify the owner of bones almost 2000 years old. Using only the flimsiest of evidence the man formerly known as the Panzer Kardinal was able to state with absolute certainty that "...small fragments of bone" glimpsed by experts who inserted an optic fiber probe into an unopened tomb belonged to one Paul, a misogynist religious fanatic and tent-maker revered by Ratzinger's own death cult. Rumors now abound that the pontiff has been offered a 26-part TV series with CBS tentatively named Ratzi, Relic Hunter. A spokesman said the Pope was unlikely to take up the offer as he was busy full time with his other activities which include lying about the efficacy of condoms in fighting the spread of HIV AIDS and covering-up child abuse cases. What a loss to the entertainment world.... Mooning Over
Apollo - expect over the next few weeks a barrage of stories and
TV shows commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landings.
The Guardian has been quick off the mark with several features,
including a page
debunking the moronic
Moon Landings hoax. It does a fairly good job but the
best example
out there is from Phil Plait, of Bad Astronomy. He thoroughly shreds the
so-called evidence offered of a hoax in the Fox TV "documentary" called
"Conspiracy Theory: Did
We Land on the Moon?" Of course the more rabidly offensive moon
conspiracy theorists will never be convinced of the truth and for those
80 endorses the Buzz Aldrin response, a
bunch of fives...
(Mind you, this
is pretty damn funny)
"The introduction of sharia law into this country is a recipe for a dichotomous legal system that holds Muslims and non-Muslims to different standards. This is not a matter of eating halal meat or seeking God's blessing on one's marriage. It is a challenge to what we believe to be the rights and freedoms of the individual, to our concept of a legal system based on what parliament enacts, and to the right of all of us to live in a society as free as possible from ethnic-religious division or communal claims to superiority and a special status that puts them in some respects above the law to which we are all bound." Denis MacEoin, Civitas press release Shameful Sharia Shambles - my, what a surprise. Thinktank Civitas has released a report which finds that "Sharia courts should not be recognised under Britain's 1996 Arbitration Act". We are told that "According to Denis MacEoin, author of Sharia Law or 'One Law For All'?, sharia courts operating in Britain may be handing down rulings that are inappropriate to this country because they are linked to elements in Islamic law that are seriously out of step with trends in Western legislation that derive from the values of the Enlightenment and are inherent in modern codes of human rights. Sharia rulings contain great potential for controversy and may involve acts contrary to UK legal norms and human rights legislation." 80 (and countless others) has pointed out before that the treatment of women and girls under this Arab legal system infringes their human rights and has no place in the UK. MacEoin's report also reveals that the number of these courts operating in Britain is not the half dozen or so we thought, but a shocking 85 "...operating largely out of mosques." How the hell has this been allowed to happen? It is another example of the failure of multiculturalism. The people that run these mosques are determined to keep their fellow Muslims ghettoized and ignorant. This country already has a functioning legal system and although it has its faults any fool can see it is infinitely preferable to an arbitrary, misogynist and capricious religious system run solely by men. It seems that while Britain's socialized medicine and benefits systems are acceptable to these people the laws of the country are not. The current law, which allows the use of tribunals for mediation in certain prescribed areas does not permit arbitration, ie judgements handed out by fatwa. It is unlikely many people who have gone before these sharia courts know that they are already covered by the British legal system, or if they do, they have been intimidated into using the Arab system. The chances of a woman going against her husband's or her male relatives' wishes is not likely to happen so patriarchal is Islam. The upshot of this is that there are many citizens of a civilized European country in the 21st century who are subjected to a medieval legal system - a system that has little to do with justice as understood by the majority of the population. The greed and ineptitude of this country's lawmakers has been paraded before us ad nauseam for the last month or so but it is still amazing to find that they have apparently acquiesced in the destruction of Muslim women's human rights. If you feel outraged by this, and you bloody well should, please support the One Law For All campaign. (Also see No to sharia law in Britain by Denis MacEoin and to learn what sharia can be like on the receiving end see Sharia law and me. Here Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain, tries to shoot the messenger rather than address the built-in inequalities of sharia. Shifty is the word that springs to mind) "Under most interpretations of Islam a person who leaves the faith is an apostate who can be put to death. While this threat remains, it cannot be accepted that sharia councils are nothing more than independent arbitrators guided by faith. The reality is that for many Muslims, sharia courts are in practice part of an institutionalised atmosphere of intimidation, backed by the ultimate sanction of a death threat. The underlying problem is that sharia law reflects male-dominated Asian and Arabic cultures. It cannot therefore be accepted as a legally valid basis even for settling private disagreements in a country like ours, where our law embodies the equal legal status of everyone, regardless of race, gender or religion. Our system is based on moral and legal equality or it is nothing. Moreover, further encouragement of sharia law, far from helping integration, will undermine the efforts of British Muslims struggling to evolve a version of Islam consistent with a tolerant and pluralistic society." David Green, Civitas press release
Berks and Burkas - Pat Condell's latest
offering is on
the subject of the burka, that outwardly visible sign of a woman's
subjugation. Such clothing is not a mandatory requirement of Islam but
it says a huge amount about the men who push for its adoption. These
Islamist nitwits reveal two things about themselves, firstly that they
possess no self-control over their libidos and instead of getting a grip
on their own lusts want to blame women for inciting them. The second is,
paradoxically, women scare them shitless. Why do women have a lesser
status than men in Islam? Why do Islamists oppose education for women -
to the extent that in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan they maim
or kill those teachers who do not accept their prohibition? Because the
empowerment and education of women would spell the end of their
patriarchal boy's club in which they get to dictate to others how they
should live. There is something deeply flawed in a religion or culture
that behaves thus. As for the women, often recent converts, who
frequently choose of their own free will to, as Condell puts it, dress
like Darth Vader, they would appear to be in love with the idea of
making a statement by their dress - although the reaction of most
Westerners is pity (and sometimes revulsion) not admiration. The only
message they are sending is that they are deeply sad individuals. (Jesus
and Mo' and their old pal Moses talk
burkas)
Camp Quest UK - the Times reports on a new summer camp for kids that is being backed by Richard Dawkins. The camp is religion-free, leading to inaccurate descriptions of the camp as "atheist". It is a place where all the usual summer camp activities take place but in addition the kids attending will be taught critical thinking skills, something missing from the school curriculum. As one parent said of his children attending the camp, “I’m very keen on not indoctrinating them with religion or creeds. I would rather equip them with the tools to learn how to think, not what to think." Given such a clear mission statement how does the moronic Times sub-editor link the piece on the UK news page? "Dawkins sets up kids camp to groom atheists". Note the emotive use of the word "groom" in connection with kids with its offensive pedophilic connotations. This is not a mistake but a deliberate cheap and nasty jibe by an anonymous little creep on the Times' payroll. The leader page does somewhat better and tries for a humorous perspective on Camp Quest. It even cracks a joke. Pity it's a sad, unfunny one. See here for how Stephen Colbert does it right. (The Camp Quest UK web site is here and the US one here) "Children at Camp Quest aren’t “required” to be atheists. We want to encourage children to think for themselves and to evaluate the world critically and thus draw their own conclusions. However, parents should be aware that we adopt a critical, scientific approach as opposed to a “faith-based” approach. At Camp Quest, children aren’t taught that “There is no god”. Instead, they are taught to come to their own conclusions, but more importantly, that “It’s OK not to believe in a god”." Camp Quest welcome page. Gilbert Deya and a Pain In the Anus - 80 has a question. Why is self-styled Archbishop Gilbert "Miracle Babies" Deya apparently still in the UK rather than before a Kenyan court answering charges of baby-smuggling? Instead of explaining himself to the authorities in Kenya it seems he is still in the UK and operating a TV channel - the Deya Broadcasting Network. The British Home Secretary ordered his extradition in January of last year but it now appears he has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights. About the only good thing to come from his continued presence is that it gave Robert Popper a chance to write a hilarious piece about Deya's TV show, having endured three hours of frenzied and sweaty miracle peddling. Popper's piece may be funny but Deya's unscrupulous claims of healing are not - the gullible are in danger of forgoing real medical treatment for his hysterical nonsense. From Popper's description it is another miracle that this buffoon doesn't drive people away but sadly there seem to be plenty of folk ready to fall for his schtick. Here is Popper's opening paragraph which deserves quoting in full. "If your idea of a pleasant Saturday afternoon is to watch a terrifyingly sweaty man with a voice like a shredding machine shredding another shredding machine, pummel words repeatedly into your face, while captions such as, "She has pain in the anus" flash up on the screen, then you are sitting in my living room right now." Cult Coverage - it is well worth a moment of your time to see this special report from the St Petersburg Times on the Scientology cult, including the low-down on the outfit from "high ranking defectors", with tales of "random whimsical " beatings and a look at the tragic Lisa McPherson story. Fine reporting that deserves as wide a coverage as possible. For more on this deeply sinister cult and its methods see Operation Clambake. (Scientology In A Nutshell) A Cross To Bare - yet more whining over the wearing of magical amulets, in this case a crucifix. As 80 understands it a crucifix differs from a plain cross in that it has a little man nailed to it in a representation of an ancient barbaric method of torture and execution. This vile practice was widely used in the Hellenistic world and the Roman Empire, although Christians often act as though their godman Jesus was the only one to undergo crucifixion. (It can be mildly amusing to point to someone's crucifix and say "My, that's nice. Who is that, Spartacus?") In this instance a Christian hospital worker described as "devout" has been banned from wearing the amulet at work by her health authority employer which claims it could "harbour infection". 80 assumes they mean a physical infection and not a dangerous meme. By the way, the devout label is not necessarily a good thing - remember, the 9/11 suicide-murderers were devout. Rather than accept wearing the magic charm in her pocket as the authority suggested, Helen Slatter has left her job. This shows an exhibitionist tendency on her part (see Look At Me I Am Praying) and also reveals her job to be the main casualty of the infection her amulet carries. The news report also refers to Slatter as a "divorcee" which jars with the description of her as a devout Christian - see Matthew 19:6 in the Christian operating manual. So, to summarize, we have a woman whose need, for whatever reason, to publicly display a magic amulet at her place of work trumps her need for employment. She is devout enough to insist on wearing her amulet, behavior nowhere mentioned in the New Testament, but not so devout as to pay any attention to the NT's unambiguous prohibition on divorce. Is she deserving of sympathy or even admiration for her stance? The rational answer has to be no. A Minor Rant - The Telegraph informs us that "The BBC faces a clash with the Church of England over claims that its new head of religious broadcasting has given preferential treatment to minority faiths. Concerns over the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed, who was poached by the corporation from Channel 4 last month, will be raised in a Church document to be published tomorrow. It calls his move to the BBC a "worrying" development and accuses the corporation of treating religion like "a freak show"" What right does the C of E have to dictate to the Beeb? None. The country is effectively secular and the corporation should reflect this. The BBC already broadcasts more than enough religion. The author of this whining, Nigel Holmes, also says "Religion is higher on the political agenda than ever before and we are crying out for programmes that give a moral view." This high position on the political agenda is not from merit but because other religions have seen how cowardly politicians can be when Islam screams and throws its toys out of the pram. Another reason is the misguided and cynical attempt by government to use religious groups as a kind of cut-price social services and the resultant fuss when these bigots try and opt out of equality legislation. Holmes' assumption that religion provides a moral view is silly - superstition is not required for morality. Anyway, surely it is far better for someone to be moral because it is the right thing to do and not because of threats of divine punishment? Oh, by the way religion is a freak show. Virgin births, talking snakes, flying horses. Freak show. Party Poopers - those Barbie-obsessed weirdoes the Muttawa, the Saudi Arabian religious police, are in the news once more. They busted "...67 Filipino men at a drag party." Perhaps these guardians of public virtue were in a snit as no one had thought to invite them. Tantrik Twaddle - it seems that ol' black magic don't do squat. See here for the story of attempted murder by magic and how it failed on live TV. Hilarious stuff.
Witch Hunt? No Scrutiny? Yes - as predicted by 80 (and plenty of others) the British Chiropractic Association would appear to have scored an own goal by suing science writer Simon Singh for using the word "bogus" in respect to chiropractic's unproven claims of efficacy. The scrutiny the libel case has brought to bear on chiropractic, far from supplying welcome free publicity, has made many folk question the treatments offered. It has also given some chiropractors, in this instance McTimoney Chiropractic Association (MCA), the willies over attracting regulation regarding the unsubstantiated claims for the treatment's efficacy in treating a wide variety of ailments. This article by Chris French (referencing the excellent Quackometer blog) not only gives a synopsis of the Singh case but also tells of the effort to cover its collective arse by the MCA because of a "witch hunt" against its members. In this instance read "witch hunt" to mean long overdue scrutiny and skepticism. It also means enterprising individuals (see Adventures In Nonsense) taking action where chiros' websites go against consumer trading laws and fail to comply with the recent findings of the Advertising Standards Authority by reporting the offenders to Trading Standards. It is to be hoped that the critical attention chiropractic has attracted by its legal action will spill over into other areas of so-called Complementary/Alternative Medicine (sCAM). There is some evidence of this already occurring with homeopathy. There is an additional irony in the chiro's use of the term "witch hunt" - witchcraft doesn't work either. (For further information see Zeno's Blog) Additional - to the above. Do read this most enlightening exchange between blogger Adventures In Nonsense and Chiropractic Life (CL) which illustrates just what a crock chiropractic is and how wilfully ignorant chiropractors are. It would be funny except for the mention of the manipulation of very young children "...since a few hours after birth.." and the very real danger that people will forgo real, evidence-based medical treatment for this hokum with dire consequences for their health. It is noteworthy that Chiropractic Life claims on its site (as of 20th April) that chiropractic care helps with health issues including "...asthma, allergies, infant colic..". Infant colic is also referenced here on a page laughingly titled Looking For Health In All The Wrong Places. As the Advertising Standards Authority puts it "We considered that, whilst some of the studies indicated that further research was worth pursuing, in particular in relation to the chiropractic relief of colic, we had not seen robust clinical evidence to support the claim that chiropractic could treat IBS, colic and learning difficulties."
Telegraph Turns
Tabloid - The Daily Telegraph sinks yet further in its printing
of trivial crap, published without regard to facts or even common sense.
See this
uncritical drivel, printed sans byline, about a "crop circle" shaped
like a phoenix rising from the flames. It is not a crop circle (few of
them are simply circular these days) but an agricultural graphic (AG),
and a finely executed one at that. It is not, as gormlessly reported by
the Telegraph, "...referencing the possibility of a cataclysmic event
occurring on December 21, 2012, which coincides with the end of the
ancient Mayan calendar." This is the sort of answer you get from
asking self-styled "crop circle experts" who parrot New Age gibberish at
the drop of a hat. The reporter, if the writer of this piece of
infantile inanity can be called that, failed to ask anyone with half a
brain cell about the design, let alone inquire after the poor bloody
farmer who is no doubt less than amused by several hundred pounds worth
of damage done to a food crop - not to mention the extra harm inflicted
by "experts" and other dimwits dowsing and trampling about looking for
leylines and other figments of their tawdry imaginations. The paper only
slightly redeems itself by providing an impressive
slideshow of recent AGs. Far more interesting were the crop circles
(more properly crop marks) that have revealed a "...huge prehistoric
ceremonial complex" in Southern England, pre-dating the nearby
Stonehenge by a thousand years. According to the
National Geographic "...the site includes the remains of wooden
temples and two massive, 6,000-year-old tombs..." Such a discovery,
especially in an area already well-studied, is amazing. It makes AGs,
attractive though many of them are, and the nutters who think they are
mystical message to humankind, pale into richly-deserved insignificance.
For more on the find see the
Damerham
Archaeology Project. (80 wrote about AGs back in 2000 - see
The Cereal Artists or Ever Increasing Circles) Update to the above - even the Guardian, the paper that runs Goldacre's Bad Science column has joined the party with a piece on Arnall's rubbish. In fact it goes further in attributing the "happiest day of the year" claptrap to "scientists" as in "According to scientists, today is the happiest day of the year". The article beneath mentions only Arnall - there are no other "scientists". Such uncritical nonsense from national newspapers reveals not only lazy reporting but also an idiot attitude to science effectively reducing coverage of the subject to "My my, look what those crazy boffins are up to now".
Indefensible - Stung by the reaction to the absurd Simon Singh
libel case (see here) Richard Brown, a chiropractor himself and
vice-president of the British Chiropractic Association, has written a
piece for New Scientist called
In Defence Of Chiropractic. Here is an
interesting
riposte from
A canna’ change the laws of physics that
effectively demolishes Brown's poorly-stated arguments. Meanwhile that
other pillar of "faith-based medicine" homeopathy is in the news,
firstly for a
quack nasal spray that could lead to the permanent loss of
the sense of smell and secondly for
a row concerning the UK's Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This bunch have
relaxed proper scrutiny in order to accommodate so-called
Complementary/Alternative Medicine (sCAM). This has resulted in the MHRA
giving a licence to homeopathic pills (Arnica 30c) "...under a scheme
that allows traditional remedies to be sold without proof that they
work." Lucky Escape - the latest addition to the growing group of religious whiners are some witches complaining about Roman Catholic persecution after being banned from holding a Halloween meeting in a parish social center. They should be thankful they got off so lightly - the holy book of the Catholics says "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". After You, Cardinal - the Telegraph tells us that Cardinal Zen, "One of the Catholic Church's most senior clerics has told Catholics in China not to 'give in' to pressure from the state-sanctioned church and to remain loyal to the Pope even to the point of 'martyrdom'." Dressed To Thrill? - Hardly. The Times tells us "A Muslim waitress has been awarded a £3,000 pay out for sexual harassment after being made to wear a revealing red dress for work. Fata Lemes, 33, quit her job after claiming that the low-cut dress was “disgusting” and made her look like a “prostitute”. Miss Lemes, a Bosnian Muslim, had told an employment tribunal that she “might as well have been naked” in the dress.“I was brought up a Muslim and am not used to wearing sexually attractive clothes,” she said." Not so Muslim perhaps, in that she likely served alcohol to customers. It seems that this award will not be the end of the matter for we are further informed "But lawyers acting for the Rocket Bar where she worked, have tried to re-open the case after a picture emerged of Miss Lemes on Facebook showed her wearing a plunging T-shirt exposing her cleavage while she was at the beach." Hmm, one could be forgiven for thinking this woman is a hypocrite after some easy cash and is prepared to use her religion to do so. Her original claim was for an excessive £17,500. The Sun obliges us with what would seem to be the Facebook picture and also a photo of a smiling Lemes apparently modelling the "disgusting" dress. Additional - not wanting to be left out, here is a Jewish couple who feel they should be compensated for their nonsensical beliefs. The One Law for All Campaign — which is fighting the creep of sharia law into Britain is having a fundraising dinner at a London restaurant on Saturday June 27 at 7pm. The speaker will be AC Grayling. Tickets are £60. If you'd like a ticket, you can order by post at One Law for All, BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX or pay via Paypal. More information by email. (The above notice is from Newsline, a free weekly email newsletter from the National Secular Society)
Eyes To The Right - it was a strange and somewhat revolting development that as the fightback against fascism was about to be commemorated in Normandy some people in Britain were putting a cross on a ballot form to elect neo-fascists to the European Parliament. Not only is this an insult to the memory of those who died on the beaches it is also a sign of the deep ignorance of recent history shown by those voters. There is however a silver lining to this in the form of the increased scrutiny being given to the British National Party (BNP) in the light of its (limited) success. The toytown nazi's very own constitution would appear to break discrimination laws. This Guardian article also tells us that "...as the BNP gets access to the European parliament, with a budget for employing staff and contracting services, it would also be open to employment law, which prohibits direct and indirect discrimination." This scrutiny will not only give rise to legal challenges but will also present the leaders of the BNP with a problem. While they may have cleaned up their act to all outward appearances, controlling the behavior of their thuggish footsoldiers is another matter. Also acting against the BNP is the caliber of those in its upper ranks. The performance of the few who have managed to be elected in the past to local council posts have shown themselves incompetent and unable to comprehend, much less follow, the procedures that enable civil debate. The upshot is that the BNP's minor success in Europe may well be its undoing (although it has neo-fascist pals in Hungary and elsewhere). Much more worthy of concern are the Conservative party's new chums in Europe such as Alternativa Española and the opposition Polish Law and Justice party run by the infamous Potato Twins. This pair and their minions (also see here) are typified by "Paranoia towards the outside world, ingrained prejudice and discrimination towards homosexuals, fundamentalist Roman Catholicism, climate change denial and hostility towards Germany...". What can Dave Snooty and his pals be thinking? They are doubtless thinking of the opportunities presented by a backlash fueled by frustration and anger at the incompetence and hypocrisy of the center-left - with no apparent thought of the long term consequences of associating with with fascists. (Also see this from Timothy Garton Ash) Jesus Christ is the dead person most Britons would love to meet - this is the conclusion of a survey of 3000 people reported in the Telegraph. Jesus sneaked in just ahead of Princess Diana. It is noteworthy that the son of god is top of the list of dead people - no room for any of that resurrection nonsense here. He stands out as the only figure in the top ten for whom there is no convincing historical evidence. See The Jesus Puzzle.
Singh Appeals - Simon Singh, the science writer who was sued by the British Chiropractic Association in lieu of that organization providing any evidence supporting chiropractors' extravagant claims (see Why are they trying to gag a top British science writer? and Imagine) has decided to appeal against a court ruling against him. He has already incurred a legal bill of £100,000. For the latest information on the case go to Sense About Science and sign a statement expressing support for Singh. You can also donate to Sense About Science's Keep Libel Laws out of Science campaign here.
Oprah Ha-Ha - Newsweek sticks it to Oprah Winfrey, the queen of woo, for her promotion of pseudoscience, quackery and other such nonsense. A joy to read and long overdue. "Some of the many experts who cross her stage offer interesting and useful information .... Others gush nonsense. Oprah, who holds up her guests as prophets, can't seem to tell the difference. She has the power to summon the most learned authorities on any subject; who would refuse her? Instead, all too often Oprah winds up putting herself and her trusting audience in the hands of celebrity authors and pop-science artists pitching wonder cures and miracle treatments that are questionable or flat-out wrong, and sometimes dangerous." Thanks to the Bad Astronomer for the heads-up. Update - to the above. Deepak Chopra, no mean peddler of woo himself, defends Winfrey's irresponsible behavior. But then he would, wouldn't he? See this Salon piece on Chopra from 2001. Update - to the above. Orac over at Respectful Insolence looks at Chopra's Oprah piece and tears it to pieces. Highly recommended.
The Truth Behind NASA's "UFO" Videos - is a debunking piece courtesy of Popular Mechanics looking at some of the videos posted on YouTube and claimed by true believers as evidence of something odd going on up there. The two NASA astronauts supplying some of the explanations know they will not convince those at the loopier end of the spectrum. "There's no way to keep people from using public domain footage for silly purposes... if a shuttle beams back 10 hours of Earth views each day, there are bound to be images and scenes that are misunderstood or taken out of context." This is amply borne out by many of the comments on the article posted by the usual nutters. (See here for an appraisal of UFOs by Tim Printy including several well known reported sightings) European Parliamentary Elections - if you are still deliberating over who gets your vote or even whether you will vote at all (if not, shame on you) take a look at the Open Europe page. "With elections to the European Parliament less than two weeks away, Open Europe has published a ranking of all 785 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), scoring their record on promoting transparency and reform in the European Union over the last five-year term. The ranking seeks to answer some of the questions voters may be asking themselves ahead of the European elections. Open Europe's league table is based on 20 different categories relating to transparency, accountability, democracy, and waste." The Green Party makes a respectable showing among UK MEPs - a party which, incidentally, is also on record as supporting the separation of church and state. With repeated efforts by the Vatican to interfere in European politics such a stance is essential. For the low-down on papal machinations see Concordat Watch. Also see this article on religion, European politics and the need for secularism by Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society. Update - it is not just the Vatican that seeks to influence European politics - cue the Russian Orthodox Church. Update - lest the above be construed as a plug for the Green Party it is worth examining their policy on scientific issues - the stance being more anti-science than pro according to this piece by Frank Swain of SciencePunk.com and Martin Robbins of the Lay Scientist. None of the parties involved in the election seem to have a coherent policy on science although there are signs of a willingness to tackle climate change. (The parties' responses to questions put to them by Swain and Robbins can be seen here with the Lib Dems making the best showing) The danger of ignorance or disinterest with regard to scientific issues was made starkly clear many years ago by Carl Sagan and I make no apology for quoting him again on the subject. "We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces." Carl Sagan
Homeopathy Is Useless - beyond a placebo effect. It is only really "effective" when used on conditions that are going to get better anyway. It has the benefit of being harmless, consisting merely of water, except when it used for life-threatening conditions instead of real, evidence-based medicine. It has a great appeal to organizations and countries that are cash-strapped as it is cheaper than the expensive medicine peddled by the big pharmaceuticals but it is still useless. British scientists are now asking the World Health Organization (WHO) to "...publicly condemn homeopathy as a treatment for serious diseases, such as HIV, TB and malaria." according to this report in the Guardian. We are told "Homeopathy practitioners have opened clinics throughout Asian and sub-Saharan Africa and offer to treat patients with HIV, malaria, influenza and childhood diarrhoea, none of which have been shown to respond to homeopathy. Many patients are told that conventional drugs work only temporarily and that homeopathic preparations are cheap and effective alternatives with fewer side effects." This is scandalous and should be stamped out. Of course they are cheaper - they are water. Of course they have fewer side effects - they are water. Despite double talk about quantum effects and the water used in preparations retaining a "memory" of dissolved substances it is still just water. For more on homeopathy see here and here. Also see Faith-Based Medicine and this report from the BBC Horizon science documentary. Update - James Randi issues a reminder that homeopathy qualifies for the Million Dollar Challenge. Of course the money's safe. Why are they trying to gag a top British science writer? - is a piece in the Observer by Nick Cohen on the stifling of criticism by recourse to Britain's absurd libel laws in the case of the British Chiropractic Association and writer and journalist Simon Singh. As noted below (see Imagine) that bunch of bone-benders, unable to counter a report on their outlandish claims with any evidence, decided to use the courts instead. Singh is now facing a huge legal bill. For the BCA this has backfired and, far from saving the chiros' reputation this action has made them look to be no more than bullying quacks. It also sets a very bad precedent when an individual or group can make claims not sustained by the evidence then sue anyone who questions those claims. It does not engender a climate conducive to scientific debate or free speech of any kind. British libel laws are long overdue an overhaul. See Jack of Kent for the latest, odd response from the BCA to his enquiries. Does God Hate Women? - is a new book by Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom (of Butterflies and Wheels). Benson has written a piece for the Observer on the subject not so much plugging the book but setting the stage with some choice examples that should outrage and sadden any rational person. Many of those who have commented have taken issue with the name of the book, saying it is religion that is misogynous, not God. They seem to have missed the point that in the title Benson appears to be using a convenient shorthand for the big three nominally monotheistic, patriarchal religions and not the deity or deities as he/she/it/them have not been proven to exist. Besides, in the so-called holy books of these religions the god portrayed is often not only misogynist but also violent, capricious and cruel. Anyone who claims different either has not read these scriptures or is guilty of cherry-picking. Even a cursory study of the big three, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, reveals a lower status for women which increases toward the more devout/fundamentalist/barmy end of spectrum. From can a woman be a priest to should girls even be educated, there are many examples in the world today. This is something 80 has commented on often over the years on this site. I have yet to read Benson and Stangroom's latest offering but going on the quality of the entries on the Butterflies and Wheels site and that of the pair's previous books, Why Truth Matters and The Dictionary of Fashionable Nonsense: A Guide for Edgy People, Does God Hate Women? is definitely a volume that will find a place on my bookshelf. Update (to the above) - not everyone perhaps is looking forward to reading the book as much as 80. The Times tells us "An academic book about religious attitudes to women is to be published this week despite concerns it could cause a backlash among Muslims because it criticises the prophet Muhammad for taking a nine-year-old girl as his third wife." No shit. Let's face it, Islam has cornered the market in being offended and this touches upon the prophet himself. Although Muslims insist Mohammed was a man and deplore the Christian "son of god" line they do revere him (almost to the point of idolatry) as a perfect example of how to behave but modern Western culture takes a dim view of middle-aged men marrying children - and rightly so. 80 notes the Times for some reason sought the opinion of Anjem Choudary, "...self-styled sharia judge and former leader of the banned British group Al-Muhajiroun..." See here what Pat Condell has to say about this individual. Here is Ophelia Benson's take on the affair. It would seem that Christine Toomey, author of the Times article, is indulging in a little bit of shit-stirring. Update (to the above) - here is Benson's latest post. A Shrill Small Voice - in an infantile, tedious, unoriginal, inaccurate, and strawman-infested anti-atheist rant published in the Guardian, Charlotte Allen (author of The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus) says "The problem with atheists – and what makes them such excruciating snoozes – is that few of them are interested in making serious metaphysical or epistemological arguments against God's existence, or in taking on the serious arguments that theologians have made attempting to reconcile, say, God's omniscience with free will or God's goodness with human suffering." Which god does Allen have in mind out of the many thousands humankind has dreamed up - Odin, Zeus, Cthulhu? The context shows that she has in mind a cleaned-up Christian version of the old violent and capricious Hebrew storm god, Yahweh. As for atheists needing to make serious arguments against her particular god's existence, why bother? There simply is no convincing evidence that this, or any other god exists. She is the one making the claims for a supernatural being so it is up to her to provide some evidence beyond hearsay and a holy book, then perhaps we can argue. Until then, examining the question of theodicy or free will is a waste of time. When Allen asks for sophisticated arguments about an entity whose very existence is not proven she is, in 80's view, begging the question. How very boring. Meet the Strawmen - 80 described above Charlotte Allen's recent piece in the Guardian as infantile. If you don't have the time or the patience to wade through her turgid silliness just read this caricature of an atheist argument. "Atheists seem to assume that the whole idea of God is a ridiculous absurdity, the "flying spaghetti monster" of atheists' typically lame jokes. They think that lobbing a few Gaza-style rockets accusing God of failing to create a world more to their liking ("If there's a God, why aren't I rich?" "If there's a God, why didn't he give me two heads so I could sleep with one head while I get some work done with the other?") will suffice to knock down the entire edifice of belief." If Allen had bothered to look into Pastafarianism she would have learned that The Flying Spaghetti Monster was invented to address the introduction of creationism, in its Intelligent Design wrapper, into the US public school system, not as an argument for the non-existence of god/s. Having got that wrong she then descends to the level of playground taunts. As I said, infantile. "If a perfectly good god exists, then there is no evil in the world. There is evil in the world. Therefore, a perfectly good god does not exist." After Epicurus. Mysterious Ways - this from Yahoo news "An Argentine evangelical pastor was born again after a book of Psalms he was holding deflected a bullet fired at close range, officials in the western province of Mendoza said. "That leads me to believe in a God that takes care of me," Zanes Condor told the online publication, Los Andes." This is the same caring god which allowed him to be shot at in the first place, is it?
What You Should Know About Chiropractic - is a an article in New Scientist by Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, UK and co-author with Simon Singh of Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. For the worrying story of the libel case against Singh by the British Chiropractic Association see here. Also see Don't criticise, or we'll sue. See what the Skeptic's Dictionary has to say about chiropractic. Also of interest to 80 are two other articles from New Scientist, Christians battle each other over evolution and Religions owe their success to suffering martyrs. Just Wait For the Howls - the BBC, in the shape of the soap EastEnders, is doing its bit for community cohesion. One Can But Hope - today's Telegraph informs us "Two founding members of what was once the largest Muslim charity in America have been sentenced to 65 years in prison for funnelling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas." Can we now expect George Galloway to be arrested next time he sets foot in the US? Children Of A Stupid God - is the latest blast from the excellent Pat Condell. He's back and he's angry - be careful, he'll melt your monitor. Which Pope Am I? - let's face it, Ratzinger has been a big disappointment not only to those thankfully outside his death cult who find him a medieval, misogynist, homophobic shoe freak with an aversion to condoms and a serious empathy deficiency but also to many within, who find him a charisma-free, gaffe-prone, medieval, misogynist, homophobic shoe freak with an aversion to condoms and a serious empathy deficiency. Well, do you think that you could do any better? You do? Then cut along to the New Humanist site and take part in the exclusive Which Pope Am I?, an all-new Papal personality test.
Barking Choosing The Wrong Words - sometimes 80 finds it impossible to read further when the opening paragraph of an article hits new heights of crass idiocy. This example is from a piece in the Guardian by Jamie Doward, who should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. If it was just the headline, Bishops fight for right to criticise gay lifestyle, one could curse an incompetent sub-editor but Doward himself opens with "Church of England bishops are on a collision course with the government over its plans to amend the incitement to hatred laws, claiming they will stifle what they believe is legitimate criticism of homosexual lifestyles." What the hell is a "homosexual lifestyle"? This implies being gay is something you choose, as if it were a fashion of some kind. This mistaken idea lies behind the whole idea of homosexuality as something wrong, as something that can be "cured". It has not yet been proved that there is a genetic explanation for homosexuality but evidence points that way. Some years ago the Norwegian Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo held an exhibition that focused on homosexuality in the animal kingdom. This claimed that homosexual behavior has been observed in 1,500 animal species. If these species exhibit behavior that if it occurred among humans would be deemed homosexual are we to assume these animals are making lifestyle choices? Of course not, we wouldn't be so bloody stupid. Creationists notwithstanding human beings are part of the animal kingdom. This "homosexual lifestyle" crap is an outdated canard and should be assiduously avoided lest a journalist reveal himself to be an ill-informed, prejudiced prat. "Regardless of whether sexual orientation is determined by nature or nurture or both, the most important thing is that lesbians and gay men are treated equally and are allowed to live their life without discrimination." Alan Wardle of Stonewall
Beyond Parody - See this site plugging the late Professor Arysio Santos' book, Atlantis - The Lost Continent Finally Found. We are told that fabled land is actually under the South China Sea (who'da thunk it?). This is sensational enough but this paragraph is a cracker. "For the tantalizing details, just keep reading, and you will see that we have also found, as a surplus, the Garden of Eden, the Island of Avalon, the Garden of the Hesperides, the hideout of the New Jerusalem, the true location of Troy and of Lanka, as well as the Holy Land and Paradise that has been promised us all from the dawn of time. Yes, Atlantis is rising from the waves, bright as the Phoenix and clean and virginal as the Venus of Botticelli." 80's sense of wonder has just imploded owing to over-stimulation... Libel - "A very expensive remedy, to be used only when you have no evidence. Appeals to alternative practitioners because truth is irrelevant." David Colquhoun, courtesy of Jack of Kent. Quackery - "Spinal manipulation may be effective for relief of appropriately selected cases of low back pain, but manipulation to correct chiropractic's imaginary "subluxations" is quackery." from Quackery: How Should It Be Defined? by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Imagine
for a moment
that you are the provider of a therapy, one which you claim is efficacious in combating a wide range of disorders. You have also
parlayed this therapy into a lucrative business model. Then,
horror of horrors, a journalist publishes an article in a national
newspaper which calls into question your therapy and its application to
certain childhood ailments, even going so far as to label it bogus. You
are outraged at the effrontery of this scribbler calling into question
the treatments in which you have the utmost confidence not to mention the possible
damage done to your reputation (and your lucrative business model).
Naturally you take the obvious course and demand a right to reply in the
same newspaper. This reply takes the form of a complete refutation of
the journalist's claim that your therapy is bogus, backed up by copious
references to the many rigorously conducted,
double-blinded
studies published
in respectable peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals. Such a
display of hard evidence crushes the journalist who is forced to publish
a retraction of his unsubstantiated claims.
Crusade Confirmed - It is particularly ironic that Tony Blair, who seems to believe his Faith Foundation will bring peace on Earth, is reported to have been motivated by his faith when he joined George W Bush in the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. This criminal blunder and the subsequent botched occupation lost many thousands of lives and is still the inspiration for jihadi recruitment around the planet. According to John Burton, Blair's political agent for nearly a quarter of a century, he was propelled by his belief that he was taking part in a war between good and evil. "It's very simple to explain the idea of Blair the Warrior," he says. "It was part of Tony living out his faith." As it was for Bush. The news has recently surfaced that the President's World Wide Intelligence Updates were emblazoned with inspirational bible verses (see slideshow) seeming to confirm that for Bush at least, he was on a crusade. It is likely the dim Dubya was being cynically manipulated by his then Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who knew exactly which button to push to motivate his Commander-in-Chief, the one with the cross on it. Blair has often been accused of being Bush's poodle but Bush, in his turn, was Rumsfeld's and Cheney's. The cabal that wanted access to Iraqi oil coupled with huge profits for mercenary groups and defense contractors found Bible verses were the way to use Bush for their own ends. That the invasion and occupation served, and still serves, as a recruitment call to jihadis around the world shows just how misguided and disastrous the faith of these two criminals was. Blair has famously said his actions on Iraq would be judged by God - well the judgement is in somewhat sooner. He and Bush were driven by a world view warped by their Christianity to wage an illegal war the repercussions of which still continue. Bush, possibly now aware of how he was manipulated by his own staff, is at least keeping a relatively low profile but not Blair. Displaying his usual overweening arrogance, he is now claiming that this same faith is a force for good in the world. Is there any reason why this smirking, faith-driven warmonger should be given any credence whatsoever? Surely the final sick joke is that this smirking hypocrite holds the post of Middle East Peace envoy. (Also see War room is no place for Bible study) "This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins" George W Bush, 2003, talking to President Jacques Chirac. The Art Of Science - Astronomy Picture of the Day presents Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble. Awesome stuff. Cult News - see this from The Freethinker "A trial is set to begin in France next week that could result in the Church of Scientology being shut down in the country." We can but hope... "Churches will be banned from turning down gay job applicants on the grounds of their sexuality under new anti-discrimination laws, a Government minister said. Religious groups are to be forced to accept homosexual youth workers, secretaries and other staff, even if their faith holds same-sex relationships to be sinful. Christian organisations fear that the tightened legislation, which is due to come into force next year, will undermine the integrity of churches and dilute their moral message." (Integrity? Moral message? They're kidding, right?) Wholly Despicable
- How much is a ruined life worth? Or a stolen
childhood? How far up the Catholic hierarchy does blame extend, not just
for the rape and torture of children and young women but for the
subsequent cover-up? It is entirely fitting that the horrific report
from Ireland's Commission
to Inquire Into Child Abuse committed by Roman Catholic clerics and
nuns be published on Ratzinger's watch. It was he that did so much in
his earlier incarnation as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith to make sure the reports of abuse stayed within the church.
It is he, as the Pope's enforcer made sure that the document
Crimen
Sollicitationis (Crime of soliciting) was adhered to. Crimen
Sollicitionis lays down the procedure to be followed upon reports of
sexual misconduct by clergy and subsequent investigation, if any. This
sentence is particularly enlightening "As, assuredly, what must be
mainly taken care of and complied with in handling these trials is that
they be managed with maximum confidentiality and after the verdict is
declared and put into effect never be mentioned again (20 February 1867
Instruction of the Holy Office, 14), each and every person, who in any
way belongs to the tribunal or is given knowledge of the matter because
of their office, is obliged to keep inviolate the strictest secrecy
(what is commonly called "the secrecy of the Holy Office") in all things
and with all persons, under pain of automatic (latae sententiae)
excommunication, incurred ipso facto without need of any declaration
other than the present one, and reserved to the Supreme Pontiff in
person alone, excluding even the Apostolic Penitentiary." Pop At The Pope - is a new celebrity game. First we had the Smirking One, aka Tony Blair, who was no sooner a member of Ratzinger's death cult than he was criticizing the pontiff over the church's policy on gays. This was a rare instance of 80 being in accord with the money-grubbing British ex-prime minister, who now has his own faith foundation. Perhaps he has plans to transform the church with himself in charge - first New Labour and now New Catholicism. It may sound silly but remember Blair's self-esteem knows no bounds. He famously said that his part in the pre-emptive attack on Iraq would ultimately be judged by God. An earthly court is obviously not big enough to try him - or his ego. A new contender in pontiff-biffing is Carla Bruni, ex-supermodel, chanteuse and wife of the French president. The church's condemnation of the use of condoms to stem the spread of HIV AIDS has, Bruni says, rendered her "profoundly secular." A far more damaging salvo, in 80's view, has not come from an A-list celeb but from the editor of The Jewish Chronicle, Stephen Pollard. During Ratzinger's recent visit to Israel and Palestine much was made of his Nazi past - in actual fact his well- documented and self-acknowledged membership of the Hitler Youth. Ratzinger, to be fair, along with many of his contemporaries is not likely to have had much choice in the matter. This made it all the more surprising when the Vatican issued a denial that he was ever in the Hitler Youth. A spokesman, one Federico Lombardi, told the press “The Pope has said he never, never was a member of the Hitler Youth, which was a movement of fanatical volunteers.” Ratzinger is on record saying in an interview in 1996, before he took his stage name of Benedict, “When the compulsory Hitler Youth was introduced in 1941, my brother was obliged to join. I was still too young but later, as a seminarian, I was registered in the HY. As soon as I was out of the seminary, I never went back.” While Ratzinger may have had no choice then on a later occasion he did have a choice, as Stephen Pollard makes clear in a piece for the Times. We are told "What was certainly not standard practice was his decision in 2004, when representing John Paul II at the 60th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, to visit La Cambe cemetery. Slipping away after official events, he took a 20-minute drive to the graves of the Waffen SS panzer division, Das Reich, including men such as Sturmbannführer Adolf Diekmann, who commanded the troops who murdered 642 villagers in Oradour-sur-Glane. Ratzinger said that it was not for him to judge the men at La Cambe, “into whose conscience only God can see”" No Vatican spokesman has yet said that this "never, never" happened. For his pronouncements on condoms 80 views Ratzinger as little more than a sanctimonious murderer and his little jaunt to the SS cemetery would seem to be in keeping with this. Ho-Hum - another day and another unconvincing "ghost picture". Taken by a BBC photographer it is claimed to be a "...hazy image of a man sitting on a chair in the attic of the Edward Jenner Museum, in Berkeley." The accompanying picture shows a misty sort of outline that could be in fact be anything - even given the eye of faith. Such an eye, and a particularly sharp one at that, is possessed by the museum's director, Sarah Parker, who gushes "We are truly flabbergasted by the image. You can basically see through a doorway what looks like a figure reclining in a chair, only there is no chair there. Who knows whether it is Jenner himself? We have graffiti from soldiers previously billeted in the attic rooms from the late 19th century and perhaps this is one of them or even one of Jenner's servants." Obviously Parker's flabber is very easily gasted. The paranormal also surfaces in a report on the so-called "hum" phenomenon whereby people claim to be hearing a mysterious low pitched sound. When no source can be found (although it often is) there is a tendency to attribute the hum to paranormal or supernatural effects. Now Dr David Baguley, head of audiology at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge says that when no external source can be found the sound is most likely originating in the hearer's own head. As someone afflicted with tinnitus 80 finds this unremarkable. Not that it will satisfy those who "want to believe" in the paranormal. This page on "unexplained" sounds features various instances including the the Taos Hum which "... is a faint, low-frequency humming noise heard in and near the town of Taos, New Mexico." We are further informed "Not only is the hum's source a mystery, but its peculiar qualities are as well: only about 2 percent of Taos residents - about 1,400 people - can hear it." More noteworthy is this observation "More mysterious still, some hearers who are bothered by the sound have tried earplugs and other acoustic quieting devices to block it out - to no effect." Which would seem to bring us back to Dr Baguley's explanation. The doctor also notes that sounds that would normally go unheard become much more noticeable in times of intense concentration, such as "...in times of threat, danger or intense concentration." He attributes this to a kind of internal gain or volume control we bring into play such situations. Perhaps another instance of this could be when you are straining to hear a mysterious noise that others insist is there. As Dr Baguley puts it "It becomes a vicious cycle. The more people focus on the noise, the more anxious and fearful they get, the more the body responds by amplifying the sound, and that causes even more upset and distress." Quote - "Quite simply, none of us could get away with it. When benefit cheats get caught working and signing on, they get punished. They don't form a committee made up of other benefit claimants to debate how they might make new rules to prevent themselves from doing it again." Mark Thomas, comedian and political activist, writing in the Guardian on the disgusting farce that is the MP's expenses revelations. Thomas himself has taken legal action over the affair the progress of which will be worth watching. Joy - is a particularly fine offering from Jesus and Mo' - confounded as ever by the barmaid. Update - the odd couple look at reiki. Psychics and Sour Grapes - the James Randi Educational Foundation's $1m challenge is the skeptical world's "put up or shut up" counter to those who claim paranormal powers such as telepathy or dowsing. The challenge in its earliest form was first issued in 1964 and there have been no successful takers. The entrants have to agree protocols for the testing beforehand, Randi is not personally involved and the money really exists (PDF). These safeguards have not stopped psychics and others claiming the challenge is rigged in some way. Possibly the most well-known entrant is Sylvia Browne who makes a rich, if ghoulish living from her supposed powers - she accepted the challenge in 2001 and has been backpedalling ever since. Here, in the Guardian, Chris French reports on a recent preliminary test of professional medium Patricia Putt and also gives good and detailed background on how the test procedures are agreed with the subject and carried out. Putt failed and we are told "...declared herself "gobsmacked" by the result. She did not try to make any excuses for her failure, in sharp contrast to many others who have found themselves in the same situation. She had been a perfect subject from start to finish from our point of view, cooperative and friendly throughout. We salute her for having the courage of her convictions and for accepting the outcome with such grace." Sadly this state of affairs did not last long as Putt joined the list of those who have decided in retrospect that the protocols that were acceptable at the time were lacking after all. We are informed "The day after this column was submitted for publication, Mrs Putt had reflected upon the test and decided that the protocol had put too many barriers in her way for her to demonstrate her psychic ability." Her flimsy and inaccurate excuse for failure given in the Stop Press paragraph at the bottom of French's article shows this is just another case of a failed psychic with a case of sour grapes. Meanwhile the challenge remains open... (For more on Sylvia Browne, psychic harridan and founder of her own church, see here) Update - For more on the Putt test and those protocols see this report by Alison Smith on the JREF site. Amazing (and pricey) - The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is having The Amazing Meeting at at the Mermaid Conference Centre, Blackfriars on the 3rd and 4th October, 2009. Featuring Randi himself, Phil Plait, Richard Dawkins and other luminaries it promises to be exactly that, an amazing meeting. There are two other amazing things associated with the event. One is that tickets sold out in not much more than 3 hours and the second is that they were priced at a hefty £175 ($267) with a mere £10 ($15) discount for students. It is obvious the recession is not biting as much for everyone in the UK as reports would have us believe. There is no doubt the money is going to support an excellent cause but that ticket price is beyond many credit-crunched pockets. (For those who can afford it check here to see if any more tickets will be made available.)
Dressed To Fill - the Daily Mail obliges us with this week's idiotic religionist story with the case of the evocatively named Omer Butt. Butt, a dentist, reportedly "...ordered women to put on head scarves or he would not register them or their families at his NHS-funded clinic..." Butt is a Muslim (you had already guessed that, had you not?) and according to the General Dental Council "... made compliance with Islamic dress code a condition of treatment, which is entirely inappropriate under the auspices of the National Health Service." Two years ago "...he was reprimanded for telling an Asian mother-of-two he would not register her unless she wore the Muslim hijab." The reason he gave was that it was his duty to stop Muslims from committing a religious sin - the fact that they left his surgery in pain does not appear to have concerned him. Quite why he thought he was in a position to dictate what is acceptable Islamic clothing is unclear. It is noteworthy that the image of Butt accompanying the article shows him wearing a collar and tie, and sporting a neatly trimmed beard. The strict dress code does not appear to apply to him. In other news we learn that a Muslim catering manager is suing the Metropolitan Police for religious discrimination after he "...was told he would be expected to handle pork products when he started a new job at the Empress State Building in Earls Court, west London." One wonders whether the religious prohibition of pork products in Islam and Judaism means that adherents of those faiths would feel themselves defiled if they contracted swine flu - it does after all originate from within the bodies of swine. Perhaps this question could be asked of the fatwa hotline set up to provide advice on just such weighty matters? At 75p ($1.13) a minute any information imparted had better be good. But then you could take or leave it as Islam, if 80 understands correctly, has no central authority anyway. Antichrist Identity?
- more like sensationalist codswallop in 80's
view. The writer of this
page, Mel Sanger, a self-described "international political
researcher" claims to have divined the identity of the Antichrist,
the harbinger of doomsday. Some of the clues offered are inane even by
the normal standards of this sort of paranoid drivel. " On the day of
Barack Obama's Inauguration, the media made reference to the fact that
Barack Obama's Presidential Car has been nicknamed "The Beast
...........Is this a sign that the Masonic Conspirators behind the New
World Order are purposely playing with those who have an understanding
of end time prophecy?" More likely a sign that Sanger is a twit.
"That in 2008 were there over 3 million searches on the keywords "Obama
Antichrist" and "Obama Messiah"?.......Does Barack Obama have an
apocalyptic role given the global financial circumstances in which he
has risen to power. Is he a man divinely appointed or an agent of the
New World Order objective?" Does Mel Sanger ever tire of foolish
rhetorical questions? He certainly seems to have dug through the rich
seam of paranoia on the web, picking up various nuggets of pure
idiocy. Additional - 80 has just noticed this quote right at the bottom of the Antichrist Identity page "Send us such man and be it god or devil, we will receive him" credited to "Paul Henri Spaak, First President of the United Nations General Assembly". If you search for that quote online you get - the Antichrist Identity page and the page of Vision Revisited - which is the same as the Antichrist Identity page. There is no other reference. Spaak, by the way was a Belgian prime minister and President of the United Nations General Assembly. "This post rotates annually between five geographic groups: African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other States.[1] Because of their powerful stature globally, some of the largest, most powerful countries have never held the presidency, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Japan and China. In particular, it is traditional that a national of a permanent member of the Security Council never serves as General Assembly President." according to Wikipedia. The quote, no doubt intended by Sanger to refer to the Antichrist, would appear to be fictional. Playboy v Prelate - 80 must admit to a certain glee when two parties, equally despicable, have a row. In this case the two are the Vatican, in the person of Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the perma-tanned, gaffe-prone lothario, Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy - a country that should be thoroughly ashamed of itself for electing him not once, not twice, but an amazing three times. 80's low opinion of the Catholic death cult has often been expressed on these pages and a spat with Berlusconi, a man who has survived 17 criminal trials without conviction (smoke, fire, anyone?) could be highly entertaining. Perhaps Berlusconi's vilest moment, and there are quite a few to choose from, occurred during the unseemly fracas over the tragedy of Eluana Englaro, a woman who had been in a vegetative state for 17 years. Englaro's father and family wanted her to be allowed to die but the Vatican, heartless as ever, attempted to intervene. So did Berlusconi as the Guardian tells us "Justifying his campaign to save Englaro's life, the prime minister added that, physically at least, she was "in the condition to have babies"..." Such a disgusting and callous remark was a new low even for Berlusconi. Now the church that can't stop meddling in politics is criticizing the apparently face-lifted 72 year-old for his louche behavior. His wife, Veronica Lario has said she is instituting divorce proceedings over his flirtatious attitude towards young women and that she ".. cannot stay with a man who frequents minors.". The publicity surrounding this marital strife seems to have been the final straw for Cardinal Kasper who has said "...that "everybody, but above all a head of government", should behave with "seriousness and sobriety"." Seriousness and sobriety are two words that don't appear to be in Berlusconi's vocabulary. Let the row commence...
Hog Wild - one of the weirder consequences of the swine flu pandemic paranoia is a pig cull in Egypt. The BBC tells us that "UN experts have criticised the move as unnecessary and a mistake..." So, why is it happening? Some folk will already be puzzled that pigs are bred in an Islamic country at all for these beasts are considered unclean - as in Judaism, from which Islam likely adopted swinophobia along with so much else. It all becomes clear when one realizes the pigs are kept by the Christian minority. It is noteworthy that there have been no reported cases of swine flu in Egypt. It leads one to wonder would the government, which plans to slaughter "...between 300,000 and 400,000..." porkers, be so over zealous if the beasts belonged to Muslims? It would appear that part of the reason is criticism of the Egyptian authorities' for their tardy reaction to bird flu. They obviously feel the need to be seen to be doing something and as the pigs belong to the Christian minority there will be little in the way of complaint or sympathy from the country's majority Muslim population. As for the Jewish/Islamic attitude toward swine there is no single reason given for this. Some say the arid countries where these Abrahamic religions began were unsuitable for the rearing of pigs and this became institutionalized as a ban on keeping them - although in 80's view this would not necessarily follow. Another reason given is that pork, if not sufficiently well-cooked, would give the eater trichinosis from worm larvae in the meat. In chapter 3 of God Is Not Great, A Short Digression on the Pig; or, Why Heaven Hates Ham, Christopher Hitchens puts forward the suggestion that the prohibition is based upon the similarity of pork to human flesh (long pig) although one would think that if this was the case the ban would be universal and not confined to Jews and Muslims (and, apparently, Seventh Day Adventists and Rastafarians). 80 is inclined to the view that like male genital mutilation (circumcision) it served to separate the chosen people from other lesser folk, a sort of religious/tribal ID if you will. A more recent phenomenon in the UK where religionists try and outdo each other in seeing who can be the most offended is the Muslim objection to not just pork but to any representation of the pig whatsoever. 80 looked at this in O.I.N.K. Also see Pig Ignorance and Bacon (below). Update - "Afghanistan's only known pig has been taken off display at Kabul Zoo and locked away to avoid panic among visitors who may be worried about swine flu, the zoo's director said Wednesday." Bacon - is the name of Jesus and Mo's contribution to the debate about whether the term "swine flu" is offensive. Here's Olivia Benson's comment. In the face of what could be an epidemic over-sensitive nitwits worry about what the disease is called. Unbloodybelievable. But not quite as stupid as treating swine flu with homeopathy - although if the folks at Helios want to self-medicate that's fine with 80 - it could win them a Darwin Award. The same goes for that other bunch of quacks, chiropractors, claiming their nonsensical "adjustments" boost the immune system by 400%! Also shoving their snouts into the swine flu trough are any number of spammers plugging dodgy pharmaceuticals. See Ben Goldacre on the media's handling of the story in Swine flu and hype – a media illness. Faith Fighter - is an online game in which you can pitch the deities/prophets of your choice against each other in combat. Just the thing for all those believers who seem to spend their time poking about looking for things they deem offensive and then whining about them. In fact the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) are in such a snit it has led to the game disappearing from its original website. Naturally it has now popped up all over the place as the OIC clods - or more accurately the OIC Islamophobia Observatory (I kid you not) - have foolishly given the oxygen of publicity to what is really a quite tedious game. The OICIO seem to have learned about Faith Fighter from a shit-stirring page at Metro, as it has apparently been around for a year with no complaints until now. Such a delayed reaction is reminiscent of the Mo-toons manufactured controversy, see Just The Facts. Dark Side, Light Side - two religions that had their birth in sci-fi are Scientology and Jedism. The first, invented by hack writer L Ron Hubbard is sinister, grasping and very weird as 80 has detailed elsewhere (see Hubbard's Bare Cupboard and Of Cops and Cults). The second, the brainchild of movie director George Lucas, was created for his Star Wars movies and seems to be some sort of Samurai/Buddhist mish-mash with a good dollop of New Age hokum. It was also a popular choice in the UK for many folk when asked their religion by the census. See the wonderfully titled Census returns of the Jedi from the BBC which tells us "...390,000 people across England and Wales are devoted followers...". Now the faith is in the news again with the revelation that Pam Fleming, a cop in the Strathclyde Police Force in Scotland is a devotee. Fleming claims there are other Jedis in the force, some of the 14,000 followers in Scotland. In an odd bureaucratic quirk those giving Jedi as their religion in the 2001 census are grouped under atheist. 80 originally assumed that the census answers were a jokey reaction to intrusive questions but it seems there are many out there who take it seriously. One thing is certain though, compared to Scientology Jedism is definitely on the Light Side. (For more on Scientology, far more than that cult would like made public, see Operation Clambake)
Vaccine Vapidity - there is something particularly annoying about celebrities who use their high profile to spread nonsense. We have the tiny but perfectly formed Tom Cruise plugging Scientology, pop tart Madonna and her kabbala schtick, Oprah Winfrey and any amount of woo-woo promoted on her show, to name but a few. The latest to join this crowd of clods is the actor and world-class gurner Jim Carrey who is, all of a sudden, an expert on vaccination. In a piece in the Huffington Post, "The Judgement On Vaccines Is In???" he repeats yet again the "vaccines cause autism" claptrap. (One has to suppose the triple question mark stands in for pulling a hilariously funny face.) For a detailed response see this from someone more knowledgeable than 80 on the subject, Orac, over at Respectful Influence. It amply shows that Carrey should stick to his day job of pulling silly faces on the big screen and not repeat the same old tired lies about childhood vaccination. Phil Plait, he of Bad Astronomy, put it very well in his headline "Jim Carrey loves the pro-disease movement". Funny man Carrey, by irresponsibly plugging the anti-vaccination line is doing his bit to bring about a measles epidemic, which is no laughing matter- see this from the Center for Disease Control and this from The Independent. Prejudice Confirmed - 80 is guilty of holding beliefs that are unsupported by evidence. One is that religious conservatives' obsession with other people's sexual proclivities and pornography is merely overcompensation for their deep fascination with such things - it turns them on. The number of disgraced American evangelists would seem to point that way but it is hardly evidence. Now a study of online pornography in the USA of "...anonymised credit-card receipts from a major online adult entertainment provider..." shows an interesting trend according to New Scientist. We are told "Those states that do consume the most porn tend to be more conservative and religious than states with lower levels of consumption...". Benjamin Edelman of Harvard Business School puts it like this "Some of the people who are most outraged turn out to be consumers of the very things they claimed to be outraged by." Other interesting information gleaned from the study is that "Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's presidential election..." and that churchgoers' porn consumption drops on Sundays but they make up for it during the rest of the week. Also "Residents of 27 states that passed laws banning gay marriages boasted 11% more porn subscribers than states that don't explicitly restrict gay marriage." All of this has quite made 80's day. Next time you see some pulpit-pounding prat inveighing against porn ask yourself just what do they get up to in their spare time? If they aren't watching porn they are probably cooking the books, or both - see this roll call of despicable hypocrites. (Before you ask, yes I realize statistics can lie or be interpreted in different ways but let's not spoil the fun, at least for a few minutes) Vital Science - nodal is the name of a gene that plays an essential role in producing asymmetry in internal organs and is also the subject of a fascinating short article by P Z Myers (Pharyngula) the first of a regular column in the Guardian. Any regular reader of that paper will be aware of its shortcomings but with Myers joining the line up of Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh*, Chris French and Andy Miah at least a strong science content is guaranteed. An engaged and scientifically literate public is vital to the survival of our civilization, as stated so eloquently by Carl Sagan, "We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces." (*Singh is currently being sued by the British Chiropractic Association. It would appear that they would rather use the the courts to stifle criticism than publish peer-reviewed research to back up their nonsensical assertions. See Faith-Based Medicine, Chiropractic's Dirty Secret and Chiropractic and Stroke) Update - talking of science New Humanist and Robin Ince are staging the "..Night of 400 Billion Stars (and maybe some string theory): a celebration of astronomy, physics and other scientific distractions" on Monday 29 June at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. See here for details. "The tendency has always been strong to believe that whatever received a name must be an entity or being, having an independent existence of its own. And if no real entity answering to the name could be found, men did not for that reason suppose that none existed, but imagined that it was something peculiarly abstruse and mysterious." John Stuart Mill Persecution? Pull The Other One - a comment piece in the Telegraph whines that "Christians face a new persecution. This Easter, Christians have a mountain to climb in an increasingly hostile environment." Christians are not persecuted in the UK. What persecuted group has 26 members sitting on their ecclesiastical arses in the upper house of parliament? Now if the piece had been about Saudi Arabia or Orissa in India then it would have a point, but in the UK Christianity is still (sadly) the established religion. Even the Prime Minister professes to be one. Then again maybe he isn't a very good example right now. "Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson Wayne's World - click here and scroll down for an interesting piece on spirituality, religion and the so-called new atheism. No, not the disappointing and muddled opinion piece by Julian Baggini but the comment posted below by G P Wayne. It is head and shoulders above the usual standard of Guardian postings on matters relating to religion and faith which tend to devolve rapidly into repetitive sniping. Should you wish you can read more by Wayne on his own site.
A Different Approach? - The latest salvo in the
row (see This Could Be Interesting) between the
Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), its deputy secretary general, Dr Daud
Abdullah and Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government is a
letter from lawyers acting for Blears to Abdullah's representatives.
It shows that perhaps alone of her colleagues Blears has some backbone
and does not accept the response from Abdullah and the MCB. It currently
looks like the organization, its Islamist sympathies and Abdullah will
be subjected to intense scrutiny in court - exposure that cannot fail to
be unflattering. So if the government is no longer happy dealing with
the MCB as self-appointed representatives of the so-called Muslim
community who else can they add to their list of contacts? One
interesting option is Taj Hargey of the
Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford
(Meco) who is all for challenging the Saudi influence behind the
extremists and their apologists. Last year Hargey challenged the
misogyny of much of Islam by inviting Amina Wadud, American Muslim
professor and woman,
to lead prayers. She was no stranger to controversy - a previous
mixed
prayer ceremony led by her in New York. "...was moved after
it was rejected by three mosques and an art gallery venue received a
bomb threat". (Also see
The Quiet Heretic) For doing so he has attracted criticism from the MCB, which is no bad thing, and from apologist sites such as the idiotically-named Islamophobia Watch (see Islamophobia) The MCB's attacks go back at least to 2005 and the the BBC broadcast "A Question of Leadership" which "...was a film which reflected the debate within the Muslim community in Britain about the leadership that the MCB offers." In this answer sent to Inayat Bunglawala of the MBC addressing complaints about the impartiality of the show there is a section devoted to Tay Hargey (scroll down). The MBC questions his right to be included in the program on the grounds that "...almost all of us in the Muslim Council of Britain had never previously heard of Dr Taj Hargey.", a claim that is disingenuous at best, as the subsequent paragraphs make abundantly clear. Now 80 is not one to be starry-eyed about Hargey and a reformed Islam that is comfortable with democracy. I am not even certain how representative he truly is, but his is a voice that should be heard for it will act as a welcome counterpoint to the "firebrand preachers" and "mad mullahs" and other tiresome nutters that appear in the news practically every day. "The relentless importation of Wahhabi-influenced theology and tradition into the body politic of the Muslim community is mainly the result of two factors. First, the Saudis control Mecca and Medina, the centres of Islam. This gives the Wahhabi Saudis both a spurious legitimacy and a captive market to peddle their sectarian poison. Second, with their petrodollars the Saudis can afford to export the most horrendous brand of Islam around the globe. Here in Britain, conservative mosques and madrassas receive funding from the despotic Saudis and in turn extol their nefarious interpretation of Islam. It is essential therefore that all thinking Muslims resist this foreign theological imposition and create a British Islam that is not only faithful to the original uplifting teachings of the faith but one that is natural to and at home in modern British society." Dr Taj Hargey, Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford. Who should pay for hospital chaplains? - The cost to the taxpayer of hospital chaplains was exposed by the National Secular Society this week and prompted a national debate. The NSS had undertaken research under the Freedom of Information Act to discover how much is spent on chaplains. The research — co-ordinated by NSS member Dennis Penaluna — revealed that £32 million was spent in the UK on wages alone. We estimated that when national insurance, pensions, administration, office space, prayer rooms and chapels were taken into account this was likely to be in the region of £40 million. When the issue was taken up by the BBC, the NSS started a marathon round of interviews, talking on radio stations up and down the country, as well as on the Today Programme, Breakfast TV and the BBC News Channel. Read our press release about our research, the report to the Department of Health (pdf) and see the statistics (pdf). Terry Sanderson said: "Although the chaplains have put up a spirited fight defending their corner, many people contacted us and the various message boards that were discussing it, to say that they had no idea at all that the chaplains were paid from public funds. Many people simply assumed that they were clergypeople working for the churches but based in hospitals. That's what we think it should be." (The above piece is from Newsline, the free weekly email newsletter from the National Secular Society) DIY UFO - now what could a couple of enterprising individuals do with "...one helium tank, five balloons, five flares, fishing line, duct tape and a video camera." ? Chris Russo & Joe Rudy decided to create their very own UFO flap and document their preparations and the subsequent press coverage. As they point out, filming their preparations was necessary to counter accusations of them being involved in some kind of "Men In Black" cover up. The aim of their project was "...to help people think rationally and question the credibility of so-called UFO “professionals.” We brainstormed the idea of producing a spaceship hoax to fool people, bring the charlatans out of the woodwork to drum up controversy, and then expose it as nothing more than a prank to show everyone how unreliable eyewitness accounts are, along with investigators of UFOs." Read their own account at Skeptic.com Recipes For Easter - courtesy of those righteous folk at the Landover Baptist Church. Here are the instructions for Easter Bunny Stew and, graciously provided by Mrs Betty Bowers, here is the Passion Fruit of the Christ Soufflé - He Has Risen! If you are sick of people going on about the "real meaning" of Easter you need to see the horrific truth behind Easter eggs in "Are Your Children Playing With Lucifer's Testicles?"
Freethunk!Qibla Quibbles - it seems that over 200 mosques face "..in the wrong direction" according to this piece in the Telegraph. So concerned are some that the Qibla, or direction of prayer, should be accurate that there was a suggestion "...that laser beams be installed in the tall minarets of the Al-Haram mosque built around the Kaaba to help mosques and worshippers establish the correct qibla direction." What the Telegraph writer doesn't mention is that for a short time the direction of prayer was toward Jerusalem. Elsewhere we are told that this was because it was the location of the al-Aqsa mosque - except at that early period that building did not exist. The Jerusalem prayer direction would seem to have been borrowed from Judaism, along with much else by the founder of Islam, Muhammed. (See United) There are different ways of
calculating the direction of prayer, the
South
Pacific rules for instance lead to "Muslims living in the islands
of the South Pacific generally pray with their heads facing the ground.
As the South Pacific is antipodal to Mecca, this method allows prayers
to reach Mecca with a minimum distance travelled. Conservative
authorities believe that this method is flawed, as prayers are unable to
pass through certain minerals in the Earth's crust." (The Islamic
equivalent of green Kryptonite?) It is always interesting to watch the scholars jump through hoops in their attempts to fit their religion in with modern knowledge or vice versa - and this applies to all three Abrahamic faiths and others. The only human construct that automatically adjusts itself to agree with observation and experiment is science, which has proved itself to be far more beneficial to humanity than any supernatural belief system. Scientists are often gleeful when an observation throws an accepted theory into doubt. It is when things don't fit into the existing paradigm that progress is made. With religion such new information is suppressed (heresy) or more and more complicated contrivances are invented to get over the problem. There is of course another way. Creationists for instance just ignore any evidence that contradicts their world view, all the while happily using vaccines, antibiotics, electronics and the other fruits of the scientific method. This rank hypocrisy seems to bother them not at all. Take a look at Quranic science and Biblical science to see how the deity seems to know no more about the cosmos than the humans writing down his words. "There are no major errors but corrections have been made for some old mosques, thanks to modern techniques. In any case, it does not affect the prayers." Tawfik al-Sudairy, Islamic affairs ministry deputy secretary commenting on the misaligned mosque muddle. Leading this infidel to ask, if it does not affect prayers then why bother with the Qibla rigmarole in the first place? Religious Persecution Wolf in Anti-Defamation Sheep’s Clothing - is a piece on the defamation of religion nonsense at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva by Austin Dacey, UN representative for the secularist think tank Center for Inquiry, (CFI). Also recommended is Do Religions Have Rights? Further Pages from The Victim’s Handbook by R. Joseph Hoffmann at the excellent Butterflies and Wheels. Sharia Shame - 80 has received an email from the government responding to the online Stop Sharia petition and it is pretty much the mealy-mouthed bollocks you would expect. There is, of course, no mention of the fact that women are deemed to be of less worth than men in this Arab justice system thereby depriving British Muslim women of their human rights. Concerning the binding nature of sharia courts (or councils in government speak) we are told "These councils are not part of the court system, although parties may find them useful in resolving litigation, as may be done with arbitration by regulatory bodies (such as ABTA). A Shari’a council could constitute an arbitration body if it is a tribunal that complies with the Arbitration Act 1996 (for example, that parties have given written consent to the Shari’a council to arbitrate.) The decisions of Shari’a councils may be enforceable through the courts by virtue of the Arbitration Act. This provides that, where both parties agree to arbitration, the decisions of the Shari’a council will be enforceable if the requirements of the Arbitration Act are satisfied." The above assumes that women have chosen to participate of their own free will and have not been coerced by overwhelming pressure from the rest of their family and the local imam/mullah. This shows on behalf of the government either a total ignorance of the pressures a Muslim woman or girl could face or even worse, a total disregard of those pressures, no doubt in the service of that great god of discarded principles, "social cohesion". See Muslim Women Lose Their Human Rights and One Law For All. Pope Tart - "A nightclub leaflet showing the late Pope John Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman has been banned. The Advertising Standards Authority branded the flyer offensive and ordered it to be removed after a complaint by the Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) on behalf of angry Poles and Catholics. The leaflet showed Pope John Paul II with a bottle of beer dancing with a blonde woman wearing a short dress." How shocking, 80 does not approve of Pole dancing. The puzzle is what does something that offended Poles and Catholics have to do with racial equality? Last time 80 checked Polish was a nationality and Catholicism a Christian sect - no race involved here at all. Islamist Dickhead - is the uncompromising (and accurate) title of Pat Condell's latest piece to camera which looks at bearded Islamist rabble-rouser Anjem "Andy" Choudary. Choudary is so absurd one could be forgiven for thinking he is some sort of parody act but sadly it seems he believes every single word he utters. Dolt. United - fundamentalist Jews and their deadly enemies fundamentalist Muslims have at least one thing in common and that is their fear and hatred of women. This Guardian article tells us "Two female ministers within a 30-strong cabinet may not sound like such a big deal to most. However, it was two women too many for Israeli ultra-orthodox newspapers, so they simply airbrushed the offending female figures out of photographs of Binyamin Netanyahu's new cabinet, on the grounds that printing pictures of women is "immodest"." No doubt readers of these newspapers include the scum who beat a woman for the crime of sitting with a man on a bus. How they must envy their Islamic counterparts who can administer a proper religiously-sanctioned public whipping to a defenceless girl. But it is not just the oppression of women they have in common, think about it - hatred of gays, obsessive washing and eating rituals, an unhealthy interest in others' sexual activities, silly beards, fear and hatred of pigs - they have so much in common perhaps they should kiss and make up. This Could Be Interesting - the Muslim Council of Britain's (MCB) somewhat grandly titled deputy secretary general, Dr Daud Abdullah, has been in the news recently over his recent attendance at the Global Anti-Aggression conference in Istanbul where he signed a document called the Istanbul Declaration (PDF). Part of the declaration calls for an attack on any blockade of supplies (specifically weapons) to those resisting the Israeli action in Gaza. Forces involved in such a blockade would have included the Royal Navy. It would appear then that Dr Abdullah is in favor of an attack on Britain's armed forces. In the past the MCB has been consulted by the government and also given funding for various projects. Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, had a letter published in the Guardian in which she said inquiries had been made of the MCB as to whether Abdullah attended the conference and signed the declaration. She tells us "The MCB has now confirmed he did attend and did sign the declaration. A declaration that supports violence against foreign forces – which could include British naval personnel – as the prime minister has offered British naval support to stop the smuggling of weapons to Gaza; and advocating attacks on Jewish communities all around the world." She concluded "I would urge the MCB to accept the serious nature of this issue and work with us to resolve it so that we can continue in partnership to build the safe, strong, cohesive communities in which we all want to live." This looks like a clear shot across the bows of the MCB. Abdullah's response has been interesting, to say the least, in that he is suing Blears in her role as Secretary of State. This page from Harry's Place has the details, including some fascinating background on the lawyer he is employing. Abdullah's position would appear to be that as the Royal Navy was not deployed in a blockading role "...the suggestion that he was supporting terrorism is based on “totally hypothetical scenarios”." This argument is about as watertight as a sieve. The MCB has protested at ministers' "...undermining its independence". Blears has now issued a response "The legal route that Dr Abdullah has chosen to take despite our offer of further private dialogue with the MCB to resolve the matter means this will now be taken forward by solicitors." So, it looks like the MCB and Dr Abdullah will have their day in court which will bring their activities and past declarations under the microscope and before a jury. To repeat, this could be interesting. 80 welcomes the showing of some backbone by at least one minister in Brown's sorry shambles of a government. (The Muslim Council of Britain was inaugurated in November 1997 by 250 Muslim organisations from all parts of the UK as an umbrella organization to represent their views. Here is an unflattering look at the organization and some of its leading lights, their pals and past affiliations and here is another which examines those under the MCB umbrella) Same Old, Same Old - "Faith is a huge public asset, it is a great strength for building social cohesion. Real, social, community cohesion will not be achieved on an aggressively secular model. There are very serious issues we need to address - how the motivation of faith is used as an incentive in the public sector. If you banish that depth of humanity, our public services become commercialised." This would be the same depth of humanity that includes lies about condom's efficacy in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS and the obdurate and callous condemnation of gays, abortion and birth control, would it? Faith, particularly the monotheistic kind, far from being a "huge public asset" is inherently divisive and does nothing for social cohesion. Secularism is to be embraced for its fairness to those with faith and those with none. It is only viewed as "aggressive" by those who feel threatened by that fairness and the loss of the deference to which they think their unsubstantiated beliefs entitle them. Murphy O'Connor's replacement as the Vatican's top man in the UK is full of the same patronising guff as his predecessor and is equally arrogant in presuming that supernatural beliefs automatically place a person on higher moral ground. One does have to concede however, that The Most Rev Vincent Gerard Nichols, now Archbishop of Westminster, is an improvement over the previous incumbent in that, as far as is known, he has not enabled pedophilia. (See Unfit!) Update - see here some reactions to the appointment, including one from Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society. A Saudi Surprise? - "Ann Holmes Redding has what could be called a crisis of faiths. For nearly 30 years, Redding has been an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church. Her priesthood ended Wednesday when she was defrocked. The reason? For the past three years Redding has been both a practicing Christian and a Muslim. Even though she has been defrocked, Redding said she is not capable of turning her back on either faith. She said she wants to continue speaking about and teaching religion and perhaps even travel to the Hajj, a journey to Mecca that every Muslim is supposed to make in their lifetime." What's the betting she just might find the attitude to women in the Arab religion's homeland a little different from the USA? Gillian McKeith - continued. Ben Goldacre, writer of the admirable Bad Science column in the Guardian, has returned to the fascinating subject of Gillian McKeith (see You Are What You Eat) and her stated qualifications. Goldacre notes "under "Professional Associations" that she is a certified member of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants (AANC), which certainly sounds impressive." In fact so impressive that Goldacre decided to obtain a certificate of membership - not for himself, you understand - and found the process straightforward, costing a mere $60. In fact all you need is $60, a name and an address. Hardly demanding by any standards. It would seem that McKeith's qualifications for pontificating on diet and health are as dodgy as her knowledge of science and medicine. To describe McKeith as a charlatan is not appropriate, but only on the grounds that the word has become hackneyed from overuse. In 80's view, "mountebank" makes a very acceptable substitute. Which leaves the question, who did Ben Goldacre obtain his American Association of Nutritional Consultants certificate for? Read his hilarious article to find out. Highly recommended. Carctol - see Rosy-Colored Spectacles for the story of Dr Daniels and her Ayurvedic miracle cure. Here is a letter in the Guardian from Christopher Head, disassociating the Bristol Cancer Help Centre from Daniels' claims. "It is becoming evident that, as a society, we need to move away from the emphasis on a single magic bullet cure - whether from a pharmaceutical company or an Indian herb - and towards taking more responsibility for our own health."
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