2nd Jul 2009 : It appears that the people of the state of Oklahoma aren't a big enough flock for state Rep. Sally Kern. Now she wants to take her message of hellfire and brimstone all across the land, possibly even to the halls of Congress and maybe even the Oval Office.

2nd Jul 2009 : Her offence was being seen in public with a man not her husband or a relative.

30th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins interviews Craig Venter for "The Genius of Charles Darwin".

30th Jun 2009 : Atheist Biologist PZ Myers is an outspoken critic of Christianity. He believes that faith in God and science are contradictory. He debates theistic evolutionist Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Is science is at odds with Christianity as PZ claims?

29th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins is interviewed for Australian ABC TV Compass.

29th Jun 2009 :

29th Jun 2009 : There is a misconception that because I am an atheist and poke fun at religion in this space every Sunday that I must have contempt for religion for its own sake.

29th Jun 2009 : SANTUBONG, Malaysia – As he trudges past chest-high ferns and butterflies the size of saucers, George Beccaloni scours a jungle hilltop overlooking the South China Sea for signs of a long-forgotten Victorian-era scientist.

28th Jun 2009 : WHEN schoolchildren break up for their summer holidays at the end of next month, India Jago, aged 12, and her brother Peter, 11, will be taking a vacation with a twist.

28th Jun 2009 : The United States is a deeply religious country, over 90% believe in god and 80% believe in miracles. For the US military, dealing with its own religious identity has become an internal battle. Growing evidence points towards a rising influence of evangelical Christianity, and with two wars still raging in Muslim countries with significant religious overtones, there could be serious consequences for the US mission. Pentagon officials say incidents are isolated, aberrations occur, but others closely tied to the military and its religious leadership say a transformation is taking place with dire costs. On this weeks episode of Fault Lines, we look at the battle over the religious soul of the US military.

27th Jun 2009 : Bill Gates recently bought the rights to a series of lectures by legendary Caltech physicist Richard Feynman. The former Microsoft head’s purchase shows that the cultural and scientific legacy of Feynman remains strong even 21 years after his death.

27th Jun 2009 : Not long ago, Hank Davis sat down for a chat with a friend. The conversation took an unexpected turn: Out spilled a story of her husband's infidelity, the breakdown of her marriage and the difficulties of raising a child alone. He nodded with sympathy as she told the tale. She concluded with a seemingly innocuous phrase. "But I guess everything happens for a reason. Don't you think so?"

27th Jun 2009 : ISTANBUL - Just when one thought TVshows could not get more outrageous, Kanal T comes up with the idea to make an imam, a priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk try to convert 10 atheists. While some fear the program could create problems, a sociologist says this just shows the yearning to learn more about religions.

26th Jun 2009 : LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.” And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!” as a promotional flier for the “open carry celebration” puts it.

26th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins is interviewed via satellite and announces the Royal Society of New Zealand's Science Book Prize.

26th Jun 2009 : Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in several exciting panel discussions at the World Science Festival in New York City. But the most dramatic encounter took place at the panel strangely titled "Science, Faith and Religion." I had been conscripted to join the panel after telling one of the organizers that I saw no reason to have it. After all, there was no panel on science and astrology, or science and witchcraft. So why one on science and religion?

25th Jun 2009 : A dispute over Metro Tasmania's refusal to display anti-religious advertisements on its buses has been set down for a conciliation hearing.

25th Jun 2009 : Before the August recess, a resolution will be voted on by the House of Representatives that will require the Architect of the Capitol to engrave the words "In God We Trust" and the post-1954 Pledge of Allegiance onto the walls of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC).

25th Jun 2009 : I have twice had the privilege of sitting, poorly shaved, on the floor and attending the Friday prayers that the Iranian theocracy sponsors each week on the campus of Tehran University. As everybody knows, this dreary, nasty ceremony is occasionally enlivened when the scrofulous preacher leads the crowd in a robotic chant of Marg Bar Amrika! -- "Death to America!

24th Jun 2009 :

24th Jun 2009 : Sam Harris and Philip Ball discuss the conflict between religion and science. They do not agree…

24th Jun 2009 : Of the many extraordinary sights revealed in Channel 4’s upcoming four-part series Inside Nature’s Giants, which uses dissection to take us inside the bodies of an elephant, giraffe and crocodile, the most remarkable is surely afforded by an autopsy carried out on a 65-foot long, 60-ton fin whale (a species second only in size to the blue whale) beached off the coast of Ireland.

24th Jun 2009 : Ever since Pastor Wiley Drake declared not once, but three times, on national radio that he was praying for the death of President Obama, he has been trying to clarify.

Yes, he really does want God to smite Obama. No, it’s not a partisan prayer. Yes, it’s in the Bible, he says, and no, he wasn’t kidding. He’s deadly serious.

The former second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention said he’s merely practicing the age-old art of “imprecatory prayer”—a theological term for praying that bad things happen to bad people.

24th Jun 2009 : Iran is at the top of international news. What led to the mass protests? How did the situation change so dramatically over a week? What do people want? What will be the outcome of this protest movement?

24th Jun 2009 : Here’s an idea: read Skepdad’s Epic Reading List. It really is. Epic, I mean: he’s put a bazillion links in various categories, including blogs, podcasts, thinkers, topic-specific, and so on. I’ve looked it over and it’s a pretty good list if you’re looking to find ways to blow off that big project that’s already overdue. I’m actually a little afraid to delve into more deeply, as I can see my already-neutron-star-dense schedule getting even more tightly squeezed… and that can only have one outcome. A calendrical black hole.

But if you’re looking for a little summer reading (and who isn’t?) then this is a great place to start.

23rd Jun 2009 : Mr. Deity is upset by how he's portrayed in the Bible.

23rd Jun 2009 :

23rd Jun 2009 : From Tim's DVD 'So Live'
http://www.timminchin.com/

23rd Jun 2009 :

23rd Jun 2009 :

23rd Jun 2009 : A plant that pretends to be ill has been found growing in the rainforests of Ecuador.

23rd Jun 2009 : The theocratic repression in Iran is a reminder that there can be no freedom without secular government.

22nd Jun 2009 :

22nd Jun 2009 : A senior bishop has backed the move, which is part of a Church of England initiative to put a Christian emphasis on the annual celebration of fatherhood.

Concerns over the lack of men attending services year-round has led clergy to offer a range of incentives today, including free beer, bacon rolls and chocolate bars.

22nd Jun 2009 :

22nd Jun 2009 : Article which lead up to the "Part 1 of 3" series. St. Petersburg Times article from June 20. Part 1 was yesterday, Sunday June 21. Part 2 - today, Monday June 22, will be posted shortly.

22nd Jun 2009 :

22nd Jun 2009 : Article about a scam to get another scientist in front of a camera for an interview in a creationist film under false pretenses.

22nd Jun 2009 : I am writing on behalf of "Concern Group for Hong Kong Science Education", a group of Hong Kong citizens who are concerned about the science education in Hong Kong. I would like to draw your attention to a recent incidence that may threaten the Biology education in Hong Kong.You do not have to be a Chinese citizen to sign the petition.

20th Jun 2009 : Melvyn Bragg and a panel of scientists debate what Charles Darwin's theory of evolution tells us about ourselves and human society. Filmed in at the Linnean Society - the world's oldest biological society - in Piccadilly, London.

20th Jun 2009 : We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to withdraw support for Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, and education focused, yet ardently creationist establishment. More details

Deadline to sign up by: 26 June 2009 – Signatures: 236

20th Jun 2009 : New York City is finally joining the Atheist Bus Campaign!

19th Jun 2009 : Great followup to PZ's post yesterday http://richarddawkins.net/article,3962,A-little-sympathy-for-the-snookered,PZ-Myers---Pharyngula"/>A little sympathy for the snookered
I swear, sometimes I think that pro-evolution accommodationists see evolutionists as a bigger enemy than are creationists. This became clear to me earlier this week, when I received a nasty, chest-thumping email from philosopher Michael Ruse, accusing me of two things:...

19th Jun 2009 : It's a pleasant Friday afternoon, so you've got nothing better to do than listen to some tedious apologetic drivel, right? Terry Eagleton is interviewed on Canadian radio, and he repeats the same boring noise he droned out in his book. For all the times the atheists are accused of sneering at the stupidity of their opponents, it's galling that pretentious defenders of the faith like Eagleton get a free pass: his entire interview consists of smug gibes at the smugness of Dawkins and Hitchens, dismissals of their ideas as ignorant and dishonest.

19th Jun 2009 :

19th Jun 2009 : ...So when I read Sikivu's piece, I thought she's be a good person to ask about this stuff. She was kind enough to give me an interview, and we spoke -- well, okay, emailed -- about privilege, the intersection of race and religion, the history of Christianity in African- American culture, what atheism has to contribute to society, and more. Here is that interview....

19th Jun 2009 : The Church of Scientology is in the midst of a multi-million dollar media campaign that includes running ads on news sites, satellite dish networks, 37 cable stations, and even Wired.com — a blitz that seems to have not so much won new friends or influenced people as stir up more animosity towards the group many consider nothing more than a greedy cult.

19th Jun 2009 : Biologist Robert Full studies the amazing gecko, with its supersticky feet and tenacious climbing skill. But high-speed footage reveals that the gecko's tail harbors perhaps the most surprising talents of all.

18th Jun 2009 :

18th Jun 2009 : As we all know to our great shame, Ken Ham has this Creation "Museum" in Kentucky. As has been reported before, it's a thoroughly bogus bit of bunco, with dinosaurs wearing saddles and all the ills of the world laid at the feet of Charles Darwin.

There are a few things you might not know. Like that it's rolling in dough, with almost $18 million in revenue and $14 million in assets. It's entirely tax free, which helps, and Ham is a relentless self-promoter.

18th Jun 2009 : Diane Benscoter spent five years as a "Moonie." She shares an insider's perspective on the mind of a cult member, and proposes a new way to think about today's most troubling conflicts and extremist movements.

18th Jun 2009 : The scientific legacy of Charles Darwin is well documented, but the impact he had on the 19th Century art world is less well known.

18th Jun 2009 : A couple have taken legal action after claiming motion sensors installed at their holiday flat in Dorset breached their rights as Orthodox Jews.

18th Jun 2009 : Part II - Part I was posted in 11/08
Still struggling to choose the top religion? Pigeonhole yourself for all eternity with the second part of our cut-out-and-keep metaphysical card game.

18th Jun 2009 : This is the debate at Biola University on April 4, 2009. Christopher Hitchens vs William Lane Craig. Link to playlist for 15 YouTube videos.

18th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins' talk from his March 2009 American tour.

17th Jun 2009 : Women’s liberation movement in Iran has earned the respect and admiration of all.

16th Jun 2009 : The first exposes how magic exploits cognitive weaknesses that are a result of our neurological design, and sites James Randi and Penn and Teller,and the second the problem of people being unable to assimilate facts that contradict an emotionally held belief.

16th Jun 2009 : Some 3.9 billion years ago, a shift in the orbit of the Sun’s outer planets sent a surge of large comets and asteroids careening into the inner solar system. Their violent impacts gouged out the large craters still visible on the Moon’s face, heated Earth’s surface into molten rock and boiled off its oceans into an incandescent mist.

15th Jun 2009 : Self-diagnosis impresses docs who've missed signs of her disease for years

15th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins interviews Peter Singer for "The Genius of Charles Darwin".

14th Jun 2009 : Take a look at this article from Naturalism.org; it’s about the misguided notion that in some areas faith can give us genuine answers to questions before which science is impotent.

13th Jun 2009 : Last year I published an article in The Guardian about chiropractors who claim to treat childhood conditions such as asthma, colic and ear infection.

13th Jun 2009 : Julie Price has left the Catholic Church, Christianity and God.
She has entered a new life without angels, saints, prayer, forgiveness and heaven. It’s unsettling at times.
She told her story to a newly formed group called Recovering Religionists, or RR for short.

13th Jun 2009 : For three evenings of discussion and debate, noted authors and thinkers analyze the Ten Commandments and share their ideas for a moral code for our own time. Listen to the opening lecture with Christopher Hitchens, author of the New York Times bestselling book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

An article from the National Post event was previously posted but this is a direct link to the Royal Ontario Museum podcast

13th Jun 2009 : The Open University lecture Dawkins gave on 17 March 2009 has been posted, in four parts along with a post-lecture discussion, and is also available for viewing and download.
Update 6/13 - link to a compiled version of all videos in the set added

12th Jun 2009 : Hungarian theists swung back to respond to the "probably no god" campaign. "If there really is no God, we should start worrying", they claim on the posters that have appeared on buses and trams in Budapest.

This cunning move saves the hassle for atheists of starting the campaign in the country in the first place, doing the awareness-raising for us. As the "probably no god" campaign has not reached Hungary yet, the ads respond to a proposition that has not been heard by the majority of the population. Now they might start or stop worrying, but they will think about the question for sure. Thanks, theists! (note in e-mail)

12th Jun 2009 : The Big Debate continues about whether faith and science are compatible and whether scientists should criticize those religious people who agree with them about matters like evolution. Several people, however, have complained that discussion is spread out among so many places — and people — that it’s confusing to follow...here are the links in chronological (and philosphical) order.

11th Jun 2009 : Over the last few days, I've been reading the articles in the
latest issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach. This is a fairly new journal with the mission stated in the title, and I have to say that it is very, very good — the articles are almost always easily readable, and they address significant issues in the public understanding of evolution.

10th Jun 2009 :

10th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins interviews Steven Pinker for "The Genius of Charles Darwin", the Channel 4 UK TV program which won British Broadcasting Awards' "Best Documentary Series" of 2008.

10th Jun 2009 : The first panicky retreat in the war on free speech in the UK has begun.

As I wrote last week, the British Chiropractic Association is suing science journalist Simon Singh for saying that chiropractors practice "bogus" medicine. Instead of defending what they do with research and testing, they are acting to silence Singh and chill anyone else who may want to expose what they do.

10th Jun 2009 : This is an entirely fictional manifesto, but it could be the game plan for a lot of rather devious pro-religion people right now — I could almost imagine it as the mission statement for the Templeton Foundation, for instance.

9th Jun 2009 : Douglas Adams moderates a discussion between Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker and Jared Diamond. 4 YouTube clips

9th Jun 2009 : According to the new posters in Sweden’s capitol Stockholm *God is not
probable*. The advertisement reads that 7 million Swedes do not claim to be religious (out of a 9 million population). But still, the sub heading say, God affects our lives and all too many citizens still support the former state church (since the year 2000)by their membership and the taxes they pay as a result.

9th Jun 2009 : Reversing a lower court, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously declared unconstitutional the eight-foot-tall religious display, which was erected at the local courthouse in 2004 after a campaign by a local minister and his supporters.

8th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and internationally renowned atheist, sceptic and humanist is to receive an award for his 'work in promoting reason and science worldwide' on 6th June during an international gathering of humanist organisations from all over the world. The award is being given by the British Humanist Association (BHA) and the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) following a conference during the day on ‘Darwin, Humanism and Science’, at which Professor Dawkins is a key speaker.

8th Jun 2009 : British naturalist David Attenborough has been bestowed with the 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences. The Jury for the Award announced its decision today in Oviedo.

8th Jun 2009 : Wiener Linien: "Keine Werbung für politische Parteien oder religiöse Glaubensgemeinschaften auf den Fahrzeugen der Wiener Linien" - Initiatoren: "Traurige Überraschung"

Vienna Lines transit authority : "No advertisement for political parties or religious groups on Vienna Lines vehicles". Initiators: "A sad surprise"

8th Jun 2009 : Series of talks (20) by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

Friday 5/6/09 Sir David Attenborough began a 20-part series of 10-minute talks about nature on BBC Radio 4 (every Friday, 8.50pm)
[Update 6/8 - link to mp3 added]

6th Jun 2009 : Sapolsky on Religion
Prof. Robert Sapolsky Bio 150/250, Spring 2002 Human Behavioral Biology
82min - includes lecture outline

5th Jun 2009 : BABY Gloria Thomas's parents have been found guilty of manslaughter by failing to get her conventional medical care before she died from an infection caused by chronic eczema.

Also a post from Phil Plait - 'Homeopathy kills'

5th Jun 2009 : Richard Dawkins introduces the British Humanist Association's annual Darwin Day Lecture February 12, 2009.

Former chief scientific advisor to the government, Professor Sir David King, asks "Can British science rise to the challenges of the twenty-first century?"

5th Jun 2009 : Well, Chris Mooney has decided to continue the discussion about the compatibility of science and faith that he and Barbara Forrest began on his Discover blog. If you’ve followed all this, they criticized me for my “divisiveness” in going after the idea that science and faith are compatible.

4th Jun 2009 :

4th Jun 2009 : Download the song for free. Jill Sobule will also be performing at the Charlotte Pop Fest

4th Jun 2009 : The respected science writer Simon Singh is being sued under the British libel laws (which are rapidly becoming an international laughing stock).

4th Jun 2009 : Central African chimpanzees crave honey so much that they've invented the animal kingdom's most complex known set of tools to get it, according to researchers who found many of the tools still slathered with the syrupy liquid.

4th Jun 2009 : For his first date with a fellow art student, Viktor Deak suggested “Bodies,” the exhibit of flayed and plasticized humans.
She said yes, even though she had already seen it. He thought that was promising. But it was dinner afterward that convinced him this was the real thing.

4th Jun 2009 : Simon Singh is a journalist in the UK; he writes for the Guardian. Moreover, he’s a science journalist, and a good one who, like so many of us, prefers reality the way it is.

The British Chiropractic Association, however, prefers reality to bend to their will. They’ve been making some outrageous claims lately about the efficacy of their "treatment", things that are clearly wrong.

3rd Jun 2009 : Are the 10 Commandments really enough for today's society? The Royal Ontario Museum will be asking three prominent social commentators over the next three weeks what three new commandments they would add. It kicks off tonight (June 02) with author, journalist and well-known atheist Christopher Hitchens. Next Tuesday is author A.J. Jacobs and the following week Camille Paglia. Religion reporter Charles Lewis will report live from each event. And we are asking readers to tell us what they might add or subtract to make commandment more relevant today in our comment section.

3rd Jun 2009 : What's the secret to surviving during times of environmental change? Evolve…quickly.

3rd Jun 2009 : It's hard to miss the huge eye of a squid. But now it appears that certain squids can detect light through an organ other than their eyes as well.

3rd Jun 2009 : A new study published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that young women in their teens or early twenties who have attended religious schools are more likely than their peers to get an abortion, despite their beliefs.

2nd Jun 2009 : Researchers have discovered a fossilized face and jaw from a previously unknown hominoid primate genus in Spain dating to the Middle Miocene era, roughly 12 million years ago. Nicknamed "Lluc," the male bears a strikingly "modern" facial appearance with a flat face, rather than a protruding one. The finding sheds important new light on the evolutionary development of hominids, including orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and humans.

2nd Jun 2009 : Adama Gopnik in Conversation with Steven Pinker, LIVE from the NYPL, May 20, 2009.

2nd Jun 2009 : In June 2009, the British Humanist Association (BHA) is hosting the General Assemblies of the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) in London.

As part of the associated programme events, and as part of the BHA’s season of events to celebrate 'Darwin 200', we are holding a special day conference on "Darwin, Humanism and Science" together with EHF, IHEU, and the South Place Ethical Society (SPES).

1st Jun 2009 : Here's something guaranteed to tick off the faithful, or at least give them something to pray about: a group of atheists, agnostics and humanists are set to convene in Tempe this week, and they're bringing their godless message to a highway near you. You know, in a spot where hopefully your impressionable tykes will get to read it.

1st Jun 2009 : 1)Scientists have finished sequencing the mouse genome after a 10-year effort.

2)Mice carrying a "humanized version" of a gene believed to influence speech and language may not actually talk, but they nonetheless do have a lot to say about our evolutionary past, according to a report in the May 29th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

1st Jun 2009 : This is the third of my encounters with John Lennox, all organized by the Fixed Point Foundation, which is an American Christian organization.