RichardDawkins.net : The Latest Updates

Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle by Star Tribune

A Christian group based in San Diego found grounds for outrage over the new retro-style logo.

Seems that one person's smut is another person's morning latte.

A Christian group based in San Diego found grounds for outrage over the new retro-style logo for Starbucks Coffee.

Bible Theme Park Faces Opposition in Tennessee by NPR

Day to Day, May 15, 2008 · A developer wants to build what would be the country's largest Bible-based theme park in Tennessee, depicting scenes such as the parting of the Red Sea. But the plan has created a deep divide among locals.

Turkish Islamic author given 3-year jail sentence by Reuters

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Controversial Turkish Islamic author Adnan Oktar was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for creating an illegal organization for personal gain, state-run Anatolian news agency said.

UC Berkeley is going to court over Evolution website by PZ Myers, Pharyngula

UC Berkeley is going to court this week over their Understanding Evolution web site (that's an excellent resource, by the way, especially if you're just trying to get up to speed on the science). At issue is the fact that the site dares to point out that some religions contradict the evidence, and other religions try to avoid conflict with science; that is interpreted to be a sectarian endorsement of certain religions over others. This is where separation of church and state becomes insane: when you are not allowed to point out obvious idiocies because they are protected religious beliefs. Here's the offending section: I think it's pretty namby-pamby and bends over backwards to give deference to superstitious nonsense, but some people are apparently irate over a simple, accurate truth statement: "some religious beliefs explicitly contradict science". They do, but a university isn't allowed to say so?

The Dissent Of Darwin - The World Of Richard Dawkins by Jaron Lanier

When zoologist Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene was published 20 years ago, it practically snuffed out many readers' belief in God and in their own importance, for it described in stunning and terrifying detail a world where all life was merely the conveyor belt for the gene. Its mission: to replicate itself. DNA was the fundamental and irreducible unit of life that spun itself endlessly into the incredible diversity of flora and fauna. Everything we hold most dear--acts of love, altruism, the painterly beauty of the peacock's tail, the birth of a newborn--could, according to Dawkins, be explained by the gene's attempt to survive, and to hitch a ride on the fittest organism possible, the one most likely to mate and reproduce. Darwinian natural selection was Dawkins' ruling theme. The gene looked like the most purely selfish entity one could imagine, but it was more like the Terminator--just programmed to survive.

Is Science Killing the Soul? by Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, Edge

On February 10, 1999, The Guardian-Dillons Debate at the Westminster Central Hall in London featured Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker in an event chaired by Tim Radford, Science Editor of The Guardian. Sold out weeks in advance, the evening attracted 2,300 attendees, with hundreds waiting outside. It was one of the toughest tickets in London in years.

'Framing Science' and The Dawkins Effect by Austin Dacey

In a major article in the newly released anthology, Secularism & Science in the 21st Century (published by the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture, at Trinity College), I look critically at their writings. I find little evidence for their claim, and put forward my own hypothesis, which I dub The Dawkins Effect.

Youngest galactic supernova (not aliens) found by Bad Astronomy

If you're wondering what all the buzz has been about the past few days over a NASA discovery, then wait no longer. No, it's not aliens or an incoming asteroid. Instead, it's still very cool: astronomers have found the youngest supernova in the Milky Way.

First, before I explain, here's the photo of the newest galactic family member:

'Spiritual' dentist fined $10,000 by The Age

Geelong dentist Paul Gardner wanted to do more than treat his patient's teeth. He wanted to save her soul.

The Christian convert told a schizophrenic patient in 2006 that she was oppressed by "spirits of fear" and should go to his church for "spiritual healing".

During a dental examination and clean, Dr Gardner told the woman his spiritual adviser could help her get off medication.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal today found Dr Gardner guilty of professional misconduct and fined him $10,000.

A natural selection by UC Observer

My colleague Rev. Lee Simpson called to me from her office one morning late last winter. "Did you hear William Thorsell on the radio last night?" she asked.

Thorsell runs the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Lee, The Observer's operations director, had heard Thorsell on CBC's weekday drive-home show plugging a new visiting exhibit about the life and work of Charles Darwin. In the course of the interview, Thorsell mentioned that the museum had been unable to secure any corporate sponsorship for the exhibit, which was highly unusual. Follow-up news stories painted an even starker picture: major corporate sponsors had shunned "Darwin and the Evolution Revolution" everywhere else it had been mounted in New York, where it originated, in Chicago, in Boston. The consensus was that Darwin and evolution were "too hot to handle."

Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens by Yahoo News

VATICAN CITY - Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

Richard Dawkins discusses Einstein's new letters by Richard Dawkins, BBC Radio Scotland

Richard Dawkins answers a few brief questions about Einstein on BBC Radio Scotland.

The Neural Buddhists by David Brooks, NY Times

85% of Americans Want a Presidential Debate on Science by Science Debate 2008

Democrats, Republicans agree on need, disagree on issues; health care tops list

God seekers go public by New Scientist

Over a year ago I visited an organisation called the Biologic Institute, then a shadowy outfit devoted to the search for scientific evidence for Intelligent Design.

Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol by The Age

Childish superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear by Guardian UK

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." So said Albert Einstein, and his famous aphorism has been the source of endless debate between believers and non-believers wanting to claim the greatest scientist of the 20th century as their own.

The Stupidity of Dignity by Steven Pinker

This spring, the President's Council on Bioethics released a 555-page report, titled Human Dignity and Bioethics.

3QD interviews Richard Dawkins by Three Quarks Daily

As I've mentioned many times (for example, here) at 3QD, Richard Dawkins has been one of my greatest intellectual heroes since I first read The Selfish Gene and then The Blind Watchmaker in college. I was recently fortunate enough to spend some time with Richard in New York City. When about to meet someone whom one holds in as high esteem as I do Richard, one is often a bit apprehensive that the flesh-and-blood person behind the works that one has so admired might not live up to the inflated demigod of one's imagination, and so I was a bit nervous as I walked over to Richard's hotel to pick him up.

On Fitna, the Movie by Maryam Namazie