1. Vote for secular nonprofit organizations on Facebook

Comment #433232 by Friend Giskard on November 19, 2009 at 7:19 pm

It's a fantastic way to re-acquaint yourself with friends.

2. Hey, preacher – leave those kids alone

Comment #432864 by Friend Giskard on November 18, 2009 at 4:42 pm

It's a shame that the important word 'muslim' is partly obscured by that grinning libertarian socialist on the left of the picture.

3. Hey, preacher – leave those kids alone

Comment #432855 by Friend Giskard on November 18, 2009 at 4:29 pm

I don't see anything about Jews.

4. Faith groups to be key policy advisers

Comment #432003 by Friend Giskard on November 15, 2009 at 10:47 pm

RE: Comment #431994 by rod-the-farmer on November 15, 2009 at 10:19 pm

If the morris dancers want a place at the table, some of their number should blow up a few trains. That's how the faith heads have won their privileged access to the legislature.

5. An interview with a Taliban Trained Suicide Bomber {With English S/T}

Comment #431628 by Friend Giskard on November 13, 2009 at 7:16 pm

Nothing new here. Pretty much what I thought he would say.

6. 'Why Evolution Is True'

Comment #429386 by Friend Giskard on November 4, 2009 at 10:03 am

I fear that, in the eyes of some, this lecture will be tainted by the AAI association, and that will have consequences for its chances of being used as an educational tool in schools. Jerry needs to deliver it again, and Josh record it again in a different setting. (If that's not too much trouble!)

OK. Now to watch it.

7. Five Minutes With: Sir Jonathan Miller

Comment #428708 by Friend Giskard on November 1, 2009 at 4:14 pm

Works fine for me.

8. Beware Of Demonic Candy!!!

Comment #428544 by Friend Giskard on October 31, 2009 at 3:28 pm

This is novel, but I fail to see how it rises above the normal level of craziness for religions.

9. 'The Evolution of Confusion'

Comment #428491 by Friend Giskard on October 31, 2009 at 10:14 am

That was brilliant.

10. Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot

Comment #427055 by Friend Giskard on October 26, 2009 at 8:07 pm

He forgot to say Allahu akbar.

11. Celebrity atheists expose their hypocrisy

Comment #426674 by Friend Giskard on October 25, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Context for the Hitch quote.

If one could nominate an absolutely tragic day in human history, it would be the occasion that is now commemorated by the vapid and annoying holiday known as "Hannukah." For once, instead of Christianity plagiarizing from Judaism, the Jews borrow shamelessly from Christians in the pathetic hope of a celebration that coincides with "Christmas," which is itself a quasi-Christian annexation, complete with burning logs and holly and mistletoe, of a pagan Northland solstice originally illuminated by the Aurora Borealis. Here is the terminus to which banal "multiculturalism" has brought us. But it was nothing remotely multicultural that induced Judah Maccabeus to reconsecrate the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC, and to establish the date which the soft celebrants of Hannukah now so emptily commemorate. The Maccabees, who founded the Hasmonean dynasty, were forcibly restoring Mosaic fundamentalism against the many Jews of Palestine and elsewhere who had become attracted by Hellenism. These true early multiculturalists had become bored by "the law," offended by circumcision, interested by Greek literature, drawn by the physical and intellectual exercises of the gymnasium, and rather adept at philosophy. They could feel the pull exerted by Athens, even if only by way of Rome and by the memory of Alexander's time, and were impatient with the stark fear and superstition mandated by the Pentateuch. They obviously seemed too cosmopolitan to the votaries of the old Temple—and it must have been easy to accuse them of "dual loyalty" when they agreed to have a temple of Zeus on the site where smoky and bloody altars used to propitiate the unsmiling deity of yore. At any rate, when the father of Judah Maccabeus saw a Jew about to make a Hellenic offering on the old altar, he lost no time in murdering him. Over the next few years of the Maccabean "revolt," many more assimilated Jews were slain, or forcibly circumcised, or both, and the women who had flirted with the new Hellenic dispensation suffered even worse. Since the Romans eventually preferred the violent and dogmatic Maccabees to the less militarized and fanatical Jews who had shone in their togas in the Mediterranean light, the scene was set for the uneasy collusion between the old-garb ultra-Orthodox Sanhedrin and the imperial governorate. This lugubrious relationship was eventually to lead to Christianity (yet another Jewish heresy) and thus ineluctably to the birth of Islam. We could have been spared the whole thing.
No doubt there would still have been much foolishness and solipsism. But the connection between Athens and history and humanity would not have been so sundered, and the Jewish people might have been the carriers of philosophy instead of arid monotheism, and the ancient schools and their wisdom would not have become prehistoric to us...

12. Celebrity atheists expose their hypocrisy

Comment #426666 by Friend Giskard on October 25, 2009 at 11:21 pm

Bless.

13. Michael Green: Master of the universe

Comment #426383 by Friend Giskard on October 24, 2009 at 8:27 pm

What a twit. (Stop me if I'm getting too technical)

14. Get ready for conservative Bible

Comment #425873 by Friend Giskard on October 22, 2009 at 9:01 pm

I once went to look at Conservapedia because I thought it would be a laugh. But it turns out it's not funny at all. It's just rather sad.

15. NSS President Interview

Comment #423956 by Friend Giskard on October 15, 2009 at 4:35 pm

The NSS has a long uphill battle. A vote for any of the main parties in the UK is a vote for faith schools and continued religious privilege. I don't see any sign that this will change soon.

I really, really want to vote, but each time elections come round I can't bring myself to do it. If I were to lift a finger to help religion, I would be doing something immoral. It would be like helping AIDS.

16. Biologist Richard Dawkins talks evolution, religion

Comment #423631 by Friend Giskard on October 13, 2009 at 9:41 pm

Oh well. At least “militant atheism" is in quotation marks this time. But it would have been better to omit it altogether.

Edit: A commenter suggests searching for other uses of the word 'militant' on the same site. Turns out it's mostly used for killers.

17. Faith and Belief: Richard Dawkins evolves his arguments

Comment #423173 by Friend Giskard on October 12, 2009 at 1:42 am

Imagine the indignant squawks that will ensue when Richard writes a book specifically targeted at children.

18. Paper Challenges Ideas About 'Early Bird' Dinosaur

Comment #422932 by Friend Giskard on October 10, 2009 at 8:31 pm

I'm not going to read this newspaper article as it's sure to be bullshit. I'll wait till Jerry Coyne writes it up on WEIT.

19. Imagine No Religion? Atheist Movement Gains Momentum

Comment #422317 by Friend Giskard on October 7, 2009 at 4:35 pm

I don't think Hitchens is particularly representative of the typical free-thinker.... I don't agree with him on abortion or war.

20. Richard Dawkins: 'Strident? Do they mean me?'

Comment #421459 by Friend Giskard on October 4, 2009 at 3:47 am

Paranthropus boisei....is now recognised as one of our most distant relatives

21. Fossil finds extend human story

Comment #420898 by Friend Giskard on October 2, 2009 at 12:07 am

I just heard on Sky News that this is 'our oldest ancestor', as if she just popped into existence out of thin air.

22. Darwin in Chile and a 1996 article by Richard Dawkins

Comment #420845 by Friend Giskard on October 1, 2009 at 8:09 pm

werewolves would violate the equivalent of the second law of thermodynamics.

23. 'The Invention of Lying' film opens this Friday Oct. 2nd

Comment #420790 by Friend Giskard on October 1, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Jennifer Garner has a flaw. She believes in God. Disappointing.

24. Happy Blasphemy Day

Comment #420417 by Friend Giskard on September 30, 2009 at 2:06 pm

Jesus was a twit. Happy Blasphemy Day.

25. Top Picks : Richard Dawkins : Canada AM: Richard Dawkins, author

Comment #419845 by Friend Giskard on September 28, 2009 at 11:29 pm

...respectable theologians and bishops and vicars...

26. The Angry Evolutionist

Comment #419840 by Friend Giskard on September 28, 2009 at 11:18 pm

He forgot to mention the gaps between the frames of video.

27. The Great Bus Mystery

Comment #419287 by Friend Giskard on September 26, 2009 at 5:59 pm

Well done Richard. It sounds just like J&W. (And well done Roget for his wonderful thesaurus!)

edit: Oops! Does that sound like a dig? It isn't one. Even Martin Amis uses a thesaurus. Heck, I bet even Martin Jarvis uses one!)

28. Woman Details Dramatic Encounter with Radical Islam

Comment #417244 by Friend Giskard on September 20, 2009 at 4:10 am

Eh?

29. Woman Details Dramatic Encounter with Radical Islam

Comment #417228 by Friend Giskard on September 20, 2009 at 2:14 am

The dismissive tone of Richard's intro towards religion will infuriate the faithful.

There is no attempt to persuade here. Not the least acknowledgement that there might be a respectable alternative view.

He simply assumes the reader is intelligent enough to see that religious beliefs are ridiculous in the highest degree. Ha ha. Good.

(Haven't read Lisa's bit yet.)

30. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins

Comment #412868 by Friend Giskard on September 6, 2009 at 4:06 pm

he admits to being "the devil's disciple" or the high priest of "ultradarwinism"

31. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins

Comment #412866 by Friend Giskard on September 6, 2009 at 4:03 pm

The suggestion that Richard's creationist targets are straw men shows breathtaking ignorance on the part of the reviewer.

32. Anjana Ahuja reviews 'The Greatest Show on Earth' by Richard Dawkins

Comment #412534 by Friend Giskard on September 4, 2009 at 7:53 pm

Why does he not appeal to imams too?

33. Single molecule's stunning image

Comment #411015 by Friend Giskard on August 30, 2009 at 8:30 pm

The avatars are back. Yay!

34. [UPDATE 29-Aug]Humanists accuse West Country zoo of pushing creationist agenda

Comment #410006 by Friend Giskard on August 27, 2009 at 8:35 pm

...questions the traditional view of evolution.

35. Religion and schools don't mix

Comment #409890 by Friend Giskard on August 27, 2009 at 3:30 pm

The best line in the piece:

freedom from indoctrination ought to be a basic human right for all children.

36. Professor Richard Dawkins wants to convert Islamic world to evolution: Review of 'The Greatest Show on Earth'

Comment #408087 by Friend Giskard on August 22, 2009 at 2:11 am

When this first caught my eye I thought it said Professor Richard Dawkins Wants to Convert to Islam.
***
Edit: Are the avatars never coming back?

37. Yale Surrenders - Why did Yale University Press remove images of Mohammed from a book about the Danish cartoons?

Comment #407253 by Friend Giskard on August 19, 2009 at 3:03 am

If I may raise the tone momentarily. The guy in the Gustave Doré woodcut can't be Mohammed. The weener is way too big.

38. Yale Surrenders - Why did Yale University Press remove images of Mohammed from a book about the Danish cartoons?

Comment #407076 by Friend Giskard on August 18, 2009 at 6:07 pm

Why does Hitchens call him 'the Prophet Mohammed'? Prophets do not exist, and never have. Is seems rather an abject concession on Hitch's part to call him by what he falsly claimed to be.

39. By their works shall ye know them

Comment #406355 by Friend Giskard on August 16, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Comment #6 Athens wasn't democratic in the modern sense. It was a slave owning, misogynistic society where only a minority of men got to vote.

40. By their works shall ye know them

Comment #406351 by Friend Giskard on August 16, 2009 at 3:02 pm

I had to disable javascript in both ie8 and firefox to view the page. I don't know if it's just me...

41. Why I Think the New Atheists are a Disaster

Comment #405598 by Friend Giskard on August 14, 2009 at 3:37 pm

This invective is all because, although I am not a believer, I do not think that all believers are evil or stupid

42. Why I Think the New Atheists are a Disaster

Comment #405595 by Friend Giskard on August 14, 2009 at 3:29 pm

I must say, it gives encouragement to intellectual mediocrities like myself that imbeciles like Michael Ruse and Mary Midgeley can get jobs in university philosophy departments.

43. Why I Think the New Atheists are a Disaster

Comment #405580 by Friend Giskard on August 14, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Proudly he criticizes that whereof he knows nothing.

Let me say also that I am proud to be the focus of the invective of the new atheists. They are a disaster and I want to be on the front line of those who say so.

44. Christopher Hitchens vs. John Lennox: Can Atheism Save Europe

Comment #404683 by Friend Giskard on August 11, 2009 at 9:05 pm

The direct download links will probably still be active. Unfortunately I just scrubbed my browser history after using them, so I can't post them here. If anybody else downloaded the videos before watching them they may be able dig around and find the links and post them here.

I suppose I could upload the vids to youtube but I've got other stuff to do. EDIT : Now that I think of it, I don't think you can upload flv to youtube anyhow.

45. British Humanist Association: Anti-witchcraft conference attacked by Christian church in Nigeria

Comment #401262 by Friend Giskard on July 31, 2009 at 4:30 pm

I recommend the documentary 'Saving Africa’s Witch Children' that is mentioned in the article, even if it is quite upsetting. There are torrents out there, although I can't attest to their being seeded.

46. British Humanist Association: Anti-witchcraft conference attacked by Christian church in Nigeria

Comment #401246 by Friend Giskard on July 31, 2009 at 4:08 pm

"anti-witchcraft conference"? Don't think so. It's the christians that are the cause of the problem that the conference was addressing.

47. Atheist bus ads 'pathetic:' Philosopher

Comment #400046 by Friend Giskard on July 28, 2009 at 2:25 am

In his case, I think the word 'philosopher' is more of a job title than a description what he actually is. The fact that he's a practicing Roman catholic pretty much says he's fallen at the first fence in philosophy terms.

48. A new flea: The Darwin Delusion: Discover the facts that destroy the fiction that has enslaved mankind for nearly 150 years!

Comment #399356 by Friend Giskard on July 24, 2009 at 11:07 am

That's a picture of the author on the cover.

49. Ready, aim, miss

Comment #399160 by Friend Giskard on July 23, 2009 at 12:46 pm

whether selection at the level of the gene is the only mechanism of evolution, which is what Mr Dawkins and his fellow selfish-geners believe.

50. RDF TV - Nebraska Vignettes #4 - Ants that farm, compost and weed

Comment #397851 by Friend Giskard on July 18, 2009 at 2:52 pm

SecularStu, are you the dumb-as-a-brick "philospher" Mary Midgley by any chance? Your bewilderment is reminiscent of hers.