1. Mecca should become core to measure time zones: scholars

Comment #165502 by Michael King on April 21, 2008 at 2:27 pm

That said, how soon before the loony left in the UK, led by Galloway and his rabble, propose to agree with this to pacify "muslim feelings" or whatever?

Yes, they will probably argue that Muslims 'have other ways of knowing' - isn't that the expression that is used by the loony left to justify mumbo jumbo...

2. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #161705 by Michael King on April 15, 2008 at 2:16 pm

Comment #160844 by Henri Bergson

you cannot judge another culture from your own culture's perspective.

Comment #161019 by Henri Bergson

Why don't you finish that fat yank peanut butter sandwich...?

An own goal...

3. A New Flea

Comment #160894 by Michael King on April 14, 2008 at 2:22 pm

Well-known broadcaster and author Keith Ward is one of Britain's foremost philosopher-theologians.

Well known? I have never heard of him. And what on earth is a philosopher-theologian? Something akin to a chemist-alchemist or an astronomer-astrologer perhaps?

4. Protests no concern for outspoken atheist

Comment #155071 by Michael King on April 4, 2008 at 6:10 am

Sandy Shaw. Charismaniac nutter (apologies - tautology there) Stood as a candidate for the homophobic "Scottish Christian party" in last years Holyrood elections.

Surely not the lady in bare feet who sang 'Puppet on a String' all those years ago?

5. Saudi Arabia Leader Calls for Interfaith Dialogue

Comment #150281 by Michael King on March 26, 2008 at 4:39 pm

If the King of Saudi Arabia is so worried about the rise of atheism that he is now willing to swallow his Wahabi principles and enter into dialogue with infidels such as jews and christians then that is evidence that we atheists are making progress.

6. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150267 by Michael King on March 26, 2008 at 4:19 pm

Happy Birthday and many happy returns of the day! You are a voice of sanity in an increasingly irrational world....

7. 'Anonymous' takes anti-Scientology to the streets

Comment #144672 by Michael King on March 16, 2008 at 3:02 pm

The beliefs of Scientologists are no more irrational than those of Christians or Muslims.

8. Bishop accuses gays of 'conspiracy' against the Catholic Church

Comment #143475 by Michael King on March 14, 2008 at 6:30 am

Calum Irving, director of Stonewall Scotland, which promotes equality and justice for gay people, said the bishop was "deluded".

Of course he is deluded. Isn't that a sine qua non for becoming a bishop.

9. Ayaan Hirsi Ali to get EU protection

Comment #141372 by Michael King on March 10, 2008 at 10:10 am

In comment 129048 in the earlier report about Ayaan Hirsi Ali's request for protection I included the text of a message that I had sent to all the MEPs in the South East of the UK. I have finally received one reply from the office of Green Party MEP Cariline Lucas, which is as follows:

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your email about the written declaration calling on the
European Parliament to offer protection to Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Caroline
will be adding her signature in support during this coming week's plenary
session in Strasbourg.

Like you, she supports Ms Ali's human right to freedom of expression
and welcomes constructive dialogue about the role of religion in society
and how religious expression can work alongside other forms of
expression.

Kind regards,
Cath.

Cath Miller
Constituency Co-ordinator and Researcher
Office of Dr Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP for SE England

10. When blasphemy bit the dust

Comment #140518 by Michael King on March 7, 2008 at 4:01 pm

Maybe now the citizens of the UK can claw their way into the 21st century, unshackled by this ridiculous 'law'.

A first step would be disestablishment of the Church of England and the the next replacement of the House of Lords by an elected upper house of parliament.

11. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #129048 by Michael King on February 18, 2008 at 2:55 pm

I have just sent the following message to all South East MEPs:

Dear South East MEPs
I would like to draw your attention to the following BBC report about Ayaan Hirsi Ali which was reposted on the Richard Dawkins website:

http://richarddawkins.net/article,2269,Ayaan-Hirsi-Ali-asks-for-protection,BBC

As a member of the European Parliament you are probably aware of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's recent request to the European Parliament for protection.

I believe that it is of the utmost importance that she should be given as much protection as possible and as a member of the European Parliament you can help by supporting her request.

It is unacceptable that over two hundred after the European Enlightenment anybody's life should be put in danger for legitimately criticizing a religion.

As you are well aware our democratic freedoms were hard won. We should make every effort to defend them and to resist any pressure to appease the dark forces of religious extremism because of a misguided sense of political correctness. As a member of the European Parliament your duties should include the defence of democratic freedoms and one way in which you can do this is by supporting Ayaan Hirsi Ali's request for protection so that she can continue to do her valuable work.

If Ayaan Hirsi Ali is harmed or in any way silenced because of our neglect we will have done a great disservice to the world and in particular to Muslims. Muslims need to hear dissenting voices from within their own cultures, but because of threats from extremists most are understandably too terrified to speak out. That Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been vociferous in her criticisms of various aspects of Islam and of Muslim culture is evidence of her bravery and I have no doubt that at some time in the future, she will be regarded in the Muslim world rather as Voltaire and Thomas Paine are today regarded in Europe and America.

Please support Ayaan Hirsi Ali's request to the European Parliament for protection.

I am sending this message to all South East MEPs. I am also posting a copy on http://richarddawkins.net

12. Man and God

Comment #103436 by Michael King on December 25, 2007 at 4:12 pm

...the books that have spearheaded the militant new atheism have not sought to persuade, reach out or reason...

Has the writer of the article actually read the books?

13. Girl, 16, dies after hijab dispute with father

Comment #97504 by Michael King on December 12, 2007 at 8:00 am

Are acts of this kind inspired by Arabic culture or by Islam?

It is like the chicken and egg conundrum: Islam is a product of Arabic culture and Arabic culture is greatly influenced by Islam. Some Islamic apologists (of the 'moderate' persuausion usually) maintain that it is the culture and not the religion, but others believe that Islam sanctions honour killings. It should be remembered that honour killings are not an exclusively Islamic phenomenon: they also occur in non-Islamic parts of Africa and India, parts of South America and the Balkans. However, non-Muslim 'honour-killers' would probably be less likely than Muslims to be able to use their religion to justify their crimes.

14. Postmodernism Disrobed

Comment #95819 by Michael King on December 9, 2007 at 9:31 am

Lacan goes on to conclude that the erectile organ
. . . is equivalent to the sqrt(-1) of the signification produced above, of the jouissance that it restores by the coefficient of its statement to the function of lack of signifier (-1).

This reminds me of the limerick:

"There was a young man from Nepal
Who had a hexagonal ball
And the cube of its weight
Times his pecker plus eight
Was ten times the square root of fuck all!"

15. Highway to hysteria

Comment #94385 by Michael King on December 5, 2007 at 2:39 pm

The "reformed gay" must have been a plant and not a very competent one I might add... He said that he was on his way to meet his FIANCEE. Now unless there is same sex marriage in the American Mid West which I very much doubt, one can only conclude either that he is not gay, which would explain the fiancee or that he is gay and had become engaged in the naive hope that marriage would 'cure' his homosexuality in which case he was on the lookout for anything that would help him in his denial of his homosexuality and was a sitting duck for the evangelical charlatans. I pity the poor fiancee!

16. Atheism's Wrong Turn

Comment #93763 by Michael King on December 4, 2007 at 6:56 am

"But, as we know from elementary logic, it is impossible to prove a negative: However thoroughly evidence in favor of divine beings is scrutinized and dismissed, an unbeliever can never be certain that divine beings do not exist."

I do not recall Professor Dawkins saying that he was certain that divine beings do not exist. What I do recall is his assertion that it is extremely unlikely that divine beings exist.

"The most thoughtful atheists--let's call them liberal atheists-- have always understood that the impossibility of negative proof is a crack through which the gods, no matter how ruthlessly banished from the human world, forever threaten to return."

It is also the crack through which the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Easter Bunny can enter the human world.