1. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #160719 by Linda on April 14, 2008 at 10:11 am

The plight of women in India is a life of unimaginable misery.

My husband and I are recently returned from traveling in northern India. Throughout our trip we questioned many men about their marriages. We asked them when they first met their wives. The answers either were a. at the wedding or b. a few days or once or twice before the wedding. Women were not attending to us so it was quite difficult to get a female point of view. At Ranakpur I did engage the daughter of a Jain priest asking about her life and marriage. She accepted without question that her father would arrange a future marriage, which would mean she would have to leave her family and community. That is another aspect of the arrangement. In order to prevent inbreeding distant partners are sought. This tends to isolate family members as traveling even 50 miles is quite out of the question for most poor people. We also noticed the profuse want-ad columns in newspapers posted by parents seeking marriage partners for their children. One column was headed 'Disabilities'. The one listing that caught our attention was by parents of a doctor daughter who was described as less than perfect due to one hand being smaller than the other.

Arranged marriages are common throughout the country and are not an aberration of rural regions. The men we spoke to scorned our Western ways of self-selecting marital partners without the interference of parents as the root cause of divorce here. That attitude seemed somewhat dishonest, as the abuse of females, adults and children, is considered normal there. They are traded like farm animals and treated no better.

Yes India may be changing however at this time it seems that what is needed is a complete mindset re-vamp as the lack of social awareness, human rights, dignity and equality within the culture are stumbling blocks to progress.

2. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160700 by Linda on April 14, 2008 at 9:45 am

Richard Dawkins should from now forward be deemed the 'World's #1 Conscientious Objector to the spread of religious superstition'. Modifying the descriptor aids in raising the status of the cause and will be beneficial. Labeling Dawkins' work as that of a 'militant atheist' has negative connotations and should be discouraged. The thread that suggests that imaginary gods are the muses for artists offers a dated view of creativity. Back in earlier centuries working for clerics meant bread on the table for artists. Some clever creators used trickery to fool the priests but alas not everyone has Leonardo's intelligence. We should note that contemporary 20th Century art is almost entirely devoid of feigned or otherwise devotion to gods thanks to our hard fought for rights of free speech.

As to the references to the bible in 'Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art' I would strongly urge parents to not read bible stories to children as those narratives are rife with patriarchal misogyny, cruelty, slavery, murder and incest. That kind of material is best left for consumption by consenting adults.

3. The atheist delusion

Comment #144571 by Linda on March 16, 2008 at 10:53 am

This is part of an active debate at the Guardian, Comment is Free:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_gray/2008/03/godless_evangelicals.html

It seems that the posters contributing to the CiF thread are mostly Atheists. A very good sign.

4. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #143856 by Linda on March 14, 2008 at 2:11 pm

Richard,
You are running out of patience with those that IMO seem more like feral animals than intelligent, inquisitive humans. Thanks for this fun interview. It made me laugh.
Best, LindaWS

5. Heath Ledger Death: Baptist Group To Protest At Memorial

Comment #115579 by Linda on January 24, 2008 at 11:05 am

Are you going straight to hell?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsBZCq4hp14

6. 'Boycott Worked': Compass Flops - Opening Weekend $26 Million; Narnia $63 Million

Comment #97474 by Linda on December 12, 2007 at 6:47 am

Really, really careful now:

Woman organizing protest of 'The Golden Compass' in Fenton
HOLLY TWP. -- "A retired grandmother is leading a group that plans to protest the nation's No. 1 movie -- "The Golden Compass" -- in Fenton this weekend.

Bev Suski, 56, of Holly Township, calls the film anti-Christian and wants the theater complex, Fenton Cinemas, to pull the movie. She's asking anyone who agrees with her to join the group outside the theater on the sidewalk during the matinee showing Saturday. They're hoping for 100 people.

"Even though we're late, we need to do something," said Suski, who is retired from the antique business and attends St. Rita's Catholic Church in Holly. "As Christians, we need to stand up to be heard."
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/12/woman_organizing_protest_of_th.html

All publicity is good!

7. 'Boycott Worked': Compass Flops - Opening Weekend $26 Million; Narnia $63 Million

Comment #97194 by Linda on December 11, 2007 at 5:25 pm

I agree with briancoughlanworldcitizen and love the Golden Compass movie. This is a bit of a surprise given the scepticism with which my husband and I went to see it on the weekend fearing that Disney had dumbed down the work. We have intense memories of the fabulous stage performance of His Dark Materials I & II presented at the National Theatre, London, and before that read the books.

The Golden Compass movie is beautiful. The blending of live actors with their demons is almost seamless, the cinematography and special effects are stunning. It runs almost 2 hours, which flies by. Sadly the film ends abruptly with Lyra making plans for the next part of the adventure yet the movie maker did not tease us with trailers for it.

What is the Catholic Church afraid of, is it an uppity female? Are the men in frocks worried about having to tell the truth and admit to the public they have been bilking for so long that Christ is a Bronze Age myth and that resurrection didn't happen? Their so-called authority is predicated on hot air and snake oil.

The movie character of Lyra Belaqua is assertive, intelligent, competent, intuitive, inquisitive, creative, loyal and most of all a fearless leader. All people should embrace those qualities for success too.

Please see the movie, give the boxed set of books for seasonal gifts and tell your friends.

8. Fox: 'Atheist Outrage' over holiday 'Tree of Knowledge'

Comment #94668 by Linda on December 6, 2007 at 8:07 am

Hi Margaret, Congratulations for keeping a cool head while that nitwit priest once again becomes hysterical as if shouting at you makes his pointlessness valid.

Can we please as intellectually mature adults purge the superstitious myths from everything and celebrate the seasons based on science and nature? Every one of us no matter what colour our skin or ancestral origins experiences seasonal transitions. Who doesn't feel sluggish in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year and tired due to the lack of sunshine hours? People share joy and look forward to the calendar day of the Winter Solstice (December 22) when light returns and images of spring and the garden offers something to look forward too. There is nothing supernatural about decorating the home with evergreens and enjoying festive parties. I live in Toronto and our City Hall puts up decorations that drain power stations under the banner of 'Festival of Light' while no religious symbols are displayed there. Hooray for Canadian common sense and dignity.

Frankly I can't understand how it is that a public place in a nation that claims to celebrate the separation of church and state would dare to display icons of emotional tyranny such as nativity scenes (never happened) to the Bah-Hanuka symbols. Would they get a bit upset if the Hindus asked for the inclusion of their good luck charm the swastika too?

Maybe next time get in some digs about mythology oh and Merry Mithras everyone:
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/12/merry_mithras.html

If honesty and intelligence could prevail then everyone would proclaim that Christmas is appropriated from natural practices.

Further would you Richard, Hitch & everyone else strongly interject when debating the nitwits that Atheists celebrate their families, are loved and do love. What outrageous liars the superstition.

Does anyone else cringe when hearing retail store loudspeakers proclaim that 'our saviour is born'?

9. Springer opera court fight fails

Comment #94388 by Linda on December 5, 2007 at 2:45 pm

http://www.jerryspringertheopera.com/ it's out on DVD!

10. Ask The God Delusion author Richard Dawkins

Comment #94296 by Linda on December 5, 2007 at 7:34 am

In North America tune into BBC World Service TV on either cable or Satellite. The programme 'Have your Say' is broadcast on Sundays.

11. 2006 Charles Simonyi Lecture: 'Can the Internet Save The Enlightenment?'

Comment #91146 by Linda on November 27, 2007 at 12:14 pm

Superb, thanks!

12. Golden Compass author hits back

Comment #91137 by Linda on November 27, 2007 at 11:44 am

Philip Pullman: Catholic boycotters are 'nitwits'
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2953880.ece?Submitted=true

Nicely done Mr. Pullman.

"Christian journalist Peter Hitchens said that while he opposed a boycott, he wanted parents to be aware of Philip Pullman's themes."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7115300.stm

Its hard to believe that Peter came out of the same womb as Christopher.

What exactly is the Roman Cult church afraid of? Is it that people will purge them from the Vatican and leave it to be operated by a consortium of curators from the Met, Louvre, BM, Uffizi etc. allowing all people to explore the site freely? That could only be a good thing as for too long the mob that runs that state has profited from the myth of Christ.

13. Fox News Discussion on 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #86865 by Linda on November 10, 2007 at 10:47 am

Careful now! (Father Ted fans)

"British columnist Peter Hitchens (Christopher's brother) has explained how our secular thought-shapers would love for Pullman to undercut Narnia's influence on children: "The cultural elite would like to wipe out this pocket of resistance. They have successfully expelled God from the schools, from the broadcast media and, for the most part, from the Church itself." He writes that while Lewis mocked atheists as joyless, Pullman depicts priests as evil and murderous, drunk and probably perverted, and the Church as "a conspiracy against happiness and kindness."

"http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20071109/cm_uc_crbbox/op_234335

It is quite interesting that Peter Hitchens embraces superstition while his brother that he shuns does not. Is that simply fraternal rebellion and a bit of jealousy rearing its ugly head?

14. Suffering, Evil and the Existence of God

Comment #85854 by Linda on November 7, 2007 at 10:35 am

Bonzai – It is really difficult to purge early childhood conditioning from our memory data banks. Flew would have been subjected to constant indoctrination of biblical myths and superstition by his parents. No doubt bedtime stories consisted of Bronze Age science fiction tales from the bible. Did he know that religion was ridiculous at age 6 but kept his head down until he was and adult?

As for Flew's loss of mental faculties, that happens and if you look around at some elderly people they regress into infantile fantasies but can also hold a conversation. It seems to me that the guy has lost the plot.

I really hope that when Richard Dawkins is leaving that he doesn't lose his mind and that the wish to have Josh (chortle) make a video to prove that he's true to the end is fulfilled.

The whole conversation around the gods question is really absurd and it shouldn't matter one way or another. Sadly the real danger is from the constant threats to social stability and emotional evolution originating in the corporate imperialism of religion forced on all of us by clerics that self empower to control others based on no evidence.

15. Suffering, Evil and the Existence of God

Comment #85796 by Linda on November 7, 2007 at 6:09 am

Fish writes:-

"Flew assures his readers that he "has had no connection with any of the revealed religions," and no "personal experience of God or any experience that may be called supernatural or religious."

When I thought about Flew's age it seemed illogical and nearly impossible that anyone born in 1923 would not have been conditioned from birth into a religious superstition. It just didn't happen in any community that Atheist parents opted out of what was then the social norm. A quick bio check on Flew reveals that he either senile or a liar:-

"Antony Flew, the son of a Methodist minister, was born in London, England. He was educated at St Faith's School, Cambridge followed by Kingswood School, Bath."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Flew

Why didn't Fish challenge the book based on Flew's early education and indoctrination? Many elderly people engage in fantasies in which they have difficulty separating or romanticizing the past and confusing it with the present. That doesn't preclude them from being able to complete the NYT cryptic crossword.

16. Tests of faith over 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #83941 by Linda on October 31, 2007 at 6:05 pm

TRUTH IN THE MAGISTERIUM (Con viva)
Address of Pope John Paul II to the Second International Congress on Moral Theology Which was held to mark the 20th anniversary of Humanae VITAE (12 November 1988)

"Since the *magisterium of the Church* was created by Christ the Lord to enlighten conscience, then to appeal to that conscience precisely to contest the truth of what is taught by the magisterium implies rejection of the Catholic concept both of the magisterium and moral conscience. To speak about the inviolable dignity of conscience without further specification runs the risk of grave errors."

http://www.cin.org/jp2ency/conviva.html

What an outrageous pontification. It is truly sad that so many are infected with the religious mind disease that they can't see through the lies spread as truth by the Roman Cult.

17. Tests of faith over 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #83339 by Linda on October 29, 2007 at 6:09 pm

Pullman's review of TGD:
"I've read this with pleasure and satisfaction. Dawkins is a great rationalist, but he is also a good man. History has seen a number of supreme rationalists who weren't good at all. He gives human sympathies and emotions their proper value, which is one of the things that lends his criticisms of religion such force, because many religious leaders in the world today – certainly the loudest ones – are men who, it's obvious to anyone but their deranged followers, are willing to sanction vicious cruelty in the service of their faith. Dawkins hits them hard, with all the power that reason can wield, demolishing their preposterous attempts to prove the existence of God, or their presumptuous claims that religion is the only basis of morality, or that their holy books are literally true."

The God Delusion is written with all the clarity and elegance of which Dawkins is a master. It is so well written, in fact, that children deserve to read it as well as adults. It should have a place in every school library — especially in the library of every 'faith' school. Naturally, it won't. But with any luck, the teachers in these ridiculous establishments will ban it from their shelves, and thus draw the attention of the intelligent pupils in their care to something that might be interesting as well as true."

Philip Pullman, author of the children's trilogy His Dark Materials.
http://richarddawkins.net/mainPage.php?bodyPage=godDelusion.php

I hope that Pullman does not let his fans down and that His Dark Materials on film is as honest as the books and sublime as the National Theatre stage production.

18. Debate between Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #82109 by Linda on October 25, 2007 at 5:18 pm

Prufrocks - #125 - That is an excellent analysis of this latest encounter between Hitchens and D'Souza. Hitchens knows the material and should have been more aggressive in responding to the pompous, infantile fantasies that D'Souza offered as evidence for for the supernatural. Perhaps CH is tired and road weary from being on the sold out and demanding 'god is not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything' tour.

Pssst DD - you are a front man for a diabolical marketing campaign that sells lies in the disguise of Bronze Age science fiction myths. Not being able to distinguish between fantasy and reality is a sign of an infantile, emotionally immature intellect.

19. Debate between Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #81924 by Linda on October 25, 2007 at 12:03 pm

Hi Richard,
I was quite astonished to hear D'Souza claim that the Inquisition wasn't that bad and only about 2,000 people died. Is he a liar, stupid or deluded then since that ridiculous figure fails to account for the annihilation of the Cathars in the Langue D'Oc region of France, the brutal slaughter of indigenous populations in South and Central America and for the continued harassment, torture and murder of women in Europe for practicing natural healing? Please keep reminding the proponents of religious superstition that Stalin was educated in a monastery, that Hitler learned his vile ways as a child raised in the criminal Roman Cult. I may also suggest that there may be a connection to early childhood indoctrination in Roman Cultism that facilitated the emergence of the vicious Italian Mafia. Would that mob be so powerful if clerics ceased to forgive their sins at confession on Saturdays and refused to marry and bury them with religious rites?

D'Souza, McGrath and the others who boast special insights into the supernatural have yet to produce evidence of their claims. How on earth can he/they speak with authority about the Jesus/Joshua figure as if he is a next-door neighbour or a live person that they know intimately?

Sometimes I think that you and Hitchens are too nice to them in debate. Is it that you feel some sympathy for their emotional immaturity?

Best, Linda

20. You can't prove that you love someone, so don't expect proof of God

Comment #81385 by Linda on October 24, 2007 at 4:38 pm

There is physical proof of love and it is observable and experiential through the senses. Looking on, hearing the voice of, touching, scent and taste of the beloved and those we love fraternally, our family and friends induces feelings of emotional well-being and happiness in us and them. Our loving relationships with others are sustained and enhanced through interactive, reciprocal acts of kindness, protection, loyalty and nurture.

21. Polygamist Leader Convicted in Utah

Comment #73860 by Linda on September 26, 2007 at 11:36 am

The cultural taboos against incest stem from practical reasons, as without new material the gene pool is prone to perpetuate unwanted physical and mental characteristics. Some of you may have Türkiye, which at first was heralded as a possible link in the evolution of our species however on closer examination of the family and its predisposition to incest reveals that the inability to walk upright is due to inbreeding:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4782492.stm

The problem with polygamist sects is they are forms of slavery that facilitate the abuse of women and children by rather devious and controlling men. Oh sure they call themselves prophets however the correct term is 'for profit'. Women are not given the choice to have multiple husband/sex partners, as their primary role is that of brood sows.

There exists today an underground railroad shuttling pre-pubescent female children between the Warren Jeffs' compounds in the USA and it's Canadian outlet in Bountiful, British Columbia. I do not know why the Canadian government doesn't crack down on this other than the Bishop of Bountiful seems to have political clout:

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/bustupinbountiful/

The obvious benefit to men of joining fundamentalist sects is that it gives them power over women. The same problems found in so-called Christian sects are also inherent in Islam and Orthodox Judaism. The big perk for men is obviously the 'get out of jail free card' bestowed by the gods which is a carte blanche excuse to have sex with children. Catholic priests in the west are pretty much exposed on this issue however there is a way to go when it comes to Islam and Orthodox Judaism. Why is it so hard to marginalize the social misfits? Is this problem stemming from the mandated sexual repression of monotheism? Of course the men who are vilified as perverts and pedophiles in the regular community that are not hiding behind sanctimonious superstition are easily indicted and discredited as they are doing it without permission of the gods.

If children are not involved and consenting adults living free in the community decide to opt for polygamous relationships then maybe that is their business.

22. Faith schools should not be tax-funded, and here's why

Comment #71793 by Linda on September 19, 2007 at 5:01 pm

Zoe Williams
Hear, hear.

Oh and here in Ontario the funding of faith-based schools is the hot topic for the upcoming provincial election. Unfortunately for Ontarians one of the perks doled out in Confederation was to give the Vatican the right to our tax dollars to fund Roman Catholic schools. The result is that there are two systems with duplication and waste. Actually for some bizarre reason the RC system gets more money per student than the public one. Currently the Tories (the candidate's name is John Tory – no joke) are aiming to finance a myriad of faith-based schools, which will of course cause more community disunity. The in power Liberals are defending the RC system (could it be that the Premier's kids attend RC schools – oh cynical me) and the 3rd party of influence, the New Democrats support the status quo. The only intelligent remarks on this subject are coming from the Green Party which advocates merging the school boards into one. The Greens have no problem with including the history of the myths of world religions in the curriculum. Zeus, Jesus, Yahweh, Allah, Thor and Ganesha can all fit nicely into that idea without the obligatory dogma.

Yesterday the daily Globe and Mail national poll asked the question:
'Would you like to see your province fund faith-based schools? 'http://tinyurl.com/39288x
As you can see a whopping 83% said NO! – I do think the question should be refined to ask if the Roman Catholic schools should be merged into on public school board. The only Canadian province to make that bold move is Newfoundland and that came after the exposure of the Roman Catholic Christian Brothers schools litany of years of sex abuse and violence perpetrated by priests against defenseless children was exposed thanks to one brave victim who broke the silence.

One of these days I'll call the principal at a local high school, Our Lady of Fatima, and ask what the students there are told about that event which as we know never happened.

There should be one excellent public school system geared towards producing a population literate in language, math and science and with skills for the workplace.

Man oh man, when will everyone get a clue?
http://richarddawkins.net/article,1613,Creationism-raised-as-Ont-election-issue,Globe-and-Mail

23. Catholic school board in Halton may ban HPV vaccination

Comment #71327 by Linda on September 18, 2007 at 12:58 pm

Surely since this is a public health issue and the province is funding the programme that girls who wish to get the vaccine can do so at the closest public school.

24. 'Jane Doe' Testifies as Trial of Polygamist Leader Begins

Comment #70222 by Linda on September 14, 2007 at 11:53 am

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-south-park-guide-to-life-2-joseph-smith--mormon/4185395886

25. The smallest signs of retreat

Comment #68425 by Linda on September 7, 2007 at 6:51 am

The overall responses to Ms Bunting's factless diatribe against Dawkins is that she is deluded & misinformed. She could be renamed Mis-Information.
Many posters on CiF have suggested that Bunting check out
Dawkins copious debates & interviews with people like McGrath & others.

The 6 minute interview that Bunting describes as debate is one of those quickie CNN-FOX-news-tainment segments in which no speaker is given the microphone for more than 60 seconds.

http://richarddawkins.net/article,1612,Interview-with-Richard-Dawkins-and-John-Cornwell,BBC-Radio-4-Today-Programme

Is it that everyone has a short attention span?

26. Creationism raised as Ont. election issue

Comment #68304 by Linda on September 6, 2007 at 6:50 pm

The Green Party advocates eliminating the Roman Catholic School Board and thereby having a single public education system that is free of religious superstition. That would move would offer a huge tax saving and maybe it would be possible to reduce tuition fees for higher education. If only a candidate would run in my riding.

John Tory claims to mis-speak and be misunderstood. Haven't we had enough trouble caused in the world by GW Bush another conservative who also can't make a public statement without coming across as either stupid or dangerous?

27. Bible Belter

Comment #68280 by Linda on September 6, 2007 at 3:39 pm

keith - humour us a bit here and please provide proof of gods, the supernatural and or the after life. BBC is holding the World Service for your momentous announcement which must be supported by documentary evidence. A warm fuzzy feeling in the head or an hallucination doesn't count as those events are simply manifestations of brain activity producing illusions. You must be new here. Most of your questions are answered somewhere on this magnificent & informative website so take a look around.

Jerry Falwell was a big jerk. Just because he died it doesn't mean that he should be praised or honoured.

28. Bible Belter

Comment #68209 by Linda on September 6, 2007 at 11:09 am

Joseph Smith was a circus huckster from upstate New York. That region produced a lot of religious fanatics too. He came up with a clever scam that illustrates how easy it is to fool lots of people.

South Park sums it up nicely, with songs too:-
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-south-park-guide-to-life-2-joseph-smith--mormon/4185395886

For more on the crazy Mormon cult check out Big Love – sure some men can get away having sex with little girls, call themselves profits ooops I mean prophets and spread the seed between sister wives. http://www.hbo.com/biglove/

So your grandma is your cousin, aunt, mom and niece – just think a whole state is predicated on that!

29. Bible Belter

Comment #68166 by Linda on September 6, 2007 at 9:22 am

Reading God is not great, how Religion Poisons Everything made me laugh and cry. The most disturbing bit for me is the description of the Orthodox Jewish circumcision ritual. Who knew that moels suck on baby boys' penises? That should get them a pedophile indictment at least and one for physical assault on defenseless victims.

Thanks Richard for a wonderful article. BTW when the whiners are pointing to the Hagia Sofia or Chartres as being examples of artistic worship please keep reminding them that the only employers in town were the clerics. You can easily show that the great modern secular works of visual and performing arts & architecture are evidence of intellectual artistic freedom. The newest and most astounding piece of artistic engineering is the Burj Dubai. Seeing that structure takes one's breath away in fact the entire Emirate is filled with astounding and beautiful buildings that have nothing to do with superstition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai

Look carefully too at Da Vinci's Last Supper as a cryptic shot at the wretched Dominicans:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_%28Leonardo%29

The figure on the far right is modeled on a bust of Plato. The entire construction has references to Cathar ideology as well as incorporating images from the Sforza Tarot deck. Art historians seem reluctant to crack the code and reduce another so-called ecclesiastic work to what it really is and that is a mockery of religion. My favourite Last Supper painting hangs in the Cathedral of Cusco, Peru. The building stands on the destruction of an ancient pre-Columbian ritual site. The clever Peruvian artist painted the feast scene with a guinea pig as the offering. Now that is art!

Given a chance to do some real research on the Shroud of Turin we could possibly see the first recorded photographic image in history which is also Leonardo's self portrait. Religion stands in the way of science at every turn.

We give the gift of TGL to those too fragile to face up to God is not great, how Religion Poisons Everything.
Best, LindaWS

30. Mother Teresa's '40-year faith crisis'

Comment #65757 by Linda on August 26, 2007 at 10:37 am

"The nun adored by the Vatican ran a network of care homes where cruelty and neglect are routine. Donal MacIntyre gained secret access and witnessed at first hand the suffering of "rescued" orphans

The dormitory held about 30 beds rammed in so close that there was hardly a breath of air between the bare metal frames. Apart from shrines and salutations to "Our Great Mother", the white walls were bare. The torch swept across the faces of children sleeping, screaming, laughing and sobbing, finally resting on the hunched figure of a boy in a white vest. Distressed, he rocked back and forth, his ankle tethered to his cot like a goat in a farmyard. This was the Daya Dan orphanage for children aged six months to 12 years, one of Mother Teresa's flagship homes in Kolkata. It was 7.30 in the evening, and outside the monsoon rains fell unremittingly.

Earlier in the day, young international volunteers had giggled as one told how a young boy had peed on her while strapped to a bed. I had already been told of an older disturbed woman tied to a tree at another Missionaries of Charity home. At the orphanage, few of the volunteers batted an eyelid at disabled children being tied up. They were too intoxicated with the myth of Mother Teresa and drunk on their own philanthropy to see that such treatment of children was inhumane and degrading."
http://www.newstatesman.com/200508220019

Was the woman an Opus Dei cult member? That group could be characterized as the spanker wing of unholy Roman Catholicism given that it is predicated on corporal punishment.

31. Mother Teresa's '40-year faith crisis'

Comment #65656 by Linda on August 25, 2007 at 11:25 am

It is difficult to respect or praise this person someone who claimed to be motivated to help the poor yet did not hand out condoms and was miserly with aid. Were did the cash go?

32. The Out Campaign: Interview with Josh Timonen

Comment #63976 by Linda on August 17, 2007 at 5:50 am

Josh - Excellent interview & brilliant website. Thank you & best, Linda

33. They let anybody onto the faculty at Oxford nowadays

Comment #60710 by Linda on August 2, 2007 at 6:03 pm

Dawkins seems to terrify McGrath in this interview:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,1212,Richard-Dawkins-and-Alister-McGrath,Root-of-All-Evil-Uncut-Interviews

He looks like he's wetting his pants trying to come up with a response to Dawkins that doesn't come across as utterly preposterous. McGrath tends to fumble while attempting to skirt the issues of his belief in science fiction tales of a virgin birth and the resurrection of corpses.

Most likely McGrath is only interested in keeping his job and pension plan after all his book sale revenues must be pathetic and no doubt his anti-TGL publishing attempts will quickly be sent to discounters' remainder shelves.

Meanwhile Mark Roberts another guy who calls himself a professional theologian (snake oil salesMAN) admitted to Hitchens that that his historian self could never believe such things but in wanting to maintain his job as a delusion peddler he had to say that yes resurrection is true.

http://richarddawkins.net/article,1291,The-Great-God-Debate,Hugh-Hewitt-Show-Christopher-Hitchens-Mark-Roberts

Roberts is worried that loss of his belief system would be a personal Armageddon. There just aren't enough mental health counselors around obviously.

34. Is Christianity Good for the World? A discussion between Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson

Comment #55535 by Linda on July 11, 2007 at 1:12 pm

Wilson's replies seem quite juvenile and rather frivolous compared to the eloquent Hitchens who challenges the theologian to prove him wrong. Wilson cannot tell the truth and answer Hitchens because if he admits that humans invent gods and most of them are in the images of monsters and terrorists it would feel like he was betraying a lover.

"I cannot, of course, prove that there is no supervising deity who invigilates my every moment and who will pursue me even after I am dead. (I can only be happy that there is no evidence for such a ghastly idea, which would resemble a celestial North Korea in which liberty was not just impossible but inconceivable.) But nor has any theologian ever demonstrated the contrary. This would perhaps make the believer and the doubter equal—except that the believer claims to know, not just that God exists, but that his most detailed wishes are not merely knowable but actually known. Since religion drew its first breath when the species lived in utter ignorance and considerable fear, I hope I may be forgiven for declining to believe that another human being can tell me what to do, in the most intimate details of my life and mind, and to further dictate these terms as if acting as proxy for a supernatural entity. This tyrannical idea is very much older than Christianity, of course, but I do sometimes think that Christians have less excuse for believing, let alone wishing, that such a horrible thing could be true. Perhaps your response will make me reconsider?"
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/119-12.0.html

God is CCTV!

35. The infinite wisdom of Richard Dawkins

Comment #51698 by Linda on June 24, 2007 at 7:01 am

Stockwell Day in a weird twist of politics could have become the Prime Minister of Canada but he did beat peer Preston Manning, a Christian minister, in a leadership campaign. What a scary thought that a guy who thinks that the Flintstones is a true story could join the socially dangerous crowd of religious fundamentalists that hold the top jobs in too many nations. The current PM, Stephen Harper, also has an Alberta mindset that is Texas-Lite and is eager to make the gods co-prime ministers too. Freedom from religion is an uphill battle everywhere even in lovely, peaceful Canada.

Thanks to the brilliant political satirists from the TV show 'This Hour has 22 Minutes' and a rather clever suggestion that Stockwell change his name to Doris Day he was bumped from leadership but still holds a cabinet post:

"The CBC television show, "This Hour has 22 Minutes" now has more than enough signatures for its petition campaign to have Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day change his name to Doris Day.

The show is using the Alliance referendum formula, that would allow a national vote on any issue, if three per cent of the electorate, or about 350,000 people, signed a petition."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/11/17/bc_dorisday001116.html

36. Hitchens vs. Hitchens

Comment #51259 by Linda on June 22, 2007 at 6:10 am

Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEVA4EAP_S0

Comments by the GU blogger:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2007/06/boris_steals_question_times_hi.html

I wonder if the Observer will have a full page section on Hitchens this Sunday.

37. Hitchens vs. Hitchens

Comment #51133 by Linda on June 21, 2007 at 3:43 pm

This is a pretty good Radio 3 interview with Hitchens. Its only available for a week.

Philip Dodd talks to controversial writer Christopher Hitchens about his latest book, God is Not Great: The Case Against Religion. As he explains, he not only professes to be an atheist, but also believes religion is immoral. Philip also takes a look at the newly opened Welcome Collection, a pantheon of scientific and medical galleries and exhibitions dedicated to human health and identity.

Christopher Hitchens
Philip Dodd talks to Christopher Hitchens about his new book God is not Great in which he follows in the tradition of Betrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian to argue against religion and for a more secular life - in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's view of the universe.

God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion by Christopher Hitchens is published by Atlantic Books."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/nightwaves/pip/bncg6/

38. U.S. circumcision rate drops

Comment #51054 by Linda on June 21, 2007 at 9:50 am

Benjamin Michael - Dawkins consistently raises the point that it is the moderates that facilitate & protect the fundamentalists thereby perpetuating abuse of defenseless children.

Would it be appropriate for Hell's Angels to brand their kids from birth with club tattoos and then to send them to schools dedicated to that cause?

We have been conditioned to believe that religion is benign which it is not. IMO all faith schools must be abolished and parents can no longer infect kids with the religion mind disease.

Anything that consenting adults get up to however is none of our business.

39. U.S. circumcision rate drops

Comment #51038 by Linda on June 21, 2007 at 8:18 am

Ritual Child Abuse … your cut off point is?

I can see from the comments here that most of you have not read 'god is not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything.

Paraphrasing Hitchens, Chapter 'a Note on Health, page 49:-
How would good people react on hearing that a 57-year-old man was observed sucking a baby's penis? Surely common good sense would suggest that such an act is wicked and the perpetrator indicted from child abuse. Ah but not quite when it comes to mohel work.

A mohel is an appointed circumciser and foreskin remover. The job description taken from ancient primitive myths commands the mohel to take a baby's penis, cut around the prepuce and follow that up with sucking off the foreskin spitting out the amputated flap with a mouthful of blood and saliva. Yeah who isn't repulsed by the thought? The unhygienic not to mention weird and cruel practice is part of Hasidic (Othodox) Jewish rites. Segue on to New York City where yes thanks to a dirty infected mohel passing on genital herpes to defenseless babies 2 infants died. There was a call in New York to outlaw the practice but sadly that happened during municipal elections and Mayor Bloomberg refused to protect children from physical (and emotional) abuse by deranged clerics.
---
Is there any evidence of religion being the foundation for good in any society when clearly in a modern city such as New York theists continue to bully with their wicked ways? There should be no problem if consenting adults wish to act out bizarre and dangerous rituals yet the cut off point should be when it comes to involving children who do not give consent.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/545756

Segue some more to the upcoming possibly violent protests in Israel by the same group that engage in the barbaric ritual genital mutilation based on Stone Age Science Fiction myths and see that yes once again religion inspires violence in the community:

"Police in Jerusalem were preparing for violent protests from hard-line religious groups today during a planned Gay Pride march through the streets of the city centre.
Police have faced violent skirmishes in ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods of the city since approving the march a week ago. More than 100 people have been arrested, according to police."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2108200,00.html

That group (Othodox Jews) and all religious fundamentalists should never be allowed to infect children with their tawdry, violent, anti-social etc. ways. They are also the wrecking havoc in Palestine seeking to kick start Armageddon boosted with the financial endorsement of the fundamentalist American End Timers. They are as dangerous to cultural emotional good health as the Hamas Kindergarten:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,1231,Hamas-Kindergarten-Graduation-Ceremony,Castupnet

Some are whining about Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennet, Grayling and Onfray each of whom has given some light to the movement to rid society of ritual child abuse and marginalize religion. It is funny that five little books are causing so much vile antagonism towards the authors who are simply pointing out the obvious. To-date non of us Atheists have done anything to harm others physically unlike the violence perpetrated by those who invoke Stone Age Science Fiction to justify perpetrating assaults on others.

BTW when I read about the mohel method of circumcision and after grabbing an airsick bag to gag have decided to really rile friends with the re-telling of the facts at parties. Thanks Christopher Hitchens ~ god is not Great, How Religions Poisons Everything ~ for giving me even more ammunition with which to ridicule superstition and the peddlers of untruth.

So once again to re-cap – religion is not moral in fact it is the foundation of immorality, disharmony, violence, hatred of the other, cruelty, misogyny, slavery, war etc. Dawkins, Hitchens and the others quite rightly point out that No child should ever be labeled with religion as not one is born believing in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

I can't leave the Vatican a get out of jail free card on the subject of child abuse so if you missed Sex Crimes and The Vatican:
"A Manual for Pedophiles by a Brazilian Priest:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/a01p_DiaryBrazilianPriest.html

Oh and what about the perpetuation of sexual dysfunction that characterizes religion what makes so many afraid of their bodies?
To those shallow people who have been conditioned to hate their bodies intact perhaps taking courses on Human Anatomy and Human Sexuality would help.

Disclaimer on Sadomasochism - Consenting adults should be free to engage in whatever kinky acts that amuses but please leave the kids alone!

40. U.S. circumcision rate drops

Comment #50539 by Linda on June 18, 2007 at 5:05 pm

How infuriating that even today in modern Western countries babies continue to be mutilated and inducted into religious tribes without giving their consent.

41. The Future Forum Presents: Christopher Hitchens and Marvin Olasky

Comment #50128 by Linda on June 15, 2007 at 7:25 am

It would be fun as some suggested to have Hitchens debate a few of the televangelists that plague TV channels bilking funds from little old ladies. That just can't be right. Come one come all, I double dog dare ya! Ah shucks Falwell quit life before he had a chance to either comment on 'god is not Great' or challenge Hitchens in debate.

How about Benny Hinn v Hitchens? That would be hilarious. I can picture Hitchens and Coulter going at it in the linguistic sense too. That's something I'd pay to see.

American Dinesh D'Souza begs on Hitchens on his blog: "Pick On Someone Your Own Size, Hitchens:

I'm watching with some dismay as Christopher Hitchens publicly challenges pastors to debate and, when they agree, makes short work of them. What do you expect? Hitchens is a seasoned debator in the public area. Pastors are used to speaking in churches where everyone already shares their assumptions. What pastors talk about on Sunday, which is how the Bible applies to everyday life, is completely irrelevant when they encounter an opponent like Hitchens who rejects the authority of Scripture to adjudicate these questions. Besides, Hitchens is tough and mean. Pastors are inhbited because of their position. They can't respond in kind. So Hitchens can call them names but they can't call him names because they have to show Christian forbearance.

It's time for the devil's advocate to pick on someone his own size. I'd be happy to do a series of debates with him in the fall. We have debated twice before, once on socialism in Washington D.C. a long time ago and then again a few years ago on political correctness at Wabash College. Both of us have similar intellectual backgrounds and I am ready to meet Hitchens on his own ground of skepticism, where nothing is taken for granted. Besides, I don't have ecclesiastical inhibitions. I can suspend Christian charity for the duration of the debates. This would be one situation where Hitchens may need alcohol. So how about it Chrisopher?"
http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/05/30/pick-on-someone-your-own-size-hitchens/1#comments

DD now that ad hominem insult re: Hitchens substance abuse problem is rather tacky since you use your own guerin oil addiction to attack the man.

I tried to post on the DD blog but my remarks didn't appear. My comments were that clerics (frauds & circus hucksters) have no business bullying people into believing their tales if they cannot defend them as facts in debate.
DD wrote to tell though that he has challenged Hitchens to debate in the fall. My fiver is still on Hitchens to win!

42. The Future Forum Presents: Christopher Hitchens and Marvin Olasky

Comment #49945 by Linda on June 14, 2007 at 8:01 am

Medecins Sans Frontieres is an excellent example of a organization predicated on helping those in need everywhere without proselytizing.
http://www.msf.org/

Check out Hitchens witty and insightful essay on the woman with the catchy stage name Mother Teresa in which he illustrates how she bilked millions of dollars that never reached the intended victims of poverty. Call me a conspiracy theorist buy my gut tells me that she was most likely Opus Dei (all that sado-masochism seems typical of the cult). Did the money collected as charitable donations go to fund more temples to kinkiness?

http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featpostel_56.htm

Atheists give blood or donate to charities because helping others makes sense from a survival point of view. Canadians & Europeans support the notion of universal health care for the same reasons.

Marvin Olasky and others cite comments from ancient texts as if the proof of god is in the olde thyme tomes where apparently the supernatural talked to illiterate peasants. Come on now fella is that the best you can do? Does he and others who romanticize Bronze Age science fiction ever wonder why the gods don't talk to modern literate people? Why do aliens only abducts hillbillies?
Surely the wicked pope should have god's cell phone number yet again no sign of goodness for goodness sake emanating from the evil Vatican.

On sharing selflessly: In North America United Way Charities support social organizations that run women's shelters etc. They are predicated on the values of communities supporting those in need. Contributing to any of those agencies is simply common sense for the common good.

It really is tiresome to hear the desperately deluded attacking Atheists for pointing out the obvious then suggesting through ignorance that we do not love or are not loved.
Handing out bibles with bread is IMO dishonest.

I was in NYC recently and quite surprised to find along with the Gideon a Mormon bible in the hotel room. It meant extra work for me as I'd forgotten a glue stick to attach the 'Imagine no Religion' notice but the handy sewing kit provided the tools to stitch the flyer into both books.

43. Observer Diary 27th May 2007

Comment #45310 by Linda on May 27, 2007 at 6:33 am

Hi Richard,
I did wonder why you were in Toronto and am really grateful that in one short day so many media outlets here took advantage of the opportunity for interviews.

The best TV interview is by Steve Paikin (deist) who seemed completely baffled by your refusal to humour him, well done!
http://richarddawkins.net/article,1041,The-Debate-Can-We-Live-by-Reason-Alone,The-Agenda-with-Steve-Paikin

The one hour radio piece by another Canadian pro-religion media personality is on CBC with Michael Enright. The broadcast is available via Real Player - go to the link and scroll down to 'Michael's Conversation with Richard Dawkins, Author of the God Delusion'
Sunday, May 13, 2007:
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/audio.html

After reading details of your journey in the Observer and considering jet lag the above two interviews are some of your best. You clearly, carefully and with decorum outline the essential elements of TGL and New Atheism. Why some see this as threatening is beyond me.

Thank you for opening doors at letting some fresh air into our lives. Linda Ward Selbie

44. Cardinal: homosexuality a form of prostitution

Comment #38995 by Linda on May 9, 2007 at 5:41 pm

This wicked man inciting hatred would be indicted if the word Jew was substituted for homosexual. Cardinal Pujats is guilty of perpetrating hate speech and incitement to riot. He's an emotional terrorist preying on the ignorant and illiterate.

The Roman Church clergy is mostly homosexual so is this yet another case of 'do as I say not as we do' hypocrisy?

45. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #37173 by Linda on May 3, 2007 at 2:53 pm

"The Dutch novelist Margriet de Moor, writing in a German newspaper, wants to know whether anyone is at work on a novel titled "2084." Well might she ask. The world seems not to have changed much since George Orwell wrote "1984," his dark and gloomy look at a Marxist Utopia, where freedom of thought was brainwashed out of humanity by Big Brother, who monitored everything a man or woman said, did or thought.
When "1984" was published in 1949 the threat to the world was international communism, with its aim of total dominion over the minds of men. Orwell, once attracted to communism, had seen the light shining through the darkness imposed on Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union and the ruthless oppression imposed by Joseph Stalin.


The threat today is not a dictatorship of politics, but one of religious theocracy, not of surveillance cameras or deathly state interrogations, but of the imposition through intimidation of a perversion of religion. A novel called "2084" would confront this perversion of Islam, the rigid Shariah law where the distinction between church and state is not obliterated but sadistically internalized. Those most brutally victimized are women.

Ms. De Moor describes a visit to a Dutch shelter for battered women, where typically 80 percent of the women are Muslims. On the day she visited, the women had just watched a showing of the documentary "Submission," depicting the abuse of Muslim women in the name of Allah. The screenwriter, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, wanted to demonstrate to the battered women the way "the machismo of Islam" is grounded in their religion. But women who had been brutally beaten by their husbands were merely outraged by the honesty of the filmmakers. When the film showed Koran texts projected onto the naked bodies of women, calling attention to how and why they were disrespected, dishonored and abused, the battered women of the shelter demanded that the projector be stopped. They were offended by the "blasphemy" on the screen, not by the bruises and wounds on their bodies. They would not consider how their treatment was rooted in the Islamist interpretation of the Koran. They were the helpless prey of a dictatorship of the spirit. "
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070502-092200-2226r.htm

46. How multiculturalism is betraying women

Comment #37053 by Linda on May 3, 2007 at 9:35 am

nickthelight - The Koran specifically advises men to harm women:

"Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because men spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those among you who fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them." Sura 4:34

47. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #37052 by Linda on May 3, 2007 at 9:32 am

No religious tribunals should exist. There is a set of laws that protect all citizens equally.

In fighting Sharia in Ontario we successfully managed to have the provincial government outlaw all religious arbitration as it marginalizes poor women:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4236762.stm

48. How multiculturalism is betraying women

Comment #36903 by Linda on May 2, 2007 at 5:40 pm

"Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because men spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those among you who fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them." Sura 4:34

49. How multiculturalism is betraying women

Comment #36897 by Linda on May 2, 2007 at 5:28 pm

Domestic violence is an insidious disease that is particularly odious when perpetrated by those who claim religious justification for abuse.The fact that governments continue to protect and sanctify superstition and its peddlers is shameful.

CBC Documentary: SILENCE LIKE AIR
"Last October was a particularly cruel month for Indo-Canadian women In B.C.'s lower mainland. Navreet Kaur Waraichi was stabbed to death in her home in Surrey, BC. Her husband was charged with second degree murder. A few days later, pregnant Surrey schoolteacher Manjit Panghali (she was a stunningly beautiful woman who was adored by here students) was found in nearby Delta. She had been killed and her body set on fire. Her husband and brother-in-law have been charged with her murder. Not long after that Gurjeet Ghurman was shot in the face by her estranged husband who then killed himself. It was too much.

At a public forum at Langara College - in the heart of Vancouver's Punjabi market - people spoke out on the issue, many for the very first time. B.C.'s Attorney General called domestic violence a cancer on the community. And he welcomed the new attention to the issue. Three women, in their very early twenties, caught the attention of the Attorney General at the Langara forum. Wally Oppal invited Supreeti Ghosh, Ashley Sandu and Sandeep Rokra to meet with him and continue the conversation.

The three students came well-prepared, with a remarkable willingness to explore the impact of the violence on their own lives and the life of the community, and to think about solutions. In today's documentary, "Silence like Air", Supreeti Ghosh, Ashley Sandu, and Sandeep Rokra have the ear of the Attorney General. Meet them, as they talk to each other, and to Wally Oppal.

"Silence Like Air" was produced by Teresa Goff, with special thanks to Indira Prahst. In the upcoming months, you may hear more from Supreeti Ghosh, Ashley Sandu and Sandip Rokra. They and others are working to organize another Langara College Forum for the fall - about the issues of violence, double lives and the generation gap."

Listen to the piece - hit the link and scroll down to 'SILENCE LIKE AIR'
http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/THE_SUNDAY_EDITION/20070429.shtml

50. Bill Maher - APATHEIST

Comment #35438 by Linda on April 27, 2007 at 6:40 am

phasmagigas - Am I correct in remembering that slavery was only bannned in Mississippi in 1995?

and so it goes ... for a nation rooted in the goodness of Christian mythology ...