1. Sharia law 'could have UK role'

Comment #204308 by mrjonno on July 4, 2008 at 5:00 pm

Sharia law very bad, evil

Forcing people to use civil courts when neither party wishes to use it worse

Kids being brought up to be muslism (or any other religion) bad

Kids being taken away from their parents because of above worse.

I despise islam but defend people right to practice it not because it has anything useful to offer (ever) but because once these right wing nuts have finished with them they may look for other minorities like atheists perhaps?

2. Sharia law 'could have UK role'

Comment #204199 by mrjonno on July 4, 2008 at 11:30 am

More right wing drivel.

People should be aware that in a civil dispute people can use any set of rules that is agreed by the 2 people involved and that does not go against the law of the land

Yes that does include the Koran

It can also include a pasta eating competion in the name of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or who can balance the God Delusion on their head for as long as possible

3. Evangelical grunts

Comment #201173 by mrjonno on June 29, 2008 at 10:47 am

Hyperbolic: People join the military because they are stupid.?

No but there is extremely strong evidence that your average grunt is far less educated than the general public.

On joining the army 50% have a reading age of less than 11

9% with a reading age of less than 7

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6418683.stm

Not talking about your average fighter pilot here who I'm sure is at least if not more educated than most the people who post here but the guy wandering around downtown Bagdad

But in UK (and all Western countries) the vast majority of people who join up are from the poorer less educated parts of society. Getting your well trained brains blown out for relatively poor money is not considered a good career move by most

4. Vatican bans Dan Brown film Angels & Demons from Rome churches

Comment #194486 by mrjonno on June 16, 2008 at 9:58 pm

There is still little if any genuine evidence that a single person with a name or nickname Jesus died around 25AD? after leading a major revolut against the Romans, after trashing the big Jewish temple there and then got crucified.

Not to say he didnt exist but the evidence isnt there and its not something to base your life around. Its far more likely its a collection of myths and stories rolled into one and Dan Brown working stories work on the basis he did exist is pro christianity in my view

5. George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism

Comment #194126 by mrjonno on June 16, 2008 at 12:52 pm

Really think its a bit uncalled for having ago for Ratzinger for being a German and involved with the Nazi's as a child

Whats wrong with having a go at him for being part of an evil death cult that demeans all human life and does its best to murder millions through its anti contraceptive policies.
Ratzinger a catholic definitely nazi no real evidence at all

6. Vatican bans Dan Brown film Angels & Demons from Rome churches

Comment #194115 by mrjonno on June 16, 2008 at 12:42 pm

Always found Dan Brown to be very PRO religion. When he comes up with conspiracies about jesus etc he is working on the basis that jesus actually existed and that is the biggest conspiracy of them all. The catholic church is based on worshipping a person (never mind a god) that has no real evidence to have ever lived

7. Court Claim: Chimps Are People, Too

Comment #191234 by mrjonno on June 10, 2008 at 12:42 pm

Human rights are intrinsically linked with human responsibilites. Is there any evidence that monkey or chimp actually capable of acting beyound instinct with humans. You could argue it can with others of its own species but I'm not convinced a monkey really understands the concept of murder etc

Human beings do however have legal and moral responsibilities when dealing with animals which should and do become stricter going up the intelligence scale.

Of course there are some humans often on the political right who think 'rights' are something natural or that you are born with but human rights are as artifical as a car or a spaceship. An incredibly good invention of course which has brought vast benefits to humanity

8. Group wants Wi-Fi banned from public buildings

Comment #186574 by mrjonno on May 30, 2008 at 5:09 pm

Would still love to know if the people complaining about WIFI actually drive a car.

Pollutants from a car kill ,scientific fact probably in magnitudes higher than any possible mobile phone.

No I'm not saying get rid of cars (through they can and are restricted) but I find it amsuing when you see parents in their 4x4 moaning about a cell phone mast a mile down the road

9. Fossil reveals oldest live birth

Comment #186120 by mrjonno on May 29, 2008 at 3:54 pm

Flying Spaghetti Monster being busy again playing with those gullible scientists. When will they learn they know only what his noodlyness lets them know

10. Group wants Wi-Fi banned from public buildings

Comment #186117 by mrjonno on May 29, 2008 at 3:52 pm

Can we ban cars please to as their pollutants do damage my health ,airplanes too?

In the end of the day it doesnt really matter if a tiny % of people are effects by radio waves (no evidence but even if there were) the economic and social benefits are going to out weigh the negative effects.

I'm all for helping minorities (liberal that I am) but in the end of the day if the numbers involved are tiny it makes more sense that they are givien protective clothing

11. Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'

Comment #183682 by mrjonno on May 22, 2008 at 1:26 pm

In Reference to
Comment #183392 by hungarianelephant on May 22, 2008 at 3:12 am

I think you made your point very well and I will have to admit it looks like I was wrong to show a lack of concern
Jon

12. Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'

Comment #183145 by mrjonno on May 21, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Well I shall try to be positive.

The law he was arrested under seems to be vague and badly worded. It means a single policeman has to make a value judgement about how much offensive/hatred etc is being generated etc.

In this case he got it wrong however I hardly think this is the end of the world. The police do have a right to arrest you if they suspect you of commiting a crime. Whether you have or not committed the crime is actually irrelevant The important word is suspect.

Say a policeman outside your house hears a women scream followed by a gun shot. I fully support him kicking the door in throwing the occupant to the floor and hand cuffing him. Tough if the scream and gunshot was the TV shit happens.

The police apoligise, the state pay for a new door the world moves on

Now if this kid is successfuly prosecuted its a totally different matter however I find this to be extremely unlikely

13. In God's Name

Comment #183128 by mrjonno on May 21, 2008 at 12:30 pm

While the faith school that program showed was appalling and basically child abuse I think some people do need to understand that in the UK at least
the situation is more complicated than

Faith school= get brainwashed into a death cult
State school = get a well balanced education where you are taught to rationally think.

For many people quite possibly even the majority in the UK a faith school is the BEST place to get a decent education including science (including evolution). This isnt because of well meaning paedophile priests but because faith schools have a selection process whether directly or indirectly thats keeps the thugs and generally scummy working class kids out so little middle class Jonny can go to school without getting stabbed.

What I trying to get across is getting rid of faith schools in the uk without a decent alternative (grammer schools?) is political suicide and could actually hurt critical thinking.

14. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #183115 by mrjonno on May 21, 2008 at 12:08 pm

200 000 abortions a year?, there are a hell of a lot more out of control unwanted kids whose only real future is to grow up in crime etc

While in a fluffy military /theocratic dictatorship no one would ever have an unwanted pregnancy in the real world in my opinion the UK would be a better place if instead of 200k a year we had far more

I would even go further and actually pay women to have abortions. Sure some women would deliberately get pregnant just for the money but the amount saved from less unwanted children would be a bargain for the taxpayer. Say £500 US$ 1000 for each abortion. I'm sure anyone who genuinely wants a child wouldnt touch that.

None of this pro choice crap , abortion is a good thing for society. It reduces crime , poverty and helps to keep taxes down

15. Geeks and Guinness: the formula for sexy science

Comment #182445 by mrjonno on May 20, 2008 at 6:28 am

It's worth noting that the format of the Dana Café is not typical of Science Cafés in the UK. Most do not have bouncers and guestlists and £15 tickets.

16. Mayor challenges pope during Genoa visit

Comment #182244 by mrjonno on May 19, 2008 at 1:56 pm

"Pro life" is most definitely a term in full use in the UK by the anti abortion pressure groups and lobbyists. Just look at the web pages of such organisations as the Prolife alliance or united for life or the society for the protection of the unborn child (which I like to call "SPUnC" for short). You can get to all of these simply by Googling pro life uk.

17. Mayor challenges pope during Genoa visit

Comment #182211 by mrjonno on May 19, 2008 at 11:58 am

Pro life/pro choice are generally American terms which are simply not used outside the country.

Generally people in the UK are prepared to have an abortion or are not prepared to have one.

There are debates in most of Europe about the age limit but on the whole these are generally based on err science.

Through if I had to choose I am pro abortion as opposed to pro choice. Abortion is the very best weapon against poverty and crime

18. God seekers go public

Comment #180159 by mrjonno on May 14, 2008 at 9:47 am

Havent the god squad found

'Copyright Yahweh' in Hebrew yet on people's DNA.
As I forgot most god freaks can't even read the 'original' bible as they think it was written in English

19. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179344 by mrjonno on May 13, 2008 at 6:27 am

Really is no such thing as an enviromentally friendly car. I doubt if a car running on fresh air would be as efficient as a train or large bus running on petrol etc.

Fundamentally the only enviromentally friendly way to live is in high density cities where your place is work is within walking distance or via public transport. This is perfectly possible common (dominant) in Europe and happens occassionaly in the US

20. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179293 by mrjonno on May 13, 2008 at 4:34 am

Pretty sure petrol has passed the $10 dollar per gallon ($2.50/£1.25 per litre) price in London, UK

Personally as a non-driver I think the price isnt high enough. If the roads are crowded then obviously petrol prices are too cheap. I'm prepared to accept there are vital users but for the majority its just an enviromentally unfriendly luxury. Cars have no long term future in Europe that is pretty obvious

21. British Airways takes beef off the menu to avoid offending Hindus

Comment #178845 by mrjonno on May 12, 2008 at 6:30 am

Bare in mind BA probably have as many Muslim travellers as Hindu ones and they are quite happy to sell alcohol (good margin).

Its purely a business decision and I suspect if you pay enough to go business /first class you can eat whatever you want. Choosing meals on an aircraft which unlike a restuarant is a closed enviroment must be a nightmare job and I wouldnt want to critise anyone for it

22. On Fitna, the Movie

Comment #178821 by mrjonno on May 12, 2008 at 5:27 am

Need to be very careful with anti-muslim media as there is a complete difference between saying Islam is a moronic stupid ideology which often leads to evil things and 'lets kick out all the darkies' which there is plenty of fascist propaganda for

23. Scientists Know Better Than You--Even When They're Wrong

Comment #177931 by mrjonno on May 10, 2008 at 1:57 am

There is a whole culture of everyone can be an expert brought on by the mass media and in particular by the internet. And for once I actually think atheists and rationalists can be worse than religious people in this regard.

An example how do you determine the possibility that global warming is man made and a genuine danger?

The only sensible answer is spend 20 years studying climatology at a University. Looking it up on google or having an online debate simply doesnt cut it. 'Free thinkers' simply dont like fact, that you can't study the evidence if you don't have the educational background. They don't like relying on the opinions of others as they want to be independent (which is a complete illusion no human being can survive in the modern world without relying on 1000's of others). Fundamentally if comes down to if you don't have a high level degree in a related subject you simply don't have a remotely valuable opinion.


Sometimes I hate the corruption and the attempts to try to democracise science even more than religion. I think it comes down to that there seems to be some innate part of human nature what wants easy answers.

Anyway I'm Jon with a degree in Physics but have no absolutely no idea on the science of global warming but if the vast majority of climate scientists say its happening then I wait for it TRUST them :)

24. Trouble ahead for science

Comment #177795 by mrjonno on May 9, 2008 at 5:55 pm

Hey it is possible to be a christian and a decent person. Its just a lot harder but the ability for the mind to compartmentalise is amazing.

25. Churchgoing on its knees as Christianity falls out of favour

Comment #177790 by mrjonno on May 9, 2008 at 5:41 pm

I think this discussion shows the problems of religion in the UK/Europe and the US are very different.

The UK has some serious problems integrating some of its minority groups partly but not wholey for religious reasons leading at its worst to suicide bombers . What we dont have on whole is a remotely religious government or electorate. In the vasty majority of cases a politican who says he is religious is likely to be ridiculed and would be extremely hard to elect.

The US from what I can generally seems to be better at cultural integration but has its current government dominated by amargeddon nuts and a large % of the electorate that support it.

I think what I'm trying to say is the methods used to deal with these problems may well need to be very different. I personally don't think whether the UK has a state church is remotely important as long as that church is weak and a figure of fun. Obviously seperation of church and state in the US is far more important due to completely different circumstances

26. Citing Faith, Bush Defends War Actions

Comment #177125 by mrjonno on May 8, 2008 at 3:45 pm

For non-Americans: the "fairness doctrine" was a piece of shit legislation that would allow the FCC to FORCE private broadcasting companies to air opposing viewpoints. It would effectively put an end to any sort of partisan/independent radio stations and pave the way for centrally dominated and federally controlled airwaves.


Most democracies do have restrictions on media when it comes to politics especially during elections (James Whale being sacked, very sad but unfortunately deserved).
Really comes down to if you believe in one man one vote or one dollar/pound/euro etc. Some restrictions on media are not without risks but no restrictions at all is even scarier.

Watching the various candidates in the US elections trying to spend more millions than each other is truely frightning.

27. Faith in Britain today

Comment #177119 by mrjonno on May 8, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Couple of comments
Personal unverifiable non repeatable experience have ZERO relevance to how the universe is,was and will be. Unfortunately religion is almost entirely about this there is simply no common ground.

Religious people simply do not understand that I don't care what they feel , I do care about what they think and more importantly what they do through.

Also what is it about Americans and ancestor worship. It really is very simple every single person who lived 200 years ago without acception by modern standards was a complete bastard. Some were less bastards than others, some made great contributions despite being complete bastards but none of them could be considered as 'nice' people who you would want to out to the pub with on a Friday night.

For example Darwin made major contributions to biology but do I value his opinions on race relations hell no he was as racist as everyone else of his time

Never listen to the opinion of a dead person they don't have to live with the consquences of their beliefs :)

28. The Atheist Next Door

Comment #156938 by mrjonno on April 8, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Its just weird watching that program as a Brit.
We share the same language as the US (mostly) but here 90% of citizens are atheist or agnostic/dont care where in the US 90% are seriously religious.

Just shows how culturely different we have become

29. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #156276 by mrjonno on April 7, 2008 at 8:21 am

Need to careful with Martin Niemoeller poem.

I have an extreme dislike for Islam (along with other religions) but it could easily become

First they came for the Muslims but I wasnt that sort of sky god worshiper

Then they came for the atheists .....

Some but not all of the hatred of Muslims in the UK is racism as opposed to its a shit religion etc

30. Russell T Davies: Return of the (tea) Time Lord

Comment #155935 by mrjonno on April 6, 2008 at 10:52 am

I think there is a big difference between admiring someone and worshiping them.

I admire Prof Dawkins for his contribution to science, the promotion of reason and fighting to ending the sacred place that someone people place religion in .

I do not however think the answer to life the universe and everything is Richard. He certainly isnt (nor would claim to be) a great artist, economist, physicist he hasnt even officially accepted the Flying Spaghetti Monster as his only pasta saviour.

Its religious people who think they have the 'absolute truth' not rational people.

31. Russell T Davies: Return of the (tea) Time Lord

Comment #155889 by mrjonno on April 6, 2008 at 8:47 am

Dr Who and Richard Dawkins on the same Saturday night there is a Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Throw in Captain Jack who is so cool its almost enough to turn a hetro man gay (well not quite)

Its nice to see Richard Dawkins doing something a little less 'dry'. I think he a great scientist ,book write and politican but its great he will be doing something a little less serious

32. Vote on freedom of expression marks the end of Universal Human Rights

Comment #153933 by mrjonno on April 2, 2008 at 8:27 am

Well any ideas should be open to criticism however speech that incites violence should and is restricted in any decent society.

Islam is a moronic ideology which is oppressive, intolerant sexist and generally shit ,no problems free speech

Muslims have no place in this country, where you see them kill them, here is the address of one, anyone up for doing him in tonight, incitement to violence, the person speaking this should be arrested.

Is it always a clear distinction, no but thats why we have juries (replace muslim, with jew, gay atheist etc)

33. Who wants to kill the elderly?

Comment #153732 by mrjonno on April 2, 2008 at 12:33 am

I think the difference between alcohol and religion is while both can be 'fun', serve a need etc only one claims to be good and to be respected.

No one seriously claims drinking a beer makes you a better person, no one says teaching the young to enjoy beer is vital for society etc (unless you are a pastafarian etc). In no country in the world is alcohol not seriously restricted in its use, no minors, restrictions that you can do while under the influence and where you can buy the stuff etc

34. Vote on freedom of expression marks the end of Universal Human Rights

Comment #153709 by mrjonno on April 1, 2008 at 10:10 pm

How can anyone love a country or a legal document is completely beyond me, sorry I reserve that for people anything else is just useful but hardly an emotional neccessity.

The cult of the individual is utterly evil, the I'm independent and have no links to others.
Not everything in life is about choice, you are born into a highly interlinked web of society and will die that way

35. In His Name We Pray, Ramen

Comment #151937 by mrjonno on March 29, 2008 at 5:20 pm

I find it highly offensive that articles like this confuse serious science and pasta based theology of pastafarism which complete artificial made by committee joke religions like christianity

36. Crossing the Divide

Comment #140094 by mrjonno on March 7, 2008 at 12:54 am

What is depressing about atheism?

The only purpose in life are the ones you create or find (ie you aren't given a crap made up one via a 2000 year old hate filled story book)

When you die thats it , and you will die! scary stuff

When your friends/relatives die you will not see them again, they are gone the end!

The only justice system is the one that a flawed society can create, ie the innocent will sometimes suffer and the guilty will go free

The universe is a cold amoral place and the morality and warmth in it are what human beings bring to it. That in itself is a scary thing

People are religious because its the easy answer, rationality may be liberating but it is hard, it takes effort. Far simpler to say 'god did it'.

Want to understand how the universe works spend a dozen life times studying different branches of science? or get told 'god did it'

37. Ad 'likely to offend gay people'

Comment #124355 by mrjonno on February 9, 2008 at 7:05 am

Well I feel a bit queezy about gay sex but thats my problem (I also feel queezy about eating prawns).

I really dont know why, I just do and I despise religion , sexism ,racism and all other isms.

I would assume gay people feel the same way about straight sex to, probably a lot of science in the whys of all this

38. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #124306 by mrjonno on February 9, 2008 at 4:23 am

While the Archbishops comments were utterly moronic people do forget that 2 people can form a contract between each other using any methology they like as long as it does not contradict British Law

If two people wish to form a contract based on the Laws of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (well I rather you didnt) it is already legal. This whole thing is a storm in a teamcup, if individuals want to make civil arrangement based on pastafarianism, sharia law, how many times someone goes to a toilet each day etc well thats up to them.

The whole basis of society is the law only gets involved in a conflict between people in civil cases as a last resort. I suspec this is no different in any other Western country

39. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Comment #121760 by mrjonno on February 4, 2008 at 5:10 am

Suspect this is as much political as religious. All the worlds major religions allow the breaking of just about all rules to save life.

For example it would be quite permit able for a jew/muslim to eat pork if there was no other food available and they were going to starve to death.

These people are just trying to get noticed

40. Pope says some science shatters human dignity

Comment #121183 by mrjonno on February 3, 2008 at 4:30 am

Couple of points

Science does not have the answers to everything however religion has the answer to nothing whatsoever

Second thing as much as I despise the catholic church it as least does accept science as real and tries to adapt (badly like 6 days = 15 billion years in bible speak) its tennants to match what we discover about the universe. More American centred versions of christanity deny science even exists ie evolution etc

41. U.S.: 'Demonic' militants sent women to bomb markets in Iraq

Comment #120831 by mrjonno on February 2, 2008 at 4:38 pm

Well all suicide bombers are mentally handicapped but in this case the unfortunate bombers were born this way as opposed to just being brain washed

42. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights

Comment #118875 by mrjonno on January 31, 2008 at 5:30 am

Since when did the West go into Afghanistan for the benefit of the people living there, we went in there to put in a government more friendly to western interests. Its very arguable whether we have actually succeeded, NATO controls Kabul everyone else is just run by the usual warlords.

Democracy is meaningless unless it is secular, its meaningless when your vote is based on what your male relative tells you and his vote is based on what his tribe tells him

43. Ore. Court: Boy Has Say in Circumcision

Comment #117903 by mrjonno on January 30, 2008 at 12:19 am

Since when do we put healthy children under the knife for potential benefit in the future. At least in the UK we do not remove tonsils, appendix, breasts or any other organ unless something has gone wrong.

Yes adults may choose to have this done with but informed consent.

It's irrelevant if a procedure may or may not improve the chances of getting a disease in the future

44. Richard Dawkins on The Big Questions

Comment #117889 by mrjonno on January 29, 2008 at 11:27 pm

For anyone who is interested the 'Big Question' is a 'debate' program shown every Sunday morning (when most people are still in bed) on BBC1 in the UK. By law the BBC has to dedicate a few hours each week to religion. As so few people in the UK give a toss about religion and the viewing figures for christian stuff is pretty close to zero they show stuff like this

45. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #117482 by mrjonno on January 28, 2008 at 11:40 pm

In reference to point 37, the vast majority of Europeans are irreligious through not necessarily atheist.

However the amount of believe in bad science, alternative medicine, astrology and many other irrational concepts is strong

46. The real danger in Darwin is not evolution, but racism

Comment #115375 by mrjonno on January 24, 2008 at 5:36 am

Evolutions shows us where we came from and has given us the brain power to actually understand this (something we are unique in).

Where we go from here is actually up to us. Most human development in modern times is not actually biological but in ideas and technology.

There is a stupid religious idea that 'nature' must be good, its not its cold , unfeeling and totally amoral.

47. What Religion's Blind Stranglehold on America Is Doing to Our Democracy

Comment #114377 by mrjonno on January 22, 2008 at 5:38 am

I'm not a great fan of constitutions because it takes away power from politicians (hoorah) however it doesnt give them to people it gives to them to judges.

Maybe its different in the US but in the UK if you had to name a group that was even less trusted than politicans it would be judges.

When you start throwing meaningless words like 'freedom' and 'rights' into law via constitutions you just given incredible power to unelected judges. These words are meaningless because they can mean just about anything depending on who interprets them

48. What Religion's Blind Stranglehold on America Is Doing to Our Democracy

Comment #114340 by mrjonno on January 22, 2008 at 2:30 am

mrjonno - So what you are saying is:
(1) All morality is prevailing fashion
(2) Older morality than now is savage.

Do you not see the inconsistency here

49. What Religion's Blind Stranglehold on America Is Doing to Our Democracy

Comment #114121 by mrjonno on January 21, 2008 at 11:57 am

What else is morality except prevailing fashion?
What is moral a 100 years ago is not acceptable today, what is acceptable today may well not be acceptable in a 100 years time.

Absolute morality simply does not exist, you can't get it from the bible, you can't get it from political versions (ie constitutions).

Was slavery a morally acceptable action?, to the people who practiced it of course it was.

Was burning heretics alive a good thing, of course it was to those purifying god's world

50. What Religion's Blind Stranglehold on America Is Doing to Our Democracy

Comment #114045 by mrjonno on January 21, 2008 at 9:12 am

Are you really, seriously suggesting that the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were "savages" whose opinions have less moral authority than that of, say, Bill Clinton?


Actually I would go further than that , choose a random 100 people from any 1st world country (I choose 1st world to mean one with a functioning education system) and I would guess 90% of them would have more moral authority

They would agree that racism , slavery sexism and persecution of someone due to their sexuality was wrong. They would say that all people regardless of the above should have a say in how their society was run. This makes they way ahead (in fact centuries ahead) of people in the 18th century).

Its not that some people were not 'great' for their time but the important word was time