1. God, Dawkins, and Paris Hilton

Comment #52102 by h2g2bob on June 26, 2007 at 6:39 am

The Now Show is quite good, and they've got a bit about scientology that episode too. They've stopped the podcasts :'( but you can get it on RealPlayer (bbc.co.uk/radio4/nowshow/).

2. Quackbuster causes too much flak for university

Comment #49903 by h2g2bob on June 14, 2007 at 3:42 am

Good news - its back! http://www.badscience.net/?p=432

3. A Compass That Can Clash With Modern Life

Comment #49645 by h2g2bob on June 12, 2007 at 5:34 pm

CJ22 - I don't think there's a formal repeals system in the UK. Instead laws get overwritten by newer laws. That law is almost certainly replaced with newer murder and human right laws. If by some quirk of fate the law did still stand, it has fallen into disuse, so would almost certainly be referred to the House of Lords, who would make a decision on whether the law stands. That's how I understand it anyway - INAL.

4. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #36638 by h2g2bob on May 1, 2007 at 9:16 pm

@Ivan The Not So Bad
I could not have put it better. The Express is the Daily Mail on crack.

5. Hubble Celebrates Its Seventeenth Birthday with the Birth of a Star

Comment #36019 by h2g2bob on April 29, 2007 at 11:28 pm

@Fishpeddler
The NASA website (nasa.gov) has lots of pictures (see the multimedia section). Most images are public domain (no copyright), so no problems there.

6. Atheism's Big Night In Little Rock

Comment #35742 by h2g2bob on April 28, 2007 at 6:12 pm

From the article: "In Britain, the state has an official religion, the Church of England, and children are required to be exposed to it." This is not true - school teaching on religion places emphasis on teaching multiple faiths. The CoE is the largest religion in the UK, but the only person who must be CoE is the Queen.

7. Atheist banned from committee on religious education

Comment #27545 by h2g2bob on March 25, 2007 at 8:37 am

I'm from the UK, and this doesn't worry me. Local councils are basically lunatic asylums anyway :D

In fact, I learned two very uplifting things from the article:
1. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - the people who write the national curriculum, which sets out what should be taught in schools - recommends the inclusion of humanism. Huzzah!
2. The Church of England - our "official" church - has a policy of inclusion. This isn't really surprising, but is good news.

Having a humanist on the advisory committee would be nice, but just raising the issue is good. Besides, they may simply be worried that he can't effectively represent the atheist community - I imagine concerns filter up through this group from the wider community.

So very little bad news, and some good news. Be happy!