51. Texas Leads U.S. in Teen Birth Rate

Comment #59003 by logical on July 26, 2007 at 11:30 pm

"Observers were divided on whether Texas' emphasis on abstinence in sex education contributes to the state's relatively high numbers. A 1995 law requires school districts to emphasize abstinence in sex education classes."

What DO they teach in these classes?
A version of the street angst that feelings (including being confused about physical changing) can make a girl pregnant???
For girls I can say with absolute certainty that not being informed about anatomy and physiology makes us helpless and unable to decide on anything, for boys I am not sure about the percentage who choose violence; I know only that some do - who, being informed, would not jump to brutal behaviour.
I am very pessimistic about the idea that religion can ever have a benign effect!

52. Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women

Comment #58288 by logical on July 24, 2007 at 8:53 am

Dear Philip1978, if there is nothing wrong with YOUR life, congratulations!
But then you should be able to read this article a little bit more closely, Ms. Sengupta describes very accurate
- which kind of life these girls have in their "homes", (how would YOU like to be restricted to "the only thing... to do is take care of my parents. I clean the house. I cook", and YOUR "contact with books...gone"?) and
- how they are taught in such religious establishments to lash out onto other women.
How about demanding secular schools for women everywhere?
You seem quite young, I am old enough to remember parts of the fight for girls to attend school more than 4 years in Catholic countries.

53. Face to faith

Comment #58182 by logical on July 23, 2007 at 11:49 pm

Poor guy. He cannot read German, and therefore does not know the (untranslated) bestesellers by Horst Herrmann (professor emeritus of religion sociology)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Herrmann
and Karl-Heinz Deschner http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlheinz_Deschner.
Is there not a tradition of church criticism in French also? I do not have the time to check, I have the vague memory that something was mentioned by RD.
Even if it takes learning languages, do your homework, Mr. Lynch.

54. In defense of dangerous ideas

Comment #58179 by logical on July 23, 2007 at 11:29 pm

Yes, each of the abovementioned ideas is dangerous, because each can be used as justification (and some are put this way).
There are ideas (or better connections between facts) which should be worded very carefully.
Causal explanation is not the same as justification!!!
The example to put homosexuality as "infectious disease" is a good one, because if people who want sex with people of their own gender can detect early in their lives that this is so and live these relationships they have no children by accident and probably only a small number of wanted ones. The outcome of a description in the usual (oldfashioned?) hereditary way is clear - and the conclusion that there are so many because the religions have enforced heterosexual lifestyles without any birth control for so long is easy to see. Using the concept of "infection" turns this around to promote censorship and/or invokes the use of the penal law system.
(Apply the effect to rapists...)

55. Preventing More Lal Masjids

Comment #56996 by logical on July 18, 2007 at 4:44 am

Corylus,
if you can read French better than I do, check the number of French noblemen fleeing in nun´s habits during the revolution.
A bundle of fabric supposed to say nothing is perfect cover - very rational!

56. The fundamentalist delusion

Comment #56521 by logical on July 16, 2007 at 5:33 am

After being called "militarist", "aggressive", etc. for nearly 50 years now, from the very first glimpse of the idea not to submit to religious nonsense, and the first refusal to strive to live up to belief´s (or better the believers´)demands I cannot manage more than a tired little smile to this. Another one...
But unlike in my childhood the religious seem to have lost the power to beat me up.

57. Tinkering with Humans

Comment #55713 by logical on July 12, 2007 at 3:55 am

"(A) world of fate and blamelessness"
did never exist. Born unwanted´s were always called bastards and brutalized, and there is the thing missing: Human rights begin with the right to decide to have a child or not.
As this is still not recognized - as the reviewer should know!!! - the minor decisions about genes can be made into something big, which they are not.
And, Big T, with the I.Q. of E.O. Wilson you may be right, but the aggression and the delusions of individuals like the late Jerry Falwell is better explained by imprint - a horrible childhood experience of being born unwanted.
On German tv there was an interview with the cardinal of Cologne, Joachim Meisner, where he next to perfectly admitted that he wanted to make people repeat his childhood experience - this was when the books by Alice Miller were bestsellers.

58. Charles Darwin - Legacy

Comment #55391 by logical on July 11, 2007 at 1:16 am

And if there are a "male strategy" and a "female straegy", why is the whole society, especially economics, built on the male strategy of competition???

59. A force for good?

Comment #55082 by logical on July 10, 2007 at 1:21 am

To me the religionists are those who enforce their belief(s) with the penal law, for example force me to give birth to a rapist´s monster and deny me painkillers and make me die a horrible death - the way I have seen in relatives.
If there was anything good in religion, the believers would simply leave me in peace.
Anyone can believe each and every nonsense in the world as long as I can simply say "I do not believe", period.
But the religionists enforce what they call "good" and what is absolute hell for me.

And as for Hitler: Get yourself an EARLY print of Mein Kampf, he describes exakty that he wanted to become the abbot of the monastery in Linz, Austria, where he went to school, and he was thrown out of the school because he had bad marks, especially in French, and therefore he could not become a Catholic priest (They have to study, the school end exam necessary for this is called "Matura" in Austria and "Abitur" in Germany.)
And therefore no-longer-little Adolf invented his own religion, that of race that needs no exam.

60. Scientists Urge a Search for Life Not as We Know It

Comment #54887 by logical on July 9, 2007 at 8:32 am

What is "weird", please?
Energy beings living in solar coronas?
Intelligent stars?
Life forms based on carbon or silicon are quite familiar to any SF reader.
All right, life as near as Titan would cause some people trouble to get used to, most of us think we have to develop superlight speed drive first.
But I personally would prefer to be sure there is no life on Mars or Venus because to terraform them (bringing water or, on Venus, hydrogen) would kill anything which developed there.

61. Open Debate: The Righteousness of Blasphemy

Comment #54817 by logical on July 9, 2007 at 3:28 am

In the moment with this number of Atheist bestsellers some kind of balance seems to be reached.
but still:
CAVE CANEM
The rabies virus may not be able to lay dormant for a long time, but the raving madness of religion can.

62. Interview with Dan Dennett on Danish TV

Comment #54795 by logical on July 9, 2007 at 1:50 am

"A more peaceful version" and showing the Christian fanatics fighting the teaching of evolution - that is Danish irony.
Perhaps they were lacking photographs of bombed abortion clinics (but they do have footage of Timothy McVeigh), so Danish TV seems not to take the whole very seriously.

63. At a Theater Near You ...

Comment #54253 by logical on July 6, 2007 at 6:45 am

Thank you, Goldy.
It is nice to read that the masses to be freed exist not only in North and South America, but everywhere else.
The "I am not a good Muslim" - selflabel is something I have been hearing in Europe too, but being a woman I could not find out what it exactly means. (Women do not use it)

64. Don't Mince Words: The London Car-Bomb Plot Was Designed to Kill Women

Comment #54038 by logical on July 5, 2007 at 4:11 am

With "women´s friends" like Bush and his supreme court judges, his televangelists and the pope, of course we do not need any (Muslim, Hindu, etc) enemies.
But Christopher Hitchens defends Bush and visits the pope, therefore he has no right to say anything on women.

65. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #54028 by logical on July 5, 2007 at 2:31 am

Part 3: Infallibility in the Catholic Church was introduced in 1870 during the First Vatican Council, but discussions of this idea exist since the Middle Ages.
The "Immaculate Conception of Mary" = virgin birth dates from 1854 and was introduced using the procedure described as necessary in 1870.
So the perfect hierarchy was put to paper after people could no longer be burnt on the stake.
In his job as grand inquisitor, Josef Ratzinger, now "infallible", compiled a list of infallible teachings, saying that anyone who does not believe them excommunicates herself or himself!
(Hope that many Catholics are being told this fact - who, if taken serious, would still be a member of this church?)

66. The new age of ignorance

Comment #53771 by logical on July 3, 2007 at 4:55 am

I am sorry, but C.P.Snow is outdated.
What is now, is not two cultures but some learning against organized dumbth.
And the question is, will we (and if it´s because of RD´s English accent only) be able to free enough people from the heavy hand (being taught lifelong obedience) of such organizations like the vatican and its copies (televangelists, the military and corporations in economy)???
After all, organizations can have person status in US law!
Living beings´ rights against rights corporations incorporate, could also be a way to put the question.

67. Floods are judgment on society, say bishops

Comment #53751 by logical on July 3, 2007 at 2:49 am

Encourage the faithheads to speak their true belief (or better the press to report it) because unlike in the witchburning and inquisition times people can show their revolt, stop donating, stop attending their rituals, and generally leave religion behind.
There are better ways to spend money, there are better rituals, being BRIGHT feels better, and everyone can share a good laugh as soon as dumbth like this creeps up.
Therefore: well done, bishop. Next one please.
There are still millions of people to deconvert.

68. 4 page German spread on The God Delusion

Comment #53613 by logical on July 2, 2007 at 8:47 am

This "imagine no religion" is not the title, but the motto of the ad campaign. And it does play with the words of the John-Lennon-song, well-known to educated people.
The title is "Der Gottes-Wahn", an exact translation of The God Delusion. Direct translations of book titles are rare, this provides hope for the quality of translation.

69. Row over religion's role in US jails

Comment #53607 by logical on July 2, 2007 at 8:29 am

Crazymalc said:
"And how would you do it BEFORE anyway? "All potential rapist, please stand up and come this way". Seems like a good idea, but impossible in practise." plus:

"One of the bravest man I ever met had a long history of violence. He had been in and out of jail many times for violent crimes (though never rape). He also use to work as a prostitute. He is covered in tats and you'd want to walk around him if you saw him on the street. The reason for all of this is some horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents and others as a child. He faced up to his fears, his hurt and his past and now is gradualy moving towards a "normal life".

THERE IS THE CONNECTION, although you did not make it:
All survivors of violence try to speak out about it, most short after the incident, others have months of trying to "be normal". Even children born into habitually violent families do try once or twice to get out there, but usually they fail. Here you have one of the arguments for a functional health system for all - including psychotherapy - plus the necessity for some version of women´s shelter for children/right of divorce for children.
Predominantly the born unwanted, but a lot more try to get a better life than what they see with their parent(s).
I succeeded, because of the `68 wave of social thinking. I know that I have alcoholics-genes, and I experienced the drunken brutes and the co-alcoholics. It was clear that I do not want to repeat that "life" and not want any children - something that was a new and shocking idea then.
Nowadays the chance of leaving such family background is history, impossible for lack of jobs, cost-cutting in social security, and maligned by the media, too.
Religious backgrounds are about sin and forgiveness, not about real change.

And yes, there is a time factor: the sooner the better the chances, for somebody incarcerated for violence (or woman-version: who has children already, perhaps grew up without the concept of choice) I have not seen any success.
Sorry if this sounds pessimistic, but imprint or traumatisation is as problematic as genes.

And yes, RD: all three, not only genes, are nasty fascists, but not to mention them or profess religious hope does not solve the problems. Having a close look at the facts might.

70. In Saudi Arabia, a view from behind the veil

Comment #52116 by logical on June 26, 2007 at 7:42 am

The speculations about men inventing religion to avoid to pay for another man´s genetics forget that the attack of the religionists is concentrating on women wanting to decide over their bodies and most extreme those who do not want husband and/or children!
And as for "the men" - there are a lot of men who do not care for their own, do not even pay the beggar sum of legal child support, let alone time and emotions. It is yet to show that the vocal few who fight for custody had ever any impact, genetic or otherwise.

71. Row over religion's role in US jails

Comment #52064 by logical on June 26, 2007 at 4:33 am

Does anyone have very old copies of The Skeptic magazine? I remember an article about religious reasoning rapists do (getting rid of the sinful feel)one New York prosecutor asked about, but I cannot find it on the web.
And the above mumbojumbo - I do not believe one word of it. In my time in rape crisis centre (I suffered a burnout) I had too much of all such sweet lies, and each time I found something out about the rapist afterwards he continued to rape.
My not-so-close knowledge about wifebatterers and -murderers because of the contacts to the local women´s shelter give the same picture.
And that´s the less educated only, the more intelligent and wealthy used religious justification for violence with next-to-perfect success of not being jailed in the first place.
Here you have a piece of acting towards the wardens and the providers of programmes for early release. I do not know whether a kindergarden or school can change the young boys (I hope that they can), but psychotherapy works only if the access is provided by a health system BEFORE the man or youth got used to violence.

72. Doctors' beliefs can hinder patient care

Comment #51828 by logical on June 25, 2007 at 7:18 am

Only problem with the article is the use of the religious propaganda term "pro-life".
They are abortion-etc.-forbidders, they are NOT for anybody!

73. The infinite wisdom of Richard Dawkins

Comment #51827 by logical on June 25, 2007 at 7:16 am

Well, it is a pity that this minister´s ancestors did not live at the same time as the dinosaurs - if they did the T Rex and the velociraptors would have eaten them, and there would be no minister with a hole instead of a brain.

74. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #51809 by logical on June 25, 2007 at 5:13 am

The "bad parents" (part 1) unable to explain anything would, without religion, probably not have children at all, and therefore no need to teach what they themselves do not know or feel.
AND: as for "Atheist proselytizing"(sp?) - the biggest group grateful for The God Delusion and other Atheist bestsellers are the people FREED from religious-only discourse! In the last 10 years I had to dismiss or fight more of the "if you do not believe this, then you believe that (including the nonexistent satan)"- people than in my ugly childhood in the sticky fifties!!!

75. How Full Is Your Quiver?

Comment #50141 by logical on June 15, 2007 at 8:27 am

RD mentioned that women´s movement raised consciousness, but nobody here seems to be familiar with European history on that topic: between the beginning of witchburnings ca 1500 and the invention of the rubber condom after 1900 this was the situation in Europe.
Of course child death was more common, too.
But: we got out of it, didn´t we?
1. This time we MUST recognize it´s about FORBIDDING what other people find the right thing to do (examples abortion and birth control are perfect) and
2. the rest is information - bestsellers and taking a stand in the most absurd TV programmes with elegance and eloquence like RD does!
Then girls the like Anat and I were hear of the idea to have control over our bodies and get out in time. That´s how it works.

76. Why the Gods Are Not Winning

Comment #50114 by logical on June 15, 2007 at 5:51 am

This website should show that we are enough people to quarrel eternally:
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
THE THIRDBIGGEST WORLD VIEW
- even if they left out the Pastafarians (I stumbled over the link on www.venganza.org, the website of The Flying Spaghetti Monster!)
And should rationalists not develop a rational discourse?

77. The Fastest-Growing Religion

Comment #50103 by logical on June 15, 2007 at 5:05 am

To Chayanov: A spell is a chance to influence yourself with the aim of better your chances - your example job: I got one after doing the spell, because doing it I could stop myself from enacting my childhood experience that I never got anything in a competitive situation.
Psychotherapy had failed.
One of the reasons Wicca was (re?)founded was exactly the need for functional rituals RD mentioned several times.
(The others are the evironmental movements and woman identity in this third wave of feminism (1970ies).
Of course the imprint of being raised Christian and a religious society take their toll, not only in wording things.

78. Teachers rebel over atheism promotion

Comment #45767 by logical on May 29, 2007 at 6:51 am

When I was a kid I could not escape all those religions and their propaganda for camps, youth groups, events, etc, in all of the churches and I would have LOVED to get ONE of the above - pagan or atheist! Of course I had to work very hard to find out about these ways of thought as a grown-up. I am still very cross.
There are still kids who would like to think, but have noone with a brain around.

79. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Robert Winston

Comment #45718 by logical on May 29, 2007 at 4:29 am

These few minutes are enough to show how dangerous the nice, seemingly rational religionists are in their demand to respect "religion".
The evasive action by Lord Winston is as effective as slow poison.
But (thank you, NJS) the answer "You believe, I will burn in hell forever, what´s more offensive than that" is good as a first effect.
Good luck to nailing them also, not only the fanatics, RD!

80. Importing a slave class

Comment #44671 by logical on May 25, 2007 at 6:58 am

Well, girlie,

We can't catch all rapists, so why not grant amnesty to rapists? Surely no one wants thousands of rapists living in the shadows!

will take jobs other Americans won't.

81. Dental healer finds share of faithful believers

Comment #44271 by logical on May 24, 2007 at 1:34 am

Now I know: There is a proof that would make me believe in the existence of a god: If I got perfect teeth, (now at age 50) the way people with an acceptable childhood grow them.
I am European, so I do have health care and get my fillings checked regularly, and buying new teethbrushes is also something I can afford, unlike those poor Americans without health insurance!
I can understand the feeling that they would rather have a miracle than vote for political change like health care for everyone, this is one of the topics where you cannot get perfection by affordable medicine, but waiting for perfection in form of miracles makes everything worse.

82. Supporters of abortion have no future in Church, Pope tells faithful

Comment #41486 by logical on May 16, 2007 at 7:19 am

I have seen translations of The Root of All Evil on youtube - good. But there are more chances to get into the Spanish- and Portugese-speaking parts of the world now, just BECAUSE the pope decided to compete with the evangelicals there, get the converts back from them, and therefore leaves all the not-so-fanatics open to their own thinking! Give them a little help ...(It´s about time, by the way)

83. God . . . in other words

Comment #40895 by logical on May 15, 2007 at 7:10 am

Here´s something useful to say:
"Beam me up, Scotty, there´s no intelligent life down here!"
(And we all know, that Scotty will not respond, instead of orbiting this planet he crashed somewhere in the Mexican desert yesterday)

84. The Case Against Intelligent Design: The Faith That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Comment #40884 by logical on May 15, 2007 at 6:53 am

I believe in The Flying Spaghetti Monster - although I never saw it fly.
Spaghetti with meatballs and tomato sauce usually stay on the dish until I lift them up with my fork - but THAT is a nourishing religion!!!
I do adore good meals - and, by the way,
in one of the abovementioned situations it was conceived.
RAMEN

85. Iran arrests 300 'insufficiently veiled' women

Comment #35367 by logical on April 27, 2007 at 2:29 am

I do fear that the women some people here refer to as "Birkenstocks" were not very good in putting things: We women in former Christian countries have fought for the right to vote for a century, and now have to choose among advertising-polished faces with as much "differences" as brand-named merchandise; we have fought against enforced marriage only to have to submit to surgery for the "marriage market" without any say that some are not interested at all and some not for so high a price, and we still face violence and the abortion rights in the places we seemed to get them are being taken away from us. So: As long as we do not know how to get rid of Bush and Blair and Putin, cannot even throw the vatican out of the United Nations, we cannot tell women born into Muslim countries how to get rid of Ahmadinedjad, make the monarchy in Saudi Arabia into some no-longer-harmful Scandinavian-like one, take the money from the emir of Brunei...
Lots of people prefer to gloss over things than to become cynical.