Comments by Luthien

151. French Muslim women opt for hymen surgical cons

Comment #39844 by Luthien on May 12, 2007 at 5:03 am

27. Comment #39837 by Richard Morgan on May 12, 2007 at 4:40 am

Talking about Cosmopolitan on a Richard Dawkins site is rather missing the point. Or perhaps not - from somebody for whom being "invisible" is a happy state.

I can see you have never had the misfortune to incurr the crude attentions of a large group of males, who's reaction to a young woman is to engage in verbal abuse that is both sexual and physically threatening. I would imagine that the vast majority of women would find "invisible" a happy state in these circumstances.

(Go read "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" if you feel you need a woman's eye view of why this "invisibility" might be desired. She cuts off her eyebrows at one point because covering her head is not enough to guarantee her safety.)

152. French Muslim women opt for hymen surgical cons

Comment #39839 by Luthien on May 12, 2007 at 4:50 am

Veronique,

ignore the "bitter people". I suspect you are right that a lot of men out there are not worth the effort. Not because they are not good people, but because they are trailing the baggage of their theistic and cultural expectations of women. When it became apparent that I was going to break up with one guy (from a catholic background), he told me that I should be ashamed of myself for sleeping with him. I think he had some sort of twisted view that there should be no going back for me, or that I would be "damaged goods" for anyone else (I have heard stories from friends about the all male Catholic run grammer schools, and how teachers have explicitly told their students that women are "damaged goods" in these circumstances). The only men worth the effort are the rational men, who are truely capable of seeing women as their equal, and not somehow their "property" to be protected from other men. This notion that a partner is your "property" is the primary reason for jealousy in any relationship. If you believe that a person stays with you because of their own free will, you will not be paranoid about every other man (or women, I have seen women make the "property" mistake too) who looks their way.

I think the obsession with cosmetic surgery probably ties in with what Bonzai was saying about women marketing themselves as a comodity, although there is of course a strong evolutionary drive to make the most of your appearence to attract the opposite sex (as usual, this is more complicated than just having "one reason", and many people have cosmetic surgery because of a personality disorder).

153. Anderson Cooper interviews Christopher Hitchens

Comment #39404 by Luthien on May 10, 2007 at 2:18 pm

Ireland has just recovered from 25 years of too much religion???

More like 800 years of too much religion!

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

Comment #39092 by Luthien on May 10, 2007 at 1:12 am

Good news from Ireland, the girl fighting for an abortion won her case:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6639673.stm

"Doctors said Miss D's foetus has anencephaly, a condition which means that a large part of the brain and skull is missing.

Babies with anencephaly live a maximum of just three days after birth."

Horriffic that someone would try to make a 17 year old girl carry this to full term!

155. Atheist offers to send letters post-Rapture

Comment #38827 by Luthien on May 9, 2007 at 9:09 am

Also check out:

http://www.officialgodfaq.com/

156. Better God-fearing than sneering

Comment #38757 by Luthien on May 9, 2007 at 5:46 am

There is a further tendency on the part of both authors to disregard the good that comes from religious faith in terms of charity and spiritual comfort. 'Is truth less important than comfort, even for the lonely and afraid? Are there not truthful ways to comfort them from the resources of human compassion?' Grayling asks. Well, yes, is the answer, but he fails to acknowledge that, too often, it is only the churches which bother to comfort the lonely and the dying; part of their attraction is that there is too little kindness in the world.

Is it "good" that churches prey on the lonely, vulnerable, and dying, earning incomes that run into billions (Tax free)?

157. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton: A Debate God Is Not Great

Comment #38552 by Luthien on May 8, 2007 at 3:28 pm

I know this ain't the right place, but can someone post this story up on the site?

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19426024.000-canada-probes-tb-genocide-in-churchrun-schools.html

Genocide in church run schools in Canada!

158. The New Atheists loathe religion far too much to plausibly challenge it

Comment #38229 by Luthien on May 7, 2007 at 9:19 am

19. Comment #38188 by Corylus on May 7, 2007 at 7:31 am

I also have the Koran in my 'to read' pile, but I admit I haven't worked up the guts to wade through it yet. Every quote I have read from it depresses me and I fear it will be more of the same. Maybe I should take a leaf out of Hitchens book and do it on Dutch courage? Even if that does mean that I will be damned to hell before I start :)

Hey, try reading it using the skeptics annotated Koran.

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/index.htm

Please note that the "good stuff" section is unsurprisingly short ;-)

159. Those fanatical atheists

Comment #38152 by Luthien on May 7, 2007 at 6:06 am

For goodness sake, people, the talking wolf in Little Red Riding Hood is more plausible.

Yup, that's going up as my Messenger quote of the day :-)

160. Atheists go on the political offensive in God-fearing US

Comment #38006 by Luthien on May 6, 2007 at 4:17 pm

3. Comment #37982 by Bizarro Dawkins:

...people like myself can show the public that one can be an intellectually fulfilled Christian.

Hehehe... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

*pauses to wipe tears from eyes*

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...

Oh stop it, my sides are hurting!

hehehehehehehehehehehehe...

(Ooh, my cat is now looking at me as if I am mad.)

161. 'No proof Jesus heals Aids'

Comment #37859 by Luthien on May 6, 2007 at 3:25 am

12. Comment #37754 by Aaron SF on May 5, 2007 at 3:54 pm

What is it with this week and me and angry homo issues? And I seem to be getting angrier, maybe I should take a break and go post on a knitting forum for a while.

Nah, you would end up posting:

NO NO NO! How many times do I have to tell you, the rabbit goes through the F%&*ing hole and around the tree!

162. Interview with Pierre Rehov

Comment #37854 by Luthien on May 6, 2007 at 3:12 am

10. Comment #37834 by Vardu on May 6, 2007 at 12:19 am

...imagining salvation as happening after death so that one can create a living death for oneself during life.

Great line, I am going to steal that one for debating with christians :-)

163. Interview with Pierre Rehov

Comment #37765 by Luthien on May 5, 2007 at 4:22 pm

1. Comment #37743 by roach on May 5, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Very interesting. But I don't think Islam is a beautiful religion. I've only read 15 or so pages from the Qur'an but it wasn't pleasant. I'm sure there are lots of beautiful people who happen to be Muslim though.

Oh, that really irritated me when he said it was a "beautiful religion"...

For a nice (but very long) list of cruelties, check out
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/cruelty/long.html

164. Your favorite book in the last 25 years?

Comment #37278 by Luthien on May 4, 2007 at 1:24 am

You guys arguing over conciousness, try reading "A User's Guide to the Brain" by John Ratey.

165. The Damned

Comment #36857 by Luthien on May 2, 2007 at 2:15 pm

6. Comment #36855 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on May 2, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Um ... "kaffir" thats an unusual handle ... any particular reason you're using it?

Have you read Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book Infidel? That's where I found out what that meant. All I can say is YIKES!

166. The Damned

Comment #36856 by Luthien on May 2, 2007 at 2:12 pm

I want the Muslim hell, they are much more creative with their violence. I mean, would a christian think of giving you a new skin so you han have it burnt off again (yes, it's in the Koran)?

I went and gave it 5 stars BTW;)

167. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #36690 by Luthien on May 2, 2007 at 3:01 am

Non-Muslims are excluded from the secretive court which is registered as a charity to receive British tax benefits.

How can they give them charitable status?!?!

168. Why the Gods Are Not Winning

Comment #36674 by Luthien on May 2, 2007 at 1:49 am

"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

Mark Twain

169. Believe in God Spray

Comment #36252 by Luthien on April 30, 2007 at 4:22 pm

17. Comment #36242 by mjwemdee on April 30, 2007 at 3:43 pm
avatar@ scottishgeologist #36236

Well I guess you could say these are 'mints with the ontological "hole"'

[Maybe only UK readers will get that...]

Hehe, good one :D

170. Against All Gods, by A C Grayling

Comment #36117 by Luthien on April 30, 2007 at 8:14 am

7. Comment #36077 by Peacebeuponme on April 30, 2007 at 6:18 am
By the way, while you are on, Luthien. That avatar made my day when I first saw it. where can we get the T-shirt!

www.jesusandmo.net

171. Against All Gods, by A C Grayling

Comment #36072 by Luthien on April 30, 2007 at 6:06 am

However, Grayling should be careful of announcing religion's "death throes".

I think Grayling is right. Think about how religious "communities" are going to greater and greater lengths to isolate themselves and their children from the real world. Why? Well, I think that exposure to the real world is now all it takes to see through any religion, and the only way to combat it is to make their "flock" increasingly paranoid. We have gone from Bertrand Russell's "teapot" scenario, to one where people know what a teapot is, and where you should and shouldn't find them.

172. Iran arrests 300 'insufficiently veiled' women

Comment #35478 by Luthien on April 27, 2007 at 9:53 am

32. Comment #35430 by Manfred on April 27, 2007 at 6:14 am

Luthien
Isn't it interesting that all systems based on religion, no matter what the details of the particular religion are, are so much like each other?
Many of the Christian Right fundamentalists in the US also remind me constantly of their Iranian Muslim counterpart.

Yes, I have thought about this myself, and I suspect it may be an example of the 'convergent evolution' of ideas. To keep control you want to have a population that is sexually frustrated, as they are more easily whipped up into a religious frenzy (or fervour, I'm not sure of the correct word). I would also imagine that men would think less without a partner that was equal in education, since they would not be able to discuss thoughts with their most intimate companion. In addition to this, a religion must want to maintain control over every new generation. Since women are genrally the "primary care givers" for children, you need to tightly control their thoughts and actions, or you risk them turning away from the religion. Over time I would think that any religions that did not adhere to the above concepts would gradually lose their grip on the population. Therefore any religion that does not seperate the sexes, and keep women supressed and uneducated, is not going to stand the test of time.

173. Iran arrests 300 'insufficiently veiled' women

Comment #35420 by Luthien on April 27, 2007 at 5:39 am

7. Comment #35244 by CDG on April 26, 2007 at 5:12 pm

By the way, who is the guy on this sight who has as his ID Pic the woman in a Burka with the quote saying "Thank You for Not Provoking My Uncontrollable Lust" I love that!!!!

Actually I'm not a "guy" ;-)

I must say regarding the Zeitgeist in Iran, it has changed a lot since the days I used to go to school when everyone was a revilutionary zealot. We were not allowed to wear bright colors or even white socks in school, and everyone in school was female!

This is an exact description of my school, right here in Northern Ireland! I once got sent to my "head of year" for refusing to take a purple ribbon from my hair, and the (nun) principle once actually ran after me through the school because I was wearing DM boots rather than black shoes (I thought she didn't see me, so I legged it at speed through 2 sets of double doors and down a long corridor, not realising she was behind me until I stopped thinking I was safe).

174. Potentially habitable planet found

Comment #35067 by Luthien on April 26, 2007 at 5:59 am

17. Comment #35032 by Underachiever on April 26, 2007 at 3:37 am
No need to send Xians, we can send a probe with bacteria on board so that when it arrives the bacteria can evolve into Creationsists over time!

Haha, brilliant!

175. Jesus 'Love-Bombs' You

Comment #35065 by Luthien on April 26, 2007 at 5:46 am

I saw this type of thing going on at my University. They hoovered up all the kids who were socially "lost" because they didn't know anyone there, and had trouble making new friends. The best way to stop this from happening is to make that extra effort to get to know the "shy" people in your class, and give them a step up to getting to know as many other people as possible.

176. We aim to misbehave

Comment #35029 by Luthien on April 26, 2007 at 3:30 am

I get accused of "ranting" when I speak up about the problems I see, but the only way to keep an issue in the public conciousness is to be loud, persistant, and brutally honest (no pussy footing around).

177. Pope abolishes limbo

Comment #34044 by Luthien on April 23, 2007 at 5:23 am

LIES!

I have been to limbo. It is a little square not that far away from the Ponta Vecchio in Florence.

See: http://quibblequarterly.vox.com/library/photo/6a00d10a7a81d48bfa00d09e62d3d8be2b.html

178. A debate on people who profess no religion

Comment #33436 by Luthien on April 20, 2007 at 5:25 am

3. Comment #33381 by DavidJGrossman on April 20, 2007 at 1:26 am
avatar"When the catholic church can match the money these "atheists" have stumped up, then we can talk again."

I'm sure that if they didn't have to spend all that money on child molestation lawsuit settlements, they'd be using it for philanthropic purposes.

- Dave

Actually, it was found that in Ireland they were taking up "2nd collections" during mass, vaguely described as being "for the priests". There was an uproar when it was later found that this money was used to pay people off who had been abused!

179. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32625 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 3:59 pm

I can assure you, what reg car one is driving and what property one owns overseas will be the two most popular topics of the day. No one will be passing snuff and telling stories of long ago when the fairies stole the milk from the cow.

Don't kid yourself, any "fairies stole the milk" back in the day were probably designed to show off how good your herd was (and I'll bet all the best horses would have been tethered out front too). :-P

But no matter what happens Ulster will never be a part of the republic.

What county is Donegal in?

180. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32623 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 3:52 pm

IQHQ, nice to see another person living in (I'm not going to assume you are from) Belfast posting on this site (I thought I might be the only one for a while there).

I hate the term "nationalist", it always seemed to me to have facist connotations.

181. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32619 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 3:44 pm

Dublin (the pale) is by far the most heavily populated part of Ireland
I've been to funerals in Wicklow, Donegal, Cork Limerick and Galway and they were no different. I'm talking about Ireland not what goes on in parts of the United Kingdom. If you're still re-enacting scenes from Ryan's Daughter after funerals good luck, it might do something for the tourist trade.

Being in Belfast you're hardly in a position to be talking about "the rest of us". There is no "us", you're one of the Queens Subjects whether you like it or not.

Miaow! I guess that's me put in my place ;)

You sure do go to a lot of funerals...

182. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32603 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 2:44 pm

As for the person who mentioned Irish "wakes". I think they may be watching re runs of the Quiet Man or Ryan's Daughter. Funerals in Dublin, at least, are more about who has the latest C Class Mercedes Benz than jolly story telling and snuff.

I would hardly consider Dublin to be representative of Irish culture. I'm guessing you may be familiar with the expression "beyond the pale"? You might want to go there some time for a little lookie at what the rest of us are up to.

183. Atheism isn't the final word

Comment #32598 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 2:33 pm

Is it a coincidence that this tiny, originally nomadic people generated the ideas that shaped the Western world, including equality, human rights and a responsibility to our fellow man? Jews are the only people to maintain their identity during two millennia of exile, and then return to their homeland and re-establish their nation.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...

*pauses to wipe tears from eyes

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...

There is a man who has not read the old testament.

184. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32591 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 2:11 pm

Thanks Veronique, I really do think things can only improve from here :)

...Now we just need to get rid of religious schooling and we are set ;)

185. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32454 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 5:37 am

20. Comment #32426 by aleprechaunist on April 17, 2007 at 3:40 am

Logicel: What do you like about Irish wakes?

...just my morbid (and somewhat sarcastic in this instance) sense of humour! Although, you do get to see a lot of extended family that you haven't seen in yonks...

Logicel: Irish wakes are actually pretty interesting and, although religion has been injected into the custom, they are of themselves more positive than this. The main part of the wakes I have been to have been full of people laughing and joking about the good old days, and the things they used to get up to with the person who has just died. They are a chance to celebrate someone's life, and to show the family your support. It's a nice way to be remembered.

186. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32358 by Luthien on April 17, 2007 at 12:03 am

5. Comment #32299 by MarcKeys: Wow you really have no clue my friend. Ireland is one of the thistically most advanced contrys in the world you will find atheism is fucking rampant on our green isle

Another Irish person here, good good! Oh, and atheism is fucking rampant up here in the North too! ;-)

187. New Primate Species Found In 42 Million-year-old Texas Fossils

Comment #32184 by Luthien on April 16, 2007 at 5:37 am

Laurence Winch-Furness: "Seriously though, I'm suprised palentologists still manage to work in Texas."

They have to do it under cover of darkness, but it's ok because the locals just think all the lights out in the desert are from UFOs...

188. Kadra attacked in public

Comment #32035 by Luthien on April 15, 2007 at 10:15 am

We need to give women like this more support, and make sure that all refugees receive a proper education. Ayan Hirsi Ali is right to advocate the support of women who are being "imported" and then kept in their Husband's / father's household. There are too many western countries turning a blind eye to these horrors, when intervention in urgently needed. There should be teams of social workers dedicated to investigating this, and making sure that women know their rights.

189. Medical 'Miracles' Not Supported by Evidence

Comment #32010 by Luthien on April 15, 2007 at 8:06 am

7. Comment #31691 by gav1970 on April 13, 2007 at 9:41 pm

He's just another thief. Nothing more. In the past he's refused any sort of empiric testing and has also refused to take part in the JREF million dollar prize. See here http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-10/100613who.html

Liars like this make me sick (or is that a little too ironic).

I recently confronted someone in work who does "Reiki" at the weekends (as well as being a "faith healer"), who was trying to drum up business during teabreak by using all that psudo science mumbo jumbo. I started to challenge everything he was saying, untill he started invoking the "gift from god" defense. Then I asked him why he did not go for the JREF million dollar prize, and he gave me some crap about wanting to help people, rather than being in it for the money. 5 mins later he was down handing a business card and web address to the nice lady he was trying to get business from. I went over to her as she was looking at his website, and she said to me "look how much he charges for a session, I thought he wasn't in it for the money?"

So glad I spoke up when I did!

190. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #32006 by Luthien on April 15, 2007 at 7:47 am

58. Comment #31927 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on April 15, 2007 at 12:56 am
I just can't imagine how you would propose to remove religion from Africa, without actively working to resolve its socio-economic problems, which are the very things you assert would be resolved simply by "removing" religion, as if it were a pivotal brick in a Jenga tower of human misery.

We actually have a case study ongoing in Ireland. As the republican south has become richer, religiosity in the South has decreased, and violence in the north has also fallen. By the late 90's the church was being challenged on every front, and the dam burst of the abuse scandals did further damage.

Luckily Ireland had spent several decades preparing a well educated society. Correlation? I'm pretty convinced, but it probably needs a proper study.

Speaking from my lovely vantage point here in Belfast, I would say you are bang on in your assesment of Ireland. I have noticed the huge drop in religion as the economy picked up (and the economic efforts are clearly responsible for the easing of secterian tensions), and now the process has achieved what I would call a "self sustaining" quality.

191. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #32003 by Luthien on April 15, 2007 at 7:32 am

hey poppythinks:

Here is the link to the story about the italian who sued the parish priest:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11057077/

192. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31975 by Luthien on April 15, 2007 at 5:07 am

35. Comment #31848 by the great teapot on April 14, 2007 at 3:54 pm
"Chesirecat:

I do not hate Blair I have just always seen through him as the disingenuious fraud he is.
The buck stops here, cheesey grin ,cheesey grin..."

Oh Great Teapot, I think you may be onto something, Blair has a big cheesey grin, an cheesy grin like a cheshire cat...

...are they one and the same person? :-P

(Caesar Best, I agree that people are way too serious here sometimes. Anyone would think we were grumpy old Atheists :-P)

193. T. rex tissue shows they are related to chickens

Comment #31528 by Luthien on April 13, 2007 at 6:02 am

Actually, my best answer to the chicken and egg question was: "The question is flawed because it assumes a discrete process where there is actually a continuous process".

194. T. rex tissue shows they are related to chickens

Comment #31527 by Luthien on April 13, 2007 at 5:59 am

I once gave this answer to "which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

...who would have guessed I was right ;-)

195. Hey Mom, I'm an Atheist

Comment #31240 by Luthien on April 11, 2007 at 5:03 pm

"What is the collective noun for religious fanatics anyway?"

A frenzy of fanatics?

A farce of fundies?

A delusion of dolts?

A ridicule of rightousness?

196. Hey Mom, I'm an Atheist

Comment #31139 by Luthien on April 11, 2007 at 5:50 am

Will S: It looked like someone brought in the camera in the middle of the conversation, probably a sibling who wanted to catch it on tape for a laugh later on?

14. Comment #30938 by EntropyGuardian: Get a grip there, an atheist is someone who does not believe in a God or gods, full stop! You don't need any deep mature understanding of life to realise that it is all a steaming pile of crap, it is self evident. Don't patronise people by talking about "teenage rebellion", it's like telling a gay kid that it's "just a phase".

As an aside, do you think so called "teen rebeliousness" is an evolved trait? Does it serve the purpose of distancing an individual from their parents enough to counter the worst of the "bad advice" that Richard Dawkins says is absorbed by children along with the good?

197. Then Call it God

Comment #31104 by Luthien on April 11, 2007 at 2:44 am

Every man I know claims not to understand women...

...we shall make them kneel and worship us ;-)

198. Birds Do It. Bees Do It. People Seek the Keys to It.

Comment #31019 by Luthien on April 10, 2007 at 4:13 pm

5. Comment #30942 by Yorker on April 10, 2007 at 12:07 pm

"It's calm, quiet, non-threatening and almost always correct, the more you verify him, the more you like him."

Thanks, I always thought I was just a wierdo for finding it so attractive ;-)

199. Birds Do It. Bees Do It. People Seek the Keys to It.

Comment #30871 by Luthien on April 10, 2007 at 7:35 am

"Listening to Noam Chomsky," said a psychologist in her 50s, "always turns me on."

Yeh, what IS it about his voice? I could listen to it all day ;-)

200. Is God poison?

Comment #30864 by Luthien on April 10, 2007 at 5:48 am

Hey, I hear they are making Dawkins bashing an olympic sport for the 2012 Olympics...

With Alastair McGrath representing us here in Northern Ireland, we are in with a good chance for a 2nd gold medal (in addition to the sharp shooting one we always win).