OVO

Trevor Blake: OGRE [LINK-ZUM]

OGRE is a game designed and published by Steve Jackson. Wikipedia describes OGRE as "an asymmetric-forces hex-map game set in the late 21st Century pitting one player's giant unmanned robot tank against the other player's headquarters defended by a mixture of conventional tanks, infantry and artillery." OGRE was first published in 1977 and I have been playing it off and on since 1980. The game itself is apparently out of print, but you can piece together most of what you need to play with free resources online. The majority of the back story to the game is found in a vignette by Steve Jackson. OGRE lite [pdf] is a condensed version of the rules. Design your own hex map with the OGRE Map Editor, or base your maps on the original maps. Make your own counters, or use some fan-made counters. Steve Jackson Games offers a number of OGRE items for sale and links to a number of OGRE resources. There are one or two especially good fan sites that aren't listed at Steve Jackson's site. OGRE can be played by e-mail. Here's a note of thanks to Steve Jackson for thirty years of OGRE.

Labels: games

ACLU of Oregon: Boy Scout Decision 'Shameful' [LINK-ZUM]

The court held that it is not illegal for discriminatory organizations to recruit students in public school settings during school hours as long as the organization sanitizes its message, removing any mention that not all students can join.

That's the culmination of a decade-long struggle by Nancy Powell and her son Remington. Ten years ago, in first grade, Remington Powell was invited during school hours at Harvey Scott Elementary in Portland to join the Boy Scouts; a hospital-style bracelet was even attached to Remington's wrist, including the message, "Every boy can join." Only later was Remington told that, as an atheist, he was not allowed to join because all Boy Scouts must swear an oath to God.

[Article continues at link. The Scout Oath requires Boy Scouts to be "morally straight." The Scout Law begins with being Trustworthy: "A Scout tells the truth. He keeps his promises. Honesty is part of his code of conduct. People can depend on him." Apparently keeping atheists out of Scouting is more important than being honest. To save Scouting, Scouting had to be destroyed. The Boy Scouts of America is a private organization and it is at liberty to discriminate against whoever it wishes to discriminate against. But to recruit at schools during school hours is an abridgement of liberty. Schools are funded by tax dollars, and the Constitution of the United States of America states that the government may not establish a state religion. If the discriminatory Boy Scouts of America are allowed to recruit during school hours on school property, then no other discriminatory private organization or religious organization can be forbidden from doing the same. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: atheist, theocracy

Gary Taubes: The Scientist and the Stairmaster [LINK-ZUM]

For most of us, fear of flab is the reason we exercise, the motivation that drives us to the gym. It's also why public-health authorities have taken to encouraging ever more exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. If we're fat or fatter than ideal, we work out. Burn calories. Expend energy. Still fat? Burn more. The dietary guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for instance, now recommend that we engage in up to 60 minutes daily of "moderate to vigorous intensity" physical activity just to maintain weight - that is, keep us from fattening further. Considering the ubiquity of the message, the hold it has on our lives, and the elegant simplicity of the notion - burn calories, lose weight - wouldn't it be nice to believe it were true? The catch is that science suggests it's not, and so the answer to all of the above quiz questions is "no."

Just last month, the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine published joint guidelines for physical activity and health. They suggested that 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week is necessary to "promote and maintain health." What they didn't say, though, was that more physical activity will lead us to lose weight. Indeed, the best they could say about the relationship between fat and exercise was this: "It is reasonable to assume that persons with relatively high daily energy expenditures would be less likely to gain weight over time, compared with those who have low energy expenditures. So far, data to support this hypothesis are not particularly compelling." In other words, despite half a century of efforts to prove otherwise, scientists still can't say that exercise will help keep off the pounds.

[Article continues at link. Fascinating and heretical. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: science

AP: Judge makes 'Green Eggs and Ham' ruling [LINK-ZUM]

A federal judge was driven to rhyme after receiving a hard-boiled egg in the mail from a prison inmate protesting his diet. U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead reached for Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" for inspiration after getting the egg from inmate Charles Jay Wolff. "I do not like eggs in the file," Muirhead wrote. "I do not like them in any style. I will not take them fried or boiled. I will not take them poached or broiled. I will not take them soft or scrambled/Despite an argument well-rambled." [...]

Wolff, 61, says he is an Orthodox Jew and has accused prison officials of refusing to feed him a kosher diet. Wolff also says he cannot tolerate hard-boiled eggs and is suing the state Department of Corrections for $10 million. Wolff asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would force prison officials to serve him meals that meet "both his spiritual and medical needs." Wolff is serving 10 to 20 years for sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl. His lawsuit was filed in August 2006 and is scheduled for trial in June 2008.

[Article continues at link. Raping a 7-year-old girl is less of a moral issue than being offered and declining a hard boiled egg. Only superstition makes the mind so soft and the heart so hard. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: judaism

AP: Vegas priest admits to battery, sex charge nixed [LINK-ZUM]

The Rev. George Chaanine admitted Thursday in Clark County District Court that he smashed [a] bottle over the 54-year-old woman's head at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church in January. [...] The woman sang at the church and was hired by Chaanine in October as the parish events coordinator. She accused Chaanine of hitting her in the head with a wine bottle on Jan. 26, stomping on her hand, groping her and choking her until she began praying. She said he suddenly stopped and fled.

Chaanine, 53, remained in jail on $1 million bail pending sentencing Nov. 1. The battery charge carries a maximum prison term of six to 15 years, but Chaanine could be eligible for probation, officials said. He remains suspended by the Diocese of Las Vegas. The district attorney said that as a convicted felon, Chaanine would "probably never be a priest again."

[Article continues at link. What is the precedent for the Roman Catholic Church in removing clergy who commit criminal acts? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity

CLEWS: Coral Watts Back in the Dock [LINK-ZUM]

Coral Eugene Watts began attacking women in 1969. He soon escalated to murder. He lived in suburban Detroit, but usually drove 1-2 hours to find his victims. By the time he was caught in 1982, his unimpeded rampage ended dozens of lives. [...] Watts killed women because he thought they were evil. It's a word he used very often. He was deeply religious and a regular churchgoer all his life. He was concerned about being haunted by the spirits of his victims, so he took strange steps to keep the "spirits" at bay, i.e. in one case, after murdering a woman in her apartment, Watts disrobed and bathed her in what the author dubbed an "evil baptism" to keep her spirit at peace and at bay. In other cases, he took the women's shoes or purses and then burned them, for the same reason, he said, to keep their spirits away.

[Article continues at link. This deeply religious man, a regular churchgoer, died of prostate cancer on September 21, 2007. He is not haunted by the spirits of his victims, nor is he in hell as a punishment for his sins, nor is he in heaven as a reward for his faith. He is simply dead. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, magick

BBC: Shock at archbishop condom claim [LINK-ZUM]

The head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique has told the BBC he believes some European-made condoms are infected with HIV deliberately. Maputo Archbishop Francisco Chimoio claimed some anti-retroviral drugs were also infected "in order to finish quickly the African people". The Catholic Church formally opposes any use of condoms, advising fidelity within marriage or sexual abstinence.

Aids activists have been angered by the remarks, one calling them "nonsense". "We've been using condoms for years now, and we still find them safe," prominent Mozambican Aids activist Marcella Mahanjane told the BBC. The UN says anti-retrovirals (ARVs) have proved very effective for treating people with Aids. The drugs are not a cure, but attack the virus on several fronts at once. The BBC's Jose Tembe in the capital, Maputo, says it is estimated that 16.2% of Mozambique's 19m inhabitants are HIV positive. About 500 people are infected every day.

[Article continue at link. No one should consider this man a credible source of science, health, public safety or morality ever again. Only superstition allows people to both make this sort of mean-spirited, harmful, foolish claim and yet remain respected. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, sex

Trevor Blake: "For Religious Purposes" [LINK-ZUM]

WSOC: Shannon Whisnant found a human foot inside a cooker he bought at an auction. Police say Mini Warehouse Rentals held the auction because the man renting the storage unit didn't pay. Police discovered that man had his foot amputated in 2004 after a plane crash, and he kept it in the cooker that was sold on Tuesday. Whisnant said he hasn't decided what to do with the cooker. Police say you can legally keep amputated body parts as long as it's for religious purposes.

Hickory Daily Record: It is legal to keep amputated body parts as long as it's for religious reasons, police say.

WYFF: Officials said that it is not illegal to keep body parts as long as it is for religious purposes.

49 ABC News: Police say it is legal to keep amputated body parts if it is for religious purposes.

[Articles continue at link. If keeping an amputated body part is legal as long as it is for religious purposes, would a court forbid an atheist from owning his or her amputated body parts? What about someone keeping their amputated body part for aesthetic reasons? Why does superstition get a free ride when reason and art do not? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: art, religion, theocracy

Oliver and Ruiz: the eBay Banksy print fraud [LINK-ZUM]

Unauthorised prints by the anonymous graffiti artist Banksy have been sold on eBay as limited edition, signed works, by employees of the company which publishes and authenticates the artist's works on paper, Pictures on Walls (POW). These have been stamped with a replica of the POW blindstamp and some of them carry forged signatures. The prices for the prints have then been raised by an illegal practice known as shill bidding in which sellers or their associates make offers for goods to inflate the price artificially. [...] In a statement Banksy, his dealer Steve Lazarides, and the directors of POW, confirmed that unauthorised prints "have been sold on eBay" and stressed that they along with members of the public "have been victims of criminal behaviour." The company has launched a full-scale investigation and is inviting concerned collectors wanting to reauthenticate their Banksy prints to come forward.

[Article continues at link. Where is the art, where is the crime? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: art, commerce

Trevor Blake: President Bush Violates Executive Order 12333 2.11 and 2.12 [LINK-ZUM]

On February 22, 2003, President George W. Bush met with President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Information about that meeting is is now online [article] [transcript]. Some excerpts, translated by way of Metafilter:

Bush: "I prefer the 10th. This is like good cop, bad cop. To me, it doesn't matter who is the bad cop and that Blair be the good cop."
Aznar: "Is it true that there's a possibility for Saddam to be exiled?"
Bush: "Yes, it's a possibility. Also that he be assassinated."

Executive Order 12333 2.11 Prohibition on Assassination: No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.
Executive Order 12333 2.12 Indirect Participation: No agency of the Intelligence Community shall participate in or request any person to undertake activities forbidden by this Order.

Just in case all the other arguments for the impeachment and war crimes trial of President Bush fail, here's another one.

In no way is it difficult to determine that George Bush considers himself not subject to the Constitution of the United States. Why is it that most Americans are not up in (metaphorical) arms that the rule of law has been suspended in our country? Where is the 'class consciousness' the left speaks of, the mechanism that is activated by oppression and that causes oppressed groups to act in their own best interest, not in the interest of their oppressors?

Labels: fascism, fight

Trevor Blake: U. S. Senator David Vitter [LINK-ZUM]

2000: Asked by an interviewer [...] whether she could forgive her husband if she learned he'd had an extramarital affair, as Hillary Clinton and Bob Livingston's wife had done, Wendy Vitter told the Times-Picayune: "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."

2004: "This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history, and our two U.S. Senators won't do anything about it. We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts' values. I am the only Senate Candidate to coauthor the Federal Marriage Amendment; the only one fighting for its passage. I am the only candidate proposing changes to the senate rules to stop liberal obstructionists from preventing an up or down vote on issues like this, judges, energy, and on and on." - Vitter Statement on Protecting the Sanctity of Marriage.

2004: On WSMB radio last Saturday, a caller who identified himself as Elwood asked Vitter about charges, made by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee in the Weekly that the then-State Representative, had had an affair with a known prostitute in the French Quarter. Elwood continued, "Would you be willing to sign an affidavit that you have ever known, met or had relations with one Wendy Cortez." Vitter responded, "I think you know that that allegation is absolutely and completely untrue... I have said that on numerous occasions... I'll say that in any forum... Unfortunately, that's just crass Louisiana politics, now that I am running for the Senate. I have made that clear that it is all completely untrue... And, it's obviously politically motivated."

June 25, 2007: U.S. Sen. David Vitter last week authored a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee expressing support for reauthorization of the Title V Abstinence Education Program of the Social Security Act. Twelve senators joined Vitter in writing in support of the program. "This a valuable program with proven results, but it is nearing its expiration. We must reauthorize this program so we can continue the incredible strides we have made in teaching teens about both risk avoidance and protecting themselves from potential abuse," Vitter said.

July 9, 2007: Sen. David Vitter, R-La., apologized Monday night for "a very serious sin in my past" after his telephone number appeared among those associated with an escort service operated by the so-called "D.C. Madam.'' Vitter's spokesman, Joel Digrado, confirmed the statement in an email sent to The Associated Press. "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in the statement. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counselling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there – with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way.''

Deuteronomy 23:1 "He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD."

July 10, 2007: All of the above posted to American Samizdat, with thanks to Metafilter for the heavy lifting. At the time I also wrote: "Unlike Sen. Vitter, I consider consenting sexual relations to be a private affair among adults and not something the government should regulate. I also support sex education, unlike Sen. Vitter. Sen. Vitter hides behind the Bible both in his lies and in his laws. I, an atheist, have never had an affair (unlike Sen. Vitter, I'm not lying when I say that). I wish Sen. Vitter and his family the best in what I'm sure will be hard times ahead. But I hope that they re-consider the virtues of a religion that neither prevents nor heals wounds such as this. I also hope his voters won't be so easily tricked next time someone waves a cross at them come election time."

September 22, 2007: Sen. David Vitter, R-La., earmarked $100,000 in a spending bill for a Louisiana Christian group that has challenged the teaching of Darwinian evolution in the public school system and to which he has political ties. The money is included in the labor, health and education financing bill for fiscal 2008 and specifies payment to the Louisiana Family Forum "to develop a plan to promote better science education."

[I guess the voters of Louisiana haven't learned anything yet about Sen. Vitter. They might do well to read the ongoing reporting at Your Right Hand Thief and Daily Kingfish. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, creationism, sex, theocracy

Trevor Blake: O ye who believe! [LINK-ZUM]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He recently told an audience at Columbia University: "We don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomena. I don't know who's told you that we have it." [video] And maybe he's right. Because in Iran, homosexuality is punishable by death. [photos and video] President Ahmadinejad is merely following the simple, plainly-stated dictates of his religion when he orders and condones the execution of homosexuals. Christians have the exact same simple, plainly-stated dictate in their religion but they like to pretend they do not. There seems to be something deeply wrong with Islam and Christianity if the only choices are to either kill people or tell lies. Between the two, better to tell a lie that to kill someone. But wouldn't it be better still to not kill people and not tell lies? It seems that the invisible monster that lives in the sky is fed by blood and deceit. Let's starve it out, you and I.

Labels: christianity, islam, theocracy

Jeff Israely: Was John Paul II Euthanized? [LINK-ZUM]

In a provocative article, an Italian medical professor argues that Pope John Paul II didn't just simply slip away as his weakness and illness overtook him in April 2005. Intensive care specialist Dr. Lina Pavanelli has concluded that the ailing Pope's April 2 death was caused by what the Catholic Church itself would consider euthanasia. She bases this conclusion on her medical expertise and her own observations of the ailing pontiff on television, as well as press reports and a subsequent book by John Paul's personal physician. The failure to insert a feeding tube into the patient until just a few days before he died accelerated John Paul's death, Pavanelli concludes. Moreover, Pavanelli says she believes that the Pope's doctors dutifully explained the situation to him, and thus she surmises that it was the pontiff himself who likely refused the feeding tube after he'd been twice rushed to the hospital in February and March. Catholics are enjoined to pursue all means to prolong life.

[Article continues at link. The BBC quotes Pope John Paul II's last words: "Let me go to the house of the Father." That would confirm that he did not pursue all means to prolong his life. It is shameful that the late Bishop of Rome allowed himself a final comfort that he denied all others. What other acts are carried out among the clergy that the clergy denies the laity? Why do the laity endure such hypocrisy? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity

Shockwave: Jeremy Hall threatened with "fragging" in Iraq [LINK-ZUM]

Atheist whistle blower Army Specialist Jeremy Hall has become the target of despicable threats by Dominionist Christians in his own unit. An Army specialist stationed in Iraq said he has been repeatedly threatened by other US soldiers after word spread that he sued the secretary of defense and an Army major this week for allegedly retaliating against the soldier when he convened a meeting of atheists.

[Article continues at link. I hope that Specialist Hall received the full support of the governmnt founded on a secular Constitution which he has sworn to defend. I suggest it is important to not feed the 'good Christian / bad Christian' meme. By specifying these were 'Dominionist Christians,' Shockwave leaves an out for the 'good Christians' who would never do such a thing. Here are my problems with that claim. First, it takes a majority of 'good Christians' to tolerate the Dominionists. If the majority made it clear that the Dominionists were not welcome to keep using the Xtian brand name then they would disappear overnight. The 'good Christians' don't clean house, and I refuse to do their work for them. Second, the Christians threatening Specialist Hall are failing their Christian duty only by not killing him. Romans 13:1 claims the powers that be (Specialist Hall's superior officers, for instance) are ordained by God and to rebel against them is as sinful as rebelling against God. Psalms 14:1 claims atheists are fools and can do no good deed. Leviticus 24:16 claims anyone who blasphemes should be put to death. Matthew 5:18 quotes Jesus Christ claiming that 'the commandments' (the Old Testament) is eternal law. Well, maybe that's a little harsh. Mark 16:16 just claims atheists are damned, and Malachi 2:3 claims that atheists should have dung spread on our faces. So unless Specialist Hall's fellow soldiers are at least damning him and spreading dung on his face, they are slackers in the eyes of the Lord. Don't criticize the 'bad Christians.' Criticize Christianity. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: atheist, christianity, fight, theocracy

James Oliphant: The Constitution and the 'morning after' pill [LINK-ZUM]

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia today affirmed a lower court dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a teenage girl and her parents, who argued that the city's health department violated her constitutional rights by providing her with "morning after" pills. The girl, who was 16 at the time, went to the health center, fearing that she could be pregnant. Prodded by a friend, she asked for the "morning after" pill. The health care worker gave her four tablets of Nordette, an approved emergency contraceptive. Later at home, the girl took the second set of pills and vomited, leading her parents to discover what she had done. The parents brought suit, alleging that the city of Philadelphia had violated their constitutional rights of parental guidance by not notifying them about the pills. The girl also claimed that her constitutional rights of bodily integrity and religious freedom were violated by the health care worker.

[Religious freedom: the freedom to do anything at any time. The freedom to ask for something, be given it, then have the people punished who gave it to you. The freedom to re-write history, to present one's most recent preferences as eternal fact. The freedom to not be free, and to influence the freedom of others whether they are religious or not. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: theocracy

Muhammed cat [LINK-ZUM]

Man: Boy, what is your name?
Boy: My name is Babu.
Man: It is customary to mention Mohammed before the name. What is your father’s name?
Boy: Mohammed Abu
Man: What’s this in your lap?
Boy: Mohammed cat

Gulf Times: "Police arrested a newspaper cartoonist for publication of a cartoon considered blasphemous by Islamic clerics in the Muslim country, officials said yesterday. The interim government was also considering banning the daily Prothom Alo (The First Ray) and put on trial the newspaper’s cartoonist Arifur Rahman arrested on Tuesday from his home in north Dhaka under emergency laws."

Islam Online: "The head of clerics of Dhaka's main mosques filed complaints against the cartoonist who was arrested from his residence last Tuesday and handed over to the Tejgaon police station. Rahman violated Section 54 code of criminal procedure and under such emergency laws; the government has the authority to detain people without charge if they are deemed to threaten national security."

BBC: "Street clashes have broken out in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, as Islamic activists protested over the publication of an 'offensive' cartoon. Witnesses say that hundreds joined the protest, even though such demonstrations are officially banned under the country's state of emergency. [...] Witnesses say the violence began after Friday prayers, when protesters tried to break through barricades put up to prevent them reaching the Prothom Alo offices. The demonstrators demanded the execution of the paper's editor, Matiur Rahman, and burned effigies of him and his Bengali-language daily."

[This is the way the entire world used to be. The hold of superstition was so strong that any perceived transgression was dealt with by the State and by violence. The advance of the secular has made occurrences such as this seem bizarre and foolish to most people today. It is mainly the Muslim world that is holding on to that old time religion. It is not inevitable that the Muslim world will move forward to join the rest of us, nor impossible that we will move backwards to join them. Fortunately there are light-bringing organizations such as Secular Islam and documents such as A Secular Muslim Manifesto to aid the former and forestall the later. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: comics, islam, theocracy

Kerry Wendell Thornley: Saint Distaff's Day, 7 Jan [LINK-ZUM]

There is no truth to the legend that St. Distaff, Patroness of the Spinning Wheel, was simply the creation of a medieval wit and did not actually exist. To hear some people, you would think St. Patrick and St. Christopher didn't exist!
Although never officially canonized by the Papacy, St. Distaff was a real person. What skeptics ignore is that her first name was Saint and her last name was Distaff (her middle name was Mary). A child of poor but ignorant parents who wanted to name her after Saint Mary's Hospital where she was born but didn't know how to spell hospital, Saint M. Distaff grew up to become the foremost champion of feminism of all Southern France in the dark ages. "God just ain't a man and that's that." She had heard of Eris from a passing needle sharpener who passed through her hamlet one January 7th just as the 12 Days of Christmas were winding down.
Seated at her spinning wheel near a window in a castle keep where she was employed as a maid, Saint Distaff was busy making flaxen thread when a mysterious gypsy called to her and asked if any of her needles were dull. "Just a moment and I'll look" she said. Upon discovering her sewing basked was in disarray, a chaotic hodge-podge in fact, she commenced to complain with the Five Noble Rhetorical Questions: 1) why do things get in such a jumble? 2) why cannot I find anything I need when I need it? 3) what did I do to deserve all this chaos? 4) why am I confused? 5) when will I get organized? Then the mysterious gypsy answered these questions by explaining that Eris Discordia was the answer to all but the last question, to which the proper reply was "never, so get used to it!" Upon hearing these words, Saint Distaff was enlightened - so the Inquisition burned her to a crisp.
St. Distaff is observed by embroidering samplers featuring Discordian proverbs.

[Previously unpublished. For more works by KWT, see OVO 17 The Dreadlock Recollections. - Trevor]

Labels: books, periodical, subgenius, zine

Trevor Blake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons) [LINK-ZUM]

There are feminist housewife Mormons, gay Mormons, kinky Mormons, celibate Mormons... Republican Mormons, Democratic Mormons, socialist Mormons, Libertarian Mormons... police Mormons and murdering Mormons.... orthodox Mormons and reformed Mormons and heretical Mormons... Mormons all over the map, so much so that most generalizations about their actions and character would likely fail. But it can be said that Mormon parents do place a premium on having children.

A study in Utah concluded that the more children a couple had, the worse their health became and the sooner they died. Parents in Utah have a fertilitate rate of 2.6, compared to 2 for the rest of the USA. Inbreeding among Mormons has caused the highest concentration of fumarase deficiency (and its resulting severe mental retardation) in the world.

Learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints than most LDS members know. Read The Book of Mormon and The Skeptics Annotated Book of Mormon. Although unwilling to turn their critical eye upon themselves, the Utah Lighthouse Ministry offers well-documented accounts of Mormonism. And wrap it all up by viewing (legally, of course, never via a pirate copy) episode 712 of South Park, titled All About The Mormons.

Labels: mormon, sex, television

Science Daily: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors [LINK-ZUM]

In the last century, more than 100 million people have perished in violent conflict, very often because of local clashes between ethnically or culturally distinct groups. In a novel study recently in Science, researchers report on a mathematical model that can predict where ethnic conflict will erupt. The study, conducted by scientists at the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI) and Brandeis University, can be applied to many areas and its predictions were tested on distinct ethnic groups in India and the former Yugoslavia. The researchers applied a model of global pattern formation that differentiates regions by culture. They discovered that heterogeneous areas with poorly- defined boundaries were prone to ethnic conflict.

The research asserts that in highly mixed regions, groups of the same type are not large enough to sway collective behavior toward claiming any particular public space; likewise, well-segregated groups are protected by clear boundaries identifying their space. However, the study concludes that "partial separation with poorly defined boundaries fosters conflict."

[Article continues at link. When this article speaks of being of the same type or being of a well-segregated group, what does that mean? If we can judge people as individuals, perhaps battling over the shifting turf of who we are in groups might occur less. Who we are as part of a group has cultural weight, but sometimes that weight has a high cost and low return. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fight, race, science

Robert Fulford: Feminists fall silent [LINK-ZUM]

Surely honour killing is the ultimate male oppression, being uniquely permanent and committed by close relatives in the name of an abstraction. It's among many anti-woman atrocities in the Arab world that should enrage feminists of the West and rouse them to urgent action -- mass rallies, pickets, boycotts, furious public debates and anything else they would do for, say, California grape pickers who have no right to health care. But no action of this kind ever materializes, which amounts to a grave abdication of responsibility. Feminism, after all, embodies the principle that women deserve the same rights and dignity as men. In the original discussions nobody said "except for Muslims." A major reason for this failure is that feminism has generally made common cause with the left, and the left has in most cases decided it favours the Arabic cause. The Arabs have virtue on their side because they are not Americans.

Phyllis Chesler, an American therapist and psychologist who often writes on women's issues, argues that attitudes grounded in thoughtless cultural "sensitivity" inhibit what should be the natural response of women. The result is that "instead of telling the truth about Islam and demanding that the Muslim world observe certain standards, you have Westerners beating their breasts and saying, 'We can't judge you, we can't expose you, we can't challenge you.'" This reaches the level of absurdity when gay and lesbian activists support Palestinians "who, meanwhile, are very busy persecuting homosexuals, who in turn are fleeing to Israel for political asylum."

[Article continues at link. This is an example of the errors that can emerge when political claims are grouped as if they were inherently connected. Feminism linked itself with the left, and the left linked itself with being against the United States, and being against the United States linked itself with being for Arabs and/or Jews. The more political claims are linked together, the more contradictions will arise. All things are connected, but all things are not equally connected. After decades of spectacular success with addressing one or two issues, Amnesty International has shifted to being a one-stop-revolutionary-shop for 'economic, social and cultural rights' (and fraternizing with rock stars). It has lost some of my support, for what that is worth, in doing so. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: islam, judaism, sex, theocracy

Ashley Petry: Non-Christian events concern for employers [LINK-ZUM]

Last December, retailers nationwide encountered a firestorm of criticism for removing Christmas themes from their holiday displays in an effort to avoid offending non- Christians. Instead, they inadvertently offended many Christians. The controversy reminded employers that being respectful of employees' religious practices often requires walking a fine line. The issue isn't relevant only in December. In fact, the autumn calendar is full of non-Christian holidays, such as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the autumnal equinox, an important date in many pagan religions. The challenge for employers is to accommodate employees who celebrate those holidays, thereby avoiding religious discrimination lawsuits, without alienating other employees.

[Article continues at link. Maybe the challenge is for secular employers to remember that men and women are free to practice the superstition of their choice off the clock. Because to honor one superstition must mean an employer has to honor all the superstitions. I'm a contributor to the most recent book by the Church of the SubGenius, titled The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack - The Bobliographon. Pages 238-240 (compiled by Rev. Modemac) list the SubGenius high holy days, on which a SubGenius should never be required to work. There are three hundred and sixty five of them. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, commerce, islam, judaism, subgenius, theocracy

Amanda Townsend: Child bride wanted to preserve 'eternal salvation,' court told [LINK-ZUM]

A reluctant child bride told a Utah jury Friday that she was trying to preserve her "eternal salvation" when she obeyed a command by polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs to marry her cousin at age 14. Referred to in court as Jane Doe, the young woman was married in a 2001 religious ceremony officiated by Jeffs to the cousin, then 19. She said she disliked him because he once had sprayed her with a water hose on a freezing day." I preferred to stay away from him," she said.

Later, miserable in her marriage, she testified she sought a meeting with Jeffs, and she told him she couldn't see herself having a family with her husband and "could not do what they expected me to do." She begged to be released from the marriage, she said. But Jeffs told her she needed to repent and to "go home and give myself to [my husband]," she testified, and he gave her a book of teachings.

[Article continues at link. Utah Code Section 76-5-401.2. relieves Warren Jeffs and Mr. Doe of statutory rape charges, as the age of consent laws in Utah state 16 years old is old enough to legally have sex. But marriage between first cousins is only legal if both are 65 or older, or if both are 55 or older and one is unable to reproduce. The courts have reason to question the actions of Jeff and the Does. In addition to all of that, it is sad that anyone does anything for their "eternal salvation." There is no such thing, and any effort to that end is wasted. Be kind to one other now because now is all we have and because kindness is pleasant. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, mormon

Adrian Humphreys: Deportee can stay to change religion [LINK-ZUM]

Federal Court of Canada Judge Sean Harrington stopped this Saturday's deportation of a Christian man from Brazil so he can complete his conversion to Judaism alongside his Jewish wife and his sponsoring rabbi. The ruling, in favour of Diogo Cichaczewski, is believed to be the first of its kind. "While Canada's focus is on removing an individual who has no legal status here, an unfortunate repercussion is that his conversion would be delayed; in other words, arguably impaired," Judge Harrington ruled.

"How can the harm arising from a roadblock in Mr. Cichaczewski's right to celebrate the religion of his choice be measured?"

[Article continues at link. Enrique Villegas applied for refugee status in Canada based on the persecution his sexual orientation would bring if he returned to Mexico. His application was turned down. He was killed after returning to Mexico, and his friends and family claim it was due to his sexual orientation. But heaven forbid that refugee status be denied a man if he is in the middle of swapping one superstition for another. Who, from this point forward, will be denied refugee status? From the most worthy hero to the lowest criminal, anyone who claims that they are a refugee because they need to work magic spells powered by an invisible monster that lives in the sky will have a precedent for getting refugee status. Religion trivializes the rule of law. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, judaism, sex, theocracy

Greg: Bishop warns that Muslims who convert risk being killed [LINK-ZUM]

By Jamie Doward in The Observer:

One of the Church of England's most senior bishops is warning that people will die unless Muslim leaders in Britain speak out in defence of the right to change faith.
Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, whose father converted from Islam to Christianity in Pakistan, says he is looking to Muslim leaders in Britain to 'uphold basic civil liberties, including the right for people to believe what they wish to believe and to even change their beliefs if they wish to do so'.

Some Islamic texts brand Muslims who convert to other faiths as 'apostates' and call for them to be punished. Seven of the world's 57 Islamic states - including Iran - impose the death penalty for conversion.

Some Islamic texts? You mean like the pre-eminent collection of authoritative hadiths, Sahih Al-Bukhari, quoting Muhammad himself?

Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57: Narrated 'Ikrima:

Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to 'Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"

Where do those extremists get their ideas!

Now Ali, who some see as a potential Archbishop of Canterbury, has told Channel 4's Dispatches programme of his fears about the safety of the estimated 3,000 Muslims who have converted to other faiths in Britain.
'It is very common in the world today, including in this country, for people who have changed their faith, particularly from being Muslim to being Christian, to be ostracised, to lose their job, for their marriages to be dissolved, for children to be taken away,' Ali said. 'And this is why some leadership is necessary from Muslim leaders themselves to say that this is not what Islam teaches.'

I think we may just have hit a snag here, Your Grace. Of course, I guess they could say that "this is not what Islam teaches" even while it does.

[Article continues at link. Quoted at length from the excellent Dhimmi Watch. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: islam, theocracy

Trevor Blake: Cartoons, Two Responses [LINK-ZUM]

Israel News, Swedish Muslim group to sue newspaper over Muhammad drawing: Mahmoud Aldebe, chairman of the Swedish Muslim Federation, said the group would sue the newspaper for inciting hatred against ethnic groups. "It ridicules our religion. This is discriminating and insulting... they want to see just how far they are able to go by pushing the boundaries of press freedom," he said.

Asharq Alawstat, Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader offers bounty for murder of Swedish cartoonist: [Abu Omar al-Baghdadi said] "We are calling for the assassination of cartoonist Lars Vilks who dared insult our Prophet, peace be upon him, and we announce a reward during this generous month of Ramadan of US$100,000 (¤72,000) for the one who kills this criminal," [...] The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq offered money for the murder of a Swedish cartoonist who recently produced images deemed insulting to Islam and promised a new offensive in Iraq during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in a statement carried by Islamist Web sites Saturday.

[Articles continue at links. Islam, like all of us, has two choices. It can go by the rule of law or go by the rule of force. If it goes by the rule of law, it can elect to sue people who draw pictures of their particular invisible monster that lives in the sky. If it goes by the rule of force, it can elect to kill people who draw pictures of their particular invisible monster that lives in the sky. It is a sad comment on their particular invisible monster that it is weakened by cartoons. And how curious that it takes the secular reward of money to accomplish the superstitious goal of human sacrifice. But between the rule of law and the rule of force, I commend the former and condemn the later. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: comics, islam, theocracy

Truth Wins Out Responds to the Sexual Assault Conviction of 'Ex-Gay' Leader Christopher Austin [LINK-ZUM]

Truth Wins Out expressed relief today that Christopher Austin, an 'ex-gay' counselor in Irving, Texas, was convicted of sexually assaulting a client. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven years probation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. [...] Austin had started Renew Ministries, a counseling center run out of a church in Irving. He was affiliated with the National Association For Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). Indeed, Austin taught a seminar at NARTH’s 2004 annual convention entitled, "Understanding and Treating Compulsive Sexual Behavior in Men with Value-Incongruent Homosexual Issues: A Multidimensional Approach."

[Article continues at link. Christianity has made a few baby steps into the 19th Century when it comes to homosexuals. Now some Christians want to 'cure' them instead of doing what Christianity has always done and continues to this very second to advocate - killing them. Once more religion neither yeilds nor engenders moral behavior, just the opposite. A second issue is the muddled use of scientific-sounding arguments that fail as science. Theists and the confused regognize that science has the goods but think they can sneak in the back door of credibility by wearing white lab coats and holding up glass beakers full of colored liquids. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, sex

BBC: Report on Hindu god Ram withdrawn [LINK-ZUM]

The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court earlier this week which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram. The report was withdrawn after huge protests by opposition parties. The report was presented to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with a case against a proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka. [...]

They said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the events described in Ramayana ever took place or that the characters depicted in the epic were real. Hindu activists say the bridge was built by Lord Ram's monkey army to travel to Sri Lanka and has religious significance. In the last two days, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the government for questioning the "faith of the million".

[Retaining or destroying a natural formation based on its current beauty or popularity compared to a potential function is tricky. The functionality can be quantified but it isn't something that is real. Popularity can be quantified but only to a limited degree as a few highly dedicated supporters might be equal to many moderate supporters. Beauty can't be quantified at all but is an entirely valid reason for leaving something be. Even leaving something be for tradition's sake alone has its place. There are good reasons to leave that natural land bridge alone. Honoring invisible monsters that command monkey armies is not one of them. And what weak monsters they are if holding a differing opinion about an article of faith threatens their very existence. I have no idea whether or not this natural land bridge should be left alone or changed or destroyed. I do know that there is no Ram, monkeys don't build bridges, and it is an error for governments to be run by superstition. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: architecture, hindu, theocracy

Trevor Blake: FEMA Funding Clergy to Quell Unrest [LINK-ZUM]

Paul Joseph Watson, Secret FEMA Plan To Use Pastors as Pacifiers in Preparation For Martial Law, May 24 2006: "A Pastor has come forward to blow the whistle on a nationwide FEMA program which is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to 'obey the government' in preparation for a declaration of martial law, property and firearm seizures, and forced relocation. [...] The FEMA directors told the Pastors that attended that it was their job to help implement FEMA and Homeland Security directives in anticipation of any of these eventualities. The first directive was for Pastors to preach to their congregations Romans 13, the often taken out of context bible passage that was used by Hitler to hoodwink Christians into supporting him, in order to teach them to 'obey the government' when martial law is declared."

Jeff Ferrell, Homeland Security Enlists Clergy to Quell Public Unrest if Martial Law Ever Declared, Aug 23, 2007: "If martial law were enacted here at home, like depicted in the movie "The Siege", easing public fears and quelling dissent would be critical. And that's exactly what the 'Clergy Response Team' helped accomplish in the wake of Katrina. Dr. Durell Tuberville serves as chaplain for the Shreveport Fire Department and the Caddo Sheriff's Office. Tuberville said of the clergy team's mission, 'the primary thing that we say to anybody is, 'let's cooperate and get this thing over with and then we'll settle the differences once the crisis is over.' Such clergy response teams would walk a tight-rope during martial law between the demands of the government on the one side, versus the wishes of the public on the other. 'In a lot of cases, these clergy would already be known in the neighborhoods in which they're helping to diffuse that situation,' assured Sandy Davis. He serves as the director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. For the clergy team, one of the biggest tools that they will have in helping calm the public down or to obey the law is the bible itself, specifically Romans 13. Dr. Tuberville elaborated, 'because the government's established by the Lord, you know. And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith. That's what's stated in the scripture.'"

[Is it true that Hitler hoodwinked Christians into supporting him with an often-taken out of context bible passage that was used in order to teach them to obey the government when martial law was declared? Or is it the case that Hitler was a life-long Christian and that Nazi Germany was from stem to stern a Christian theocracy? What is the proper context for Romans 13? Give it a read in any translation you care to use and see if it doesn't clearly state that the powers that be are ordained by God for us to submit to without rebellion or complaint. Should United States clergy go along with martial law they will be doing God's work. I, meanwhile, advocate the withering away of religion through reason and scorn. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, fascism, theocracy

Trevor Blake: Olympic Security [LINK-ZUM]

The Olympics are underway in Greece. All the world can watch the events in real time online, except in the United States. And during a rehearsal of the opening ceremonies, the half-full stadium booed the United States. We just can't get a break! The policing at this Olympics is unprecedented, with constant surveillance above and pee testing below. Why? Religious people might try to harm others at this event.

Of course we all read quite a bit about Islam being troublesome in this regard, but history shows that it is Christianity that spawns Olympic terrorists. The problem is Christians like Eric Rudolph, who in 1996 detonated a bomb for Jesus at the Atlanta Olympics (killing one and injuring over 100). He went on to attempt to blow up a lesbian bar (the bombs didn't detonate) in 1997, and successfully bombed the New Woman All Women Clinic (killing one and wounding another) in 1998. Rudolph wasn't captured by the police until 2003 - what happened between 1998 and 2003? Why, Rudolph's brothers and sisters in the Lord were hiding him so that he could keep up his good work. Even when he was captured, local coffee shops displayed fan posters and he signed his wanted poster for the local sheriff, just like a rock star. His hiding place is now a tourist spot. There are seven people policing the Olympics for every one athlete competing this year, at a cost of US$312 million. But how many articles have you seen on the real history of religious terrorism at the Olympics? And for all the money that has been spent on alleged Islamic terrorist cells in the USA, why has there been so little effort to root out this existing Christian terrorist cell? [American Samizdat, August 15, 2004]

Labels: christianity, fight, islam, theocracy

Osborne & Hagmann: Bin Laden video transcript oddity [LINK-ZUM]

According to official U.S. government sources, the video from Osama bin Laden was reportedly obtained and transcribed today - 7 September 2007. The complete transcription, obviously transcribed after the video was obtained, was presented to news outlets in PDF format. One such copy can be downloaded in its entirety below. When analyzing the transcript, however, it was noted that the date of transcription is yesterday, 6 September 2007, one full day before the video was allegedly obtained.

[Article continues at link, with alleged downloads of the questionable transcript in PDF form. Also noted is the claim by George Maschke at Booman Tribune that the bin Laden video freezes for around eleven minutes while the audio continues. All references to current events occur during the time the video is frozen. Who might profit from the disemination of a video that claims to be a contemporary record of bin Ladin but which is not? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism, islam, television, video

Trevor Blake: Kill 'Em All, Let God Sort 'Em Out [LINK-ZUM]

According to a report by the Democratic Policy Committee, the Bush administration cut off veterans' health care, despite growing need as veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan; shortchanged veterans' health because it failed to budget for returning veterans; is imposing higher care fees for veterans; and veterans' health care still fall short. But Bush has a plan! Something that costs nothing, is supported by the courts and literally works miracles...

Ryan Foley writes: "The Department of Veterans Affairs' increasing use of religion in treating ailing veterans does not violate the separation of church and state, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge John Shabaz dismissed a lawsuit by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and defended the agency's practices in his decision Monday, saying religion can help patients heal and is legal when done on a voluntary basis. [...] The group's president, Annie Laurie Gaylor, said Tuesday it would appeal the ruling. 'I think the public will be startled to learn that if you're a VA patient and you want a referral to the eye doctor, you have to have a spiritual assessment in order to do that,' Gaylor said.

"The lawsuit challenged the agency's practice of giving most patients spiritual assessments that ask questions about faith, such as how often they attend church and how important religion is in their lives. Agency officials say the assessments help them determine patients' needs. The suit also targeted VA drug and alcohol treatment programs that incorporate religion, the integration of its chaplain program into patient care and the expansion of chaplain services for outpatient veterans instead of just those at VA hospitals."

How awesome that magic spells are going to take care of the vets that Bush isn't going to take care of! I wish he'd thought to use magic spells to fight the terrorists in the first place instead of real human beings, but no need to focus on the negative. And I feel GREAT that my tax dollars are being kept out of the stem cell research business and invested in the magic spell business.

Originally posted to American Samizdat, January 22, 2007.

Labels: fascism, magick

Lucy Ward: From Aladdin to Lost Ark, Muslims get angry at 'bad guy' film images [LINK-ZUM]

Popular films ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to children's cartoons are depicting "crude and exaggerated" stereotypes of Muslims and perpetuating Islamophobia, according to a study published today. A report by the Islamic Human Rights Commission argues that films as diverse as The Siege, a portrayal of a terrorist attack on New York starring Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis, the Disney film Aladdin and the British comedy East is East have helped demonise Muslims as violent, dangerous and threatening, and reinforce prejudices.

[The negative stereotypes of Muslims has nothing to do with the Quran, nothing to do with stoning people to death, nothing to do with whipping people, nothing to do with chopping off people's hands and feet, nothing to do with female genital mutilation, nothing to do with 9/11, nothing to do with 'sectarian' violence in Iraq... nope, none of that. It's ~~the Jews~~ Hollywood. American Samizdat, January 25, 2007. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: 9/11, islam, judaism

Diana B. Henriques: As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation [LINK-ZUM]

At any moment, state inspectors can step uninvited into one of the three child care centers that Ethel White runs in Auburn, Ala., to make sure they meet state requirements intended to ensure that the children are safe. There must be continuing training for the staff. Her nurseries must have two sinks, one exclusively for food preparation. All cabinets must have safety locks. Medications for the children must be kept under lock and key, and refrigerated. The Rev. Ray Fuson of the Harvest Temple Church of God in Montgomery, Ala., does not have to worry about unannounced state inspections at the day care center his church runs. Alabama exempts church day care programs from state licensing requirements, which were tightened after almost a dozen children died in licensed and unlicensed day care centers in the state in two years.

The differences do not end there. As an employer, Ms. White must comply with the civil rights laws; if employees feel mistreated, they can take the center to court. Religious organizations, including Pastor Fuson's, are protected by the courts from almost all lawsuits filed by their ministers or other religious staff members, no matter how unfairly those employees think they have been treated. And if you are curious about how Ms. White's nonprofit center uses its public grants and donations, read the financial statements she is required to file each year with the Internal Revenue Service. There are no I.R.S. reports from Harvest Temple. Federal law does not require churches to file them.

Far more than an hourlong stretch of highway separates these two busy, cheerful day care centers. Ms. White's center operates in the world occupied by most American organizations. As a religious ministry, Pastor Fuson's center does not.

[Article continues at link. It's like this: there's no standard for what is and is not religious organization in the USA beyond saying you are or are not a religious organization. Once you say you are, you are exempt from the law in significant and profitable ways. So if you are in need of being above the law and getting money for nothing, you can't pick a better way to do it than start a 'religious' organization. Meanwhile, are secular social services that do a quantifiable social good being funded well enough in your neck of the woods? American Samizdat, October 11, 2006. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: religion

Scott Baldauf: In Congo, superstitions breed homeless children [LINK-ZUM]

Three months ago, Kisungu Gloire considered himself fortunate. A 13-year-old refugee, he had a house to sleep in, food to eat, and a stepmother who took care of him as one of her own.
Then one day, Kisungu's fragile world fell apart.

His stepmother delivered a baby that was stillborn. She blamed Kisungu, calling him a witch. She had a dream that Kisungu was trying to kill her, and then tried to burn him with a flaming plastic bag. She took him to a priest to perform an exorcism, but when that appeared to have failed, she finally stopped feeding him and told him to get out.

"When I would ask for food, she refused," he says. "Another time I asked for food, she took a kitchen knife and cut me in the eye. When I talked with my brother, he said, 'Just drop it.' So then I moved out onto the streets."

[Article continues at link. Fortunately, things are totally different here in the USA. There are no teenagers kicked out of their parent's house because their parent's superstition can't accept them being gay. And all of the babies born because their mother's superstition can't accept abortion are adopted immediately by loving, capable families. Thank goodness that in the United States, superstition doesn't breed homeless children. American Samizdat, November 20 2006 - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, magick, sex

Albert Mohler: Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It? [LINK-ZUM]

What if you could know that your unborn baby boy is likely to be sexually attracted to other boys? Beyond that, what if hormonal treatments could change the baby's orientation to heterosexual? Would you do it? Some scientists believe that such developments are just around the corner. [...] If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.

[Article continues at link. Let's consider Dr. Mohler's claims. He claims Hinuism, Buddhism and Marxism are satanic (Catholics, too), and he claims that atheism is a religion. He claims "intelligent design" is a scientific theory. Dr. Mohler claims the North won the US Civil War because they were Christians (but, uh, weren't the South Christians too? And isn't the Bible just queer for slavery?) He is also way against torture except sometimes. So for sure and for real this guy has the high ground when it comes to morals and facts, and oh thank heaven he and his kind have the ear of the Bush administration. American Samizdat, March 9 2007 - Trevor Blake]

Labels: buddhism, christianity, creationism, fascism, hindu, sex, slavery, socialism

Ed Pilkington: Life without hope [LINK-ZUM]

In the US, there are 2,270 prisoners who were sentenced as children to life without parole. They will die behind bars. [...] Michigan is one of 41 states in America that allows children under 18 to be imprisoned for the rest of their lives. The US is among a tiny minority of countries (Somalia is another) that have refused to sign up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that expressly forbids the practice. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, only three other countries - Israel, South Africa and Tanzania - mete out the sentence and they have collectively just 12 prisoners serving it.

[How do the crimes and sentences of these children compare to the crimes and sentences of Nazi war criminals? Karl Donitz, second Reichsprasident of the Third Reich following Hitler's suicide, was sentenced to 10 years. Konstantin von Neurath, found guilty of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war-crimes and crimes against humanity, was sentenced to 15 years. Baldur von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth and found guilty of crimes against humanity, was sentenced to 20 years. Albert Speer, found guilty of the use of slave labor, was sentenced to 20 years. Nothing can bring back the men and women murdered by children serving life sentences in US prisons. But life in prison for children cannot be the only answer to this problem. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism, prison, slavery

Trevor Blake: On September 11 [LINK-ZUM]

Robert, September 11, The date which will live in infamy:
Now it has been six years. The global jihad proceeds apace, with well over 9,000 deadly attacks carried out in the course of those six years by believers in the proposition that "Islam must dominate, and not be dominated." Yet we are no closer as a society to recognizing how exactly to combat this foe, and our responses flail wildly -- witness this report that prisons have removed Jewish and Christian books from their libraries so as to allow them, within today's suffocating multiculturalist ethos, to remove also books advocating jihad violence and Islamic supremacism. [...] Six years after 9/11, the jihad proceeds apace, and the UN investigates... Islamophobia.

Want to end Islamophobia? End violent attacks committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. I guarantee that Islamophobia will then vanish utterly.

Adrian Morgan, Six Years After The Wake-Up Call:
It is now exactly six years to the day that the world woke up to the true horror and the evil of Islamism. [...] Since that time, some people seem to have forgotten what created that day of slaughter and the loss of innocence. Conspiracy theorists, taking denial to the furthest degree, still try to capitalize on those tragic and gut-wrenching acts of Muslim terrorism to blame the CIA, the US government, anything to suggest that followers of a barbaric, bloodthirsty, punitive religion invented by a genocidal 7th century caravan-raider could never have committed such a dastardly plan. The wake-up call was made, but too many people prefer to forget, or to minimize the reality. Islamists try to rule through fear. They violently silence a few brave people and the rest of us hide in the shadows, fearful that if we too speak out, or if we are identified as enemies of Islamism, that we too will be silenced by violence.

David Charter, Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith:
A group of young Muslim apostates launches a campaign today, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, to make it easier to renounce Islam. The provocative move reflects a growing rift between traditionalists and a younger generation raised on a diet of Dutch tolerance. The Committee for Ex-Muslims promises to campaign for freedom of religion but has already upset the Islamic and political Establishments for stirring tensions among the million-strong Muslim community in the Netherlands.

Ehsan Jami, the committee's founder, who rejected Islam after the attack on the twin towers in 2001, has become the most talked-about public figure in the Netherlands. He has been forced into hiding after a series of death threats and a recent attack.

[Articles continue at links. Let every day be one day closer to the withering away of Islam, Christianity, Judaism and all religions. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: 9/11, islam, prison, theocracy

Trevor Blake: "We Don't Try to Do Illegal Things" [LINK-ZUM]

What do you do when you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar? Do you 'fess up to what you did and try to make amends? Or do you grab the jar, hide it behind your back, say it never happened and punish anyone who claims otherwise? The answer to this question seems to rely on religion. If one has God on one's side, then any behavior is acceptable and it's a short life followed by eternal hellfire to those who disagree.

When the Archdiocese of Portland realized it had systematically protected child molesting priests for decades and was about to be called to task for such, it declared bankruptcy and didn't have to pay out anything more to anybody. The Archdiocese of Tucson, faced with similar charges, is considering declaring bankruptcy. The Archdiocese of San Diego is taking a different route: they put their money in a straw corporation that the lawsuits can't touch. But there's nothing wrong with hiding your money so you don't pay for your crimes. As a Catholic representative in San Diego said, "We don't try to do illegal things." Oh, okay.

By the Roman Catholic's own estimate, 4,000 priests in the US faced charges of sexual abuse of more than 10,000 children in the past fifty years. Since 1962, at the very latest, the policy of the Roman Catholic Church has been to (a) move abusive priests to new parishes (b) tell victims not to say anything under penalty of excommunication (c) pretend like nothing happened. Whether it be flying airplanes into buildings or fucking children in the ass, there's no better excuse for doing anything you want and getting away with it than religion.

God was unavailable for comment due to a previous engagement: performing balloon tricks at a used car lot.

[American Samizdat, September 3 2004. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity

Trevor Blake: Outing [LINK-ZUM]

When a person has a private habit that harms/benefits only themselves and those who make informed decisions to be involved, it's just plain nobody else's business. If those same people have a private habit that they keep private - even if they make public statements that they don't have the private habits - they may be hypocrites but it is still their own business. There are sometimes very good reasons to tell lies about what one does... 'no, there are no Jews hidden in our attic...' But when a person has a private habit, makes public statements against that private habit, and uses political power to attempt to prevent others from enjoying that habit, I think outing is an appropriate response.

Congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA-2) didn't support the 'don't ask, don't tell' law. Not because he wanted the U. S. Military to openly accept homosexuals, but because he wanted the U. S. Military to ask soldiers about their sex lives and therefore keep them from serving. He also signed on as a co-sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Those are the public statements and public activities. The private habit that deserves outing is that Congressman Schrock is gay.

Ralph Reed is a former head of the Christian Coalition. He currently serves as Southeast regional chairman for the Bush-Cheney campaign. He has mobilized Christian churches and preachers to oppose Native American casinos. But while he was speaking out against the vice of gambling in public, he received US$1.25 million in 'consulting fees' from a front group, who in turn were paid by one particular Native American casino that didn't want any more competition.

I really don't care if someone is gay or if they gamble. I don't care if they do these things and lie about them. But when they do these things, lie about them and then use political power to prevent others from doing them, outing is appropriate.

[American Samizdat, September 5 2004. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, sex, television, theocracy

Trevor Blake: What We're Up Against [LINK-ZUM]

Between February 6-10, 2004, ABC News polled 1,011 people (yielding a margin of error of 3). Sixty percent of those asked believed that the story of Noah and the ark literally occurred word for word as described in the Bible. Sixty one percent believed that the Earth came into existence in six literal days. Sixty four percent believed that the Red Sea parted upon the command of Moses. People apparently believe all kinds of lies as long as they are packaged in the name of religion. The level of basic monkey common sense that must be cast aside to hold these beliefs is unfathomable. Believe those whoppers and you'll believe anything. How did it happen that most people in the United States supported the war in Iraq? Because most people, God bless their souls, believe stupid shit that isn't even worthy of fairy tale status.

[American Samizdat, September 9 2004. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, creationism