AronRa: ‘Faith is not a virtue’

June 21, 2012 — xanthippa

This video is interesting for several different reasons.

Yes, I do agree with most of what AronRa says in this one.

The only exception I take is to his claim that circumcision gives some protection against the transmission of AIDS.  Yes, there are studies that ‘conclusively’ show this.  But, there are just as many studies that just as ‘conclusively’ show that this is not so.  All studies, however, show that wearing a condom does work…

…and I think that it is better to err on the side of caution when it comes to incurable deadly diseases.  Still, if people wish the protection of circumcision as well as a condom, when they are old enough to give informed consent to it and they pay themselves for it, I have no problem with any cosmetic procedure.

After all, self-ownership is the cornerstone of our civilization!

The reason this video is important is not just because of the reasonable things AronRa says (and that he looks rather good saying them), and not because of how he says them (he is a much better speaker when he does not deliver a prepared speech but rather when he speaks unscripted), but because of the attitude the theists in the audience display as well as the demonstration of theist sentiment in the video that AronRa shows.

It is difficult to describe just how visceral the hatred many theists feel toward atheists – and feel completely righteous in expressing – is.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want to shut them up.

Let them spew.

But really – saying that if my beliefs don’t match theirs, I should be raped?

Suggesting all atheists should be hunted down and killed?

We are not talking about some uneducated Islamists – these sentiments were expressed by American Christians…

OK.

An orthodox Jew, a moderate Muslim and an archetypal polytheists (someone who believes all gods exist – as fairy-tales) walk into a bar.

What happens next?

The Jew and the Muslim unite against the atheist in a ‘theological’ debate.

This is not a joke – it happened to me.  The moderate Muslim was Salim Mansur.  We were all celebrating the launch of Salim’s most excellent book, ‘The Delectable Lie’.

Sure, everything was very friendly and good humoured – but, it still did not take long for the two monotheists to set their differences aside and unite against the atheist.  (To be perfectly honest, I am nowhere near as good at verbal arguing as either one of these two intelligent, educated men…  Mind you, since then, I have thought of really, really awesome things I should have said!  AHA!)

OK, these guys had their fun, but they were very, very nice to me.

They were not like the typical theists one meets.

Somehow, I suspect I have had more than my ‘fair’ share of ‘scary’ experiences.

I have ‘bunny-hopped’ a tank once – because my Aspieness got me manipulated into trying to drive one when I was 12-years-old.  Really, I just mouthed-off to the ‘wrong’ ‘many’-star general (because I did not ‘get’ it) it a totalitarian country – all my friends later admitted they thought I was going to be either sent to re-education camp or expelled from the exclusive language school as a result.

I have been stopped in the street and interrogated by the police – in a totalitarian police state – for not having my ‘documents’ …when I was too young to have been issued ‘documents’.

I have escaped from a totalitarian police state across a closed border.

I was less than 15 meters from a live shoot-out battle between two criminal elements within the UN refugee camp where I was staying.  There were fatalities.

I was stalked – twice, by very different men in very different circumstances.

I was physically attacked by attempted rapists, three times (twice by someone whom I knew, once by a group of strangers).  I had to fight my way out, each time.  (Twice I did so unharmed, once I got off easily with just a torn-up shoulder – it still pops out of its socket at the slightest provocation!  Well worth it!)

But, never in my life have I felt as unsafe, as physically threatened, as when a neighbour manipulated me to go to her Pentecostal Church and the ‘congregation’ saw me – singled out – refuse to ‘accept Jesus into my heart’!!!

Truly, this was the most frightening thing I have ever experienced.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I suspect I understand how Hypatia felt in the last moments of her life.  (This NOT, in any way, a comparison of me to Hypatia:  it is the comparison of the fear we both felt as we faced a crowd of homicidal theists on her part and almost-homicidal ones on my part!)

I kid you not.

I could face a bullet.

I could beat up a bunch of thugs.

I could face down stalkers.

I can defend my honour against attempted rapists.

But faced with such a large crowd, whipped into a mob mentality by their preacher, so sure in their ‘righteousness’ and so pitiless towards ‘unbelievers’ – I knew that if something tipped them just a tiny bit further, I was dead.

It was palpable!

It was then that I knew what being hated not for ‘who I was’, but for ‘what I was’ was like.

So, yes – I do believe the theists – Christian, Muslim or whatever other religion – when they say that they will kill me, if they get a chance.

Not every theist is this way, of course not.

But way too many are.

The religion itself is much less important than the sense of self-righteousness it conveys onto its adherents!

It is my profound conviction that without the religious teaching that it is righteous and God-pleasing to exterminate ‘the unbelievers’, these men and women would never have abandoned morality in favour of threatened or actual mob violence – and felt good about doing it!!!

And this is demonstrated in this video:

 

 

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This ought to make religions think twice about hiding pedophile predators!

June 18, 2012 — xanthippa

The recipient of this legal smackdown – to the tune of  almost 23 million USD – are the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In a precedent setting ruling, Candace Conti was awarded 28 million USD – 7 is damages and 21 punitive.  (The Jehovah’s Witnesses are to pay the 21 million in punitive damages and 40% of the 7 million in damages.)

‘A substantial part of her allegations dealt with claims that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York (the organisation that oversees the Jehovah’s Witnesses) had adopted a policy in 1989 that instructed congregation leaders to keep child abuse allegations secret. This meant that when Conti’s abuser from the 1990s, Jonathan Kendrick, was convicted in 2004 of molesting another girl, the elders at the North Fremont Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses did nothing to prevent him coming into contact with other kids at the church.’

Of course, he re-offended – and the ‘Church’ is being punished for not taking precautions as well as for not having revealed his history when he did eventually molest another child.

I suppose that making them financially accountable is the only way these organizations which hide behind piety and enforce silence on their congregation through ‘eternal blackmail’ will sit up and start paying attention!

We are not as gullible as we used to be!

We will not permit pedophiles to pray on children, just because they pretend to be ‘closer to god’ than the rest of us!

And, we will not let organizations hide pedophiles just because they play the ‘religion’ card!

As a matter of fact, let’s go a step further:  let’s let people believe whatever batpoop-crazy stuff they want, but let’s hold those who profit/make their living from marketing  it live up to the same consumer protection laws that every other commercial entity has to.

If you can prove the claims about your product (that would be your dogma) – continue to sell it.

If not – then let’s call fraud a fraud.

While you’re at it – start paying your fair share of taxes on your highly lucrative commercial enterprises!

And if you don’t think that religious organizations are highly lucrative commercial enterprises, then I have this bridge here I’d like to sell you.  It’s a great deal:  you pay me now, get the bridge after you die!

Oh – and here is an afterthought:  stop mutilating your children in the name of religion!  It is NOT your religious right to violate the bodily integrity of another human being!!!  (Plus being this obsessed with your kids genitals is seriously creepy – please, seek professional help!)

(Sorry – pedophiles make me angry.  Organizations that hide, protect and enable them make me angrier…  People who mutilate their own kids in the name of their own religion – they make me about as angry as angry can get!)

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Yes – ‘Section 13’ gets the ax!

June 7, 2012 — xanthippa

For those of you who are unaware of what ‘Section 13’ is:  it is the ‘hate speech’ clause in Canada’s Human Rights Act   which makes it illegal to say things which have the potential to offend somebody.

‘Section 13’ had been used to stifle free speech to the point where people were handed lifetime bans to even speak to friends about certain topics on which they did not hold ‘politically correct’ views.

‘Section 13’ – and how it was used to silence legitimate criticism – is a big reason why I had started this blog in the first place.

Now, the largest step towards ridding ourselves of this selective gag order has been taken:

‘Canada is freer today than it was yesterday.

The federal government has just voted to repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. While the bill still has to pass a Senate vote, Canadians likely now have permission to speak more freely.’

Awesome!

UPDATE:  now, with video…

 

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UN has plans to ‘regulate’ the internet…

June 5, 2012 — xanthippa

…right out of existence.

This is more than UN’s Agenda 21 which seeks to gain control over parts of nation states through bypassing their legitimate governments (and which Alabama had just banned within its borders), it is an attempt to re-shape the internet to the liking of Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Iran!

From C/net:

‘ISOC’s Sally Wentworth, senior manager of public policy for the group, warned that the proposals to be considered are not “compatible” with the current open manner in which the Internet is managed.

Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist, co-creator of the TCP/IP protocol, and former chairman of ICANN, said the ITU meeting could lead to “top-down control dictated by governments” that could impact free expression, security, and other important issues..

“The open Internet has never been at a higher risk than it is now,” Cerf said.’

In my never-humble-opinion, it is time to dissolve that toxic tumour upon our society also known as the United Nations!

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Ezra Levant: The Return of Omar Khadr

June 5, 2012 — xanthippa

Rart 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

 

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OpenMedia: Who’s on your side?

June 5, 2012 — xanthippa

From OpenMedia:

Canadians have been raising a loud national call for every MP to stand against costly and invasive online spying. Thanks to the pro-Internet community, the video at http://openmedia.ca/stand went viral and got national news coverage from CBC,1 among others.

The response so far has exceeded our expectations: Over sixty MPs have signed up as Pro-Privacy politicians through our online tool. We have a real opportunity right now to tip the scales in favour of our online rights.

We need to act quickly. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, far from backing down, is pushing for a renewed multi-faceted scheme to erode Canadians’ online privacy rights: Toews has also quietly been working on a deal with the U.S. known as “Perimeter Security”, which could lead to the U.S. government having access to your private data.2

We have momentum now, with over sixty MPs—nearly two-thirds of opposition MPs—on our side. Let’s seize this crucial moment and turn up the heat on the government.

Tell your MP that you want them to speak out strongly about this issue by sending them a message now.

Thank you for all that you do to safeguard the open, affordable, surveillance-free Internet.

Onward,

Steve and Lindsey, on behalf of your OpenMedia.ca team

P.S. You can see exactly which MPs are on your side, and which are not, using our new Pro-Privacy MP display tool here: http://openmedia.ca/WithCanada

P.P.S. We were only able to build this online Pro-Privacy MP tool for you because people from across the country chipped in to make it happen. Please help our small team continue to do this kind of work by making a contribution today.

Footnotes
[1] CBC News: Online surveillance bill opponents continue campaign
[2] Huffington Post: Canadians’ Online Habits Could Soon Be Available To U.S. Government Without Warrant, Critics Say

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Kathy Shaidle: uncovering the face of virulent anti-Semitism in Canada

June 4, 2012 — xanthippa

Kathy Shaidle, a blogger, has – for years – documented the most dangerous anti-Semitism in our society.  Here is just one more snippet:

 

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ReasonTV’s ‘Nanny of the Month’ for May, 2012: Michael Bloomberg

June 1, 2012 — xanthippa

 

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Successful splashdown for SpaceX Dragon space capsule

May 31, 2012 — xanthippa

Well, this sounds promising!

‘It took half a tonne of food and supplies up to the ISS astronauts, and brought down about two-thirds of a tonne of completed experiments and redundant equipment.

A successful recovery of the capsule and its contents will trigger a $1.6bn (£1bn; 1.3bn-euro) contract with the US space agency (Nasa) for 12 further re-supply trips.’

SpaceX is demonstrating that a private company can do what a national government can, except better and cheaper.

So, why do we stll trust the government to deliver really important programmes, like, say, education and healthcare?

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One Law For All: ‘Sharia law: neither equal not free’

May 31, 2012 — xanthippa

From an email from Miriam Namazie:

Update on Baroness Cox’s Equality Bill
One Law for All has been spending a lot of time recently working with Caroline Cox and her team in promoting the Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equalities) Bill. The aim of the Bill, which was introduced to the House of Lords last year, is to make arbitration services in the UK subject to equality laws and to bar any arbitration where parties are of unequal standing; for example, it would disallow arbitration providers placing greater weight on the testimony of one party over another, as is the case with sharia law where a wife’s word is worth only half of her husband’s. The Bill will also create a criminal offence and make it illegal for arbitration bodies to pretend they have greater jurisdiction than they do – in other words, preventing them from misinforming people that they must obey their rulings. It will also place a duty on public bodies in the UK to inform women of their rights under British la w.
The Bill is due for a second reading in the House of Lords this October. Many Peers have already pledged support but we need your help in persuading them further. If you have time, please write to any members of the House of Lords and ask them to consider the seriousness of this Bill and its need in maintaining a society where all people are equal before a single secular and democratic law. In your letter, you could point out to Peers that the Islamic Sharia Council and the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal both openly acknowledge that the testimony of women is given less value than that of men, that custody of children is awarded to fathers regardless of the circumstances, and that sharia family law permits, and therefore encourages, domestic violence and the abuse of women and children.  You can find out how to write to Peers here: http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-a-lord/lord/. You can read the bill here:  http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/arbitrationandmediationservicesequality.html.
‘Equal and Free?’, a book of evidence compiled in support of the Bill, can be found here: http://equalandfree.org/download-file/downloads/EqualandFree.pdf. It includes testimony from women who have been through the sharia family law system here in Britain, as well as charities and groups which work closely with these women. It also looks at other religious tribunals, such as the Beth Din, and the effect the Bill may have on arbitration more broadly.
Debates and Conferences
One of the issues of concern to those deciding whether to support the Bill is that it may represent an infringement on religious liberty. One Law for All maintains that the right to freedom of religion ends at the point where other people’s rights begin. Sharia family and criminal law represent a serious infringement upon the rights of women to receive a fair hearing and to live without violence or the threat of violence. We will be holding a debate on this issue in the coming months and will invite members of both Houses of Parliament to attend – further details will follow. For more information on other speaking engagements and events, visit: http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/category/events/.
Child Protection
As has been mentioned, sharia family law awards custody of children to fathers from a pre-set age regardless of the circumstances, and regardless of whether the father is abusive or violent. Again, the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal and the Islamic Sharia Council do not deny this fact.  It is also known that matters of child custody and contact are being increasingly heard by sharia bodies, increasing the isolation of Muslims in Britain and endangering the children of Muslim parents who may be excluded from the protections provided by British law – which places the wellbeing of the child as the paramount consideration in all questions of this kind. We have been pushing this message very strongly at the House of Lords; all Peers have now received a copy of ‘Equal and Free?’ which contains details of how sharia family law is flouting legal norms in matters of child protection, and the danger this represents &ndas h; it is creating a parallel legal system, based on religion, in the UK.
Support us!
December will mark four years since the establishment of the One Law for All campaign. A lot has changed in the public debate on Sharia law and equality as a result of our campaign. If you want to and can, please help us to continue our essential work. To donate to the work of One Law for All, you can either send a cheque made payable to One Law for All to BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX, UK or pay via Paypal.  We also need regular support and for supporters to commit to giving at least £5-10 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how to donate or join the 100 Club here: http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/donate/.
Also, if you shop online, please do so via the Easy Fundraising’s website: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/register-supporter/?char=40474. It won’t cost you anything extra but can help raise much needed funds for One Law for All.
Finally, if you haven’t already signed up to the One Law for All campaign, please join the nearly 29,000 people and groups that have: http://onelawforallpetition.com/onelaw/onela300.php?nr=40155035.
Thanks again
Warmest wishes
Anne Marie Waters
One Law for All Spokesperson
NOTES
1. The One Law for All Campaign was launched on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to call on the UK Government to recognise that Sharia and religious courts are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular and that citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable.
2. For further information contact:
Maryam Namazie
Anne Marie Waters
Spokespersons
One Law for All
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
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