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According to sociologist Gary Bouma atheists are fuelling sectarian conflict. According to Bouma’s logic, if atheists just would shut up, religions would hold hands, sing ‘Kumbaya” and there would be no more sad histories like 911, the Irish troubles, the mess in Iraq etc.

What Bouma is actually trying to do is deny atheists the right of a voice. What atheists (well most of us anyway) want is a right to be heard and for the privilege religion has in society to be critically examined and questioned. This is confronting to some as they prefer atheists to be quiet and confine their discussions behind closed doors.

Too bad and too late. Religious freedom and freedom of speech are not just for the devout.

Elsewhere: Russell Blackford takes down Bouma.

Phil has taken Jonathan Green, the editor of The Drum, to task for commissioning a series of pieces by climate change skeptics.

As expected, the first piece off the rank by Alan Moran is a load of climate skeptic bullshit.

It is the intellectual equivalent to “balancing” a piece on the horrors of Auschwitz with a piece by a holocaust denier.

This obsession with balance gives “the other side” (climate change skeptics, creationists etc) a false legitimacy and creates an erroneous impression that their arguments deserve equal consideration. It may sell papers and create web traffic but is simply being intellectually lazy.

Earlier today jason_a_w on Twitter made an interesting comment:

Can this event be explained except as an expression of a craving for ritual? http://is.gd/9m5lf

We had the following exchange (in this order I think. Apologies to Jason if I have it wrong):

@jason_a_w Just a chance to hear two interesting fellows speak. I don’t think anyone is being asked to join in singing hymns about them.

@shaunc But why gather en masse to confirm one’s lack of belief. Surely as soon as it’s asserted, that’s the end of the matter?

@jason_a_w Because people like community, even atheists, which I suggest is different from ritual.

@shaunc Anyway it does look interesting enough, but I do get puzzled by the phenomenon of large atheist gatherings.

@shaunc I’m not sure communities are formed any other way, and I think it’s possible to have secular rituals (e.g. going to the footy!)…

@jason_a_w atheist gatherings are the result of atheist being more comfortable in “out.” Not such an issue in Oz but very important in US.

@shaunc Anyway, maybe I’m just puzzled because it’s new. It does seem to be operating on an industrial level, now!

@jason_a_w Yes, there is money to be made from atheism. But also discourse that often doesn’t get heard when religion is privileged.

There are some atheists of course that go, “Well, there is no god. Better get on with something useful” and don’t worry much more than that. But as atheists feel the freedom to come out, you can be sure that atheists are going to gather together.
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For those about to rock...

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France is considering banning the burqa and the same idea seems to have support in England.

But banning the burqa is a bad idea. I do find the concept of the burqa offensive, repressive and a restriction of womens’ rights. But this is one issue that can’t be resolved by simplistic state intervention.

As an atheist, there is no logical justification to why a woman would choose to wear a burqa or have the wearing of it mandated by society. But as a matter of culture and religion, women do choose to wear a burqa. As much as I find the practice distasteful, banning the burqa will clash with religious rights that a secular society should protect. There is a great discussion from Irish radio on the burqa that covers all sides and shows the issue to be quite complex (third item down – Newstalk Ireland’s Wide Angle Program).

Banning the burqa in France, England or Australia will not help women in Afghanistan. Nor will it even help Muslim women in France. If Muslim woman can’t wear a burqa then their participation on society could be severely restricted. It also could strengthen notions of persecution reinforcing the patriarchal control.

But a liberal democratic society will not stop the wearing of burqas by banning them. It will stop the wearing of burqas through debate and discussion pointing out how the burqa is a sign of oppression against women and pointing out the problems. As the Muslim population engages in such debates, a younger population comes through more attune with the ideals of liberal democratic country. Then there will be no need to talk about banning the burqa as the practice will become marginalised and considered belonging to the past.

Taking away a freedom, now matter how distasteful we find it, will not create a freedom.

Terry Pratchett recently had the honour of giving the Richard Dimbleby Lecture. It was actually given by Tony Robinson as Pratchett’s early-onset Alzheimer’s can make it difficult to read. But Robinson was wonderful himself and Pratchett’s lecture lost nothing by using a “Stunt-Pratchett”. It was sad, funny, wonderfully argued and most of all, defiant.

Pratchett mounted an excellent case for assisted dying. One that will be very hard to counter.

In the 21st Century, we have pushed death far away from us. Even when Death is at the door suggesting that we might be off now, we use whatever medical technology we can to forestall the inevitable, often at a terrible cost in pain for the soon departed and their family. There is no dignity in a lingering death in pain with one’s faculties withered. It is simply cruelty no matter the intent.
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Brian Johnson has a deserved go at Bono and other “do-good” rockers:

“I do it myself, I don’t tell everybody I’m doing it,” Johnson said.

“I don’t tell everybody they should give money – they can’t afford it.

“When I was a working man I didn’t want to go to a concert for some bastard to talk down to me that I should be thinking of some kid in Africa.

“I’m sorry mate, do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done. It just makes me angry. I become all tyrannical.”

I do think there is a place for charity concerts as long as the money is properly accounted for. But, good intentions aside, do we really need a remake of We Are the World for Haiti? It was a god awful song then and the assembled “talent” this time around is not going to make it any better.

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I don’t particularly like Marieke Hardy’s writing but her article for The Drum on Australia Day is a winner.

Walking down the main street of Tamworth the other morning – gamely dodging yodelling couples in his ‘n’ hers double denim begging for loose change – I passed a man wearing a rather fetching navy blue singlet.

Written on the front were the following words: “THIS IS AUSTRALIA. WE EAT MEAT, DRINK BEER, AND SPEAK F-CKIN’ ENGLISH!” My first thought – outside of “I wonder if he’s single/looking?” – was that it must mean January 26th was just around the corner. Of course, I realised with a start: Australia Day is upon us. Time for those racist t-shirts to be dusted off and paraded about by small-dicked rednecks.

Australia was never a country for such overt displays of racism as patriotism. But the past few years has seen such sentiments as “We grew, here, you flew here” ,”100% Aussie Pride” and “Fuck Off, We’re Full” with associated displays of drunken thuggery rise as a chosen means of celebrating Australia Day over the traditional quiet barbie and a few beers.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating the national day. I’m love living in Australia. It is a great little nation with plenty to be proud about. But the nation has had trouble coming to grips with its past. It is no coincidence that those that eagerly take to Australia Day with an Anglo-nationalistic fervour are the same ones who would just as eagerly deny any of Australia’s many sins. They are also likely to be the first ones to scoff at Australia’s Indigenous population who, with justification, prefer the term Invasion Day.

Everyone from politicians down try and claim Australia Day for their own purposes. I’d prefer less of the overt nationalism that prevents clarity in both hindsight and foresight and more honest reflection and acknowledgement of the past and our shared future. That may be a way back to an Australia Day for all Australians.

This in mind boggling stupid. A US company that manufactures rifle sights has been found to be including references to Biblical passages on the rifle sights.

One of the citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Other references include citations from the books of Revelation, Matthew and John dealing with Jesus as “the light of the world.” John 8:12, referred to on the gun sights as JN8:12, reads, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

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I wanted a netbook for downstairs computing so I recently brought a Dell Mini 9 cheap from Grays Online. A lovely little machine and the first thing I did was blow away the default Windows XP and install Ubuntu. That all was fine until I learned that people had got the Mac OSX operating system running on Dell Minis.

I was a Mac user back in the 90s with a Mac IIsi and then graduating to one of the early Powerbooks. My Powerbook died just before I left the US in 96 and I drifted into Linux then Windows upon returning to Australia.

The chance to use Mac OSX was too good to resist. I did some research and found the following instructions. From eBay I got a 2GB ram chip and then brought a Toshiba 8GB USB stick. I had a few 2GB ones lying around for the boot loader. Of course, I got a copy of Snow Leopard from the Apple store.
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