Archive for the ‘News’ Category

If Men Look At My Wife The Universe Will Fold In On Itself

Th1sWasATriumph

Sat May 08, 2010 2:28 pm by Th1sWasATriumph

Seen this? A few days late with it, but I’m blithely unconcerned.

A Muslim woman has been fined for wearing a burka in a post office in Novara, Italy, after the mayor passed a law forbidding face-covering garb inside public buildings. Mayor Massimo Giordano could maybe be described as an Islamophobe, but as far as I’m concerned that’s like calling someone a murderophobe or a rapistophobe. It’s entirely rational to dislike or fear Islam, which makes it not a phobia but a very sensible intellectual stance.

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Discussion (8) • Add Comment Tags: braim, burka, crime, fined, giordano, italy, marmouri, novara, woman
Posted in Censorship, Culture, Events, News, Reason, Religion

Singh-ing In The Rain

Th1sWasATriumph

Thu Apr 15, 2010 8:39 pm by Th1sWasATriumph

I can’t really apologise enough for that title.

As I anticipated would happen, Rabbitpirate beat me to laying the first League blogstone on the subject of Simon Singh and his sudden victory. Since I’m not a petty man/as good as Rabbitpirate, I’d love to see him do a longer musing on the subject without the dilution that my opinions would create. However I just wanted to highlight one thing.

Quoting from the BCA’s press release, “The BCA has considered seeking leave to take this matter to the Supreme Court and has been advised there are strong grounds for appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment. However, while it was right to bring this claim at the outset, the BCA now feels that the time is right for the matter to draw to a close. ”

Isn’t that beautiful? The legal equivalent of saying “I could smash your face in, I could . . . any time I wanted . . . only I’m not going to. Any time. But now I’m going home.” For “been advised there are strong grounds for appeal” read “quick, save face ANY WAY WE GODDAMN CAN.” And what’s the best way to save face? Lie. If there were truly strong grounds for appeal the BCA, an organisation that has happily made a decent, genuine, intelligent and (I’m fortunate to know this from personal experience) really lovely man suffer tremendously for years, would without hesitation appeal to continue. Of course they would. Singh said mean*, hurtful** and unfortunately absolutely true things about them so they responded with petty legality. If there was the slightest chance the case could be pursued, don’t you think the BCA would go for it? Just to hurt Simon?

I love seeing people forced to back down after attempting to use laws to censor dissenting voices. We’ve all had our run-ins with DMCAs on Youtube, but Singh has become the poster boy for hope and reason against the odds. And as the BCA sidles grumbling into the shadows, we can only hope that libel laws everywhere face a swift dissolution.

Rabbitpirate? Over to you, sir.

* “You are all frauds”

** “Your mothers are ladies of questionable moral integrity”

Discussion (2) • Add Comment Tags: action, bca, case, court, legal, simon, singh, victory, won
Posted in Censorship, Events, News, Reason, Science

This time victory really is ours

rabbitpirate

Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:13 pm by rabbitpirate

A really quick post as I don’t have any more details than this right now but it seems the BCA have dropped their case against Simon Singh. No doubt this will be on every skeptic and atheist blog for the rest of the week so we will all be inundated with details in no time. For right now I am sure you will all join me in offering our congratulations to Simon and our thanks for having the courage to stand up for rational thinking and good science like he did. We love ya man.

Discussion (3) • Add Comment Posted in Censorship, News, Reason

God Love ‘Em, Because Someone Has To

Th1sWasATriumph

Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:57 pm by Th1sWasATriumph

I imagine it’s likely that Rabbitpirate is even now putting the finishing touches on a significantly better article on this subject. But hey, I’m a Leaguer – it’s my oft-shirked duty to expose the belly-white viscera of religious arse wherever it may show.

I’d hoped that childishly ripping on Gabriele Amorth, Righteous Exorcist 1st Class Of The Holy Vatican, might be the last slur I cast in the direction of Catholicism. My hope was in vain. (more…)

Discussion (3) • Add Comment Tags: bertone, catholicism, paedophilia, pope, scandal, vatican
Posted in Culture, Events, News, Reason, Religion

Victory is ours…well kind of

rabbitpirate

Thu Apr 01, 2010 1:24 pm by rabbitpirate

So no doubt you have all heard by now that Uber skeptic Simon Singh has won his libel appeal over the issue of whether his statements against the British Chiropractic Association should be treated as “fair comment” or not. Now this doesn’t mean that the case is over, Simon still has to win the libel case against him. However it does mean that he will be able to use the defence of “fair comment” rather than having to justify his statements as facts.

This is not only great news for Simon but for those seeking to reform the draconian British libel laws in general. Because of the importance of the judges involved in this decision, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of Rolls and Sir Stephen Sedley, this ruling carries a lot of weight with it that could be used to help reform the current libel system, especially with regards to science and public health issues. But we still have a long way to go.

If you haven’t already get yourself over to the Libel Reform website and sign the petition to show your support. Even if you don’t live in the UK the British Libel laws still affect you as currently if anything you says can be accessed in the UK, which given the internet is pretty much a guarantee, then you can be sued under British libel laws. Scientists, and those of us who blog on science and public health issues, need to be able to present information that is in the public interest without fear of being sued by those who would rather the truth didn’t get out there. Right now the law is very much skewed in favour of those who would silence good science, but working together we can, and I have no doubt will, see this change in the very near future.

I’ll end with this great 1994 quote from Judge Easterbrook, chief judge of the US seventh circuit court of appeals, which is still spot on today. Easterbrook stated that those claiming they had been libelled:

“cannot, by simply filing suit and crying ‘character assassination!’, silence those who hold divergent views, no matter how adverse those views may be to plaintiffs’ interests.

“Scientific controversies must be settled by the methods of science rather than by the methods of litigation. More papers, more discussion, better data, and more satisfactory models – not larger awards of damages – mark the path towards superior understanding of the world around us.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Discussion (2) • Add Comment Posted in Censorship, News, Science

Don’t laugh, this is serious

rabbitpirate

Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:44 pm by rabbitpirate

The child sex abuse scandals that, if I may channel Th1sWasATriumph for a moment, are currently pounding the Catholic Church in the arse* are no laughing matter. This sort of institutionalized rape is an abomination of the worst kind and if the real world actually mattered at all to the Pope and the Popettes then they would be stringing up the perpetrators by their little bishops in Vatican square.

But still even in the midst of such a sickening story unintentional humour can be found. For example take a recent article from the Times Online website about the effect of the scandal in Germany. The article is fairly well written but I can’t help but feel that they could have found a more appropriately named journalist to write it.

Ah I did laugh. Anyway I promise my next post will have a bit more substance than this one.

* I was so tempted to use the “Impacted by Jesus” line here but managed to control the urge.

Discussion (6) • Add Comment Posted in News, Religion

All Hail Satan, Lord Of The Scots

Th1sWasATriumph

Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:16 pm by Th1sWasATriumph

You’ve really got to admire Catholicism sometimes. I mean, really admire that thing. Not in a pretty way, of course. No. Not in the way that sunsets or elderly couples or kittens on springs or rubber corsets might be admired. More in the sense that I might admire, with horrified fascination, a trembling knot of worms drawn reluctantly from their gastric nest. Or a giant centipede blindly destroying a mouse. Or a botfly larva emerging from the withered husk of its host. I mean, none of us could profess a liking for Hitler but damn, did he get shit done.

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Discussion (11) • Add Comment Tags: accountability, exorcism, exorcist, satan in the world
Posted in Culture, Events, News, Philosophy, Reason, Religion

But your Honour, it’s funny

rabbitpirate

Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:54 pm by rabbitpirate

So have you heard this story? Harry Taylor, a 59-year-old philosophy tutor and “militant” atheist, has been arrested and charged with three counts of religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress under the Crime and Disorder Act. His crime? Leaving humorous cartoons poking fun at various religions in the prayer room of John Lennon airport in Liverpool. In court the cartoons were described to the jury as being “sexually abusive and sexually unpleasant” but for the life of me I can’t see where they are getting this from based upon the description of the cartoons listed in the Telegraph.

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Discussion (19) • Add Comment Posted in Culture, News, Religion