The Hazards of Belief

postitnote

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/fionola-meredith/why-we-canrsquot-let-this-man-shape-our-view-of-world-16198075.html

In short, Ken Ham en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Ham
is about.

On Saturday night, Ken Ham said that “we need to be training these kids from a young age, right from when they're born.”

I love Free Presbyterians x

Hotblack Desiato

I wonder did anyone turn up expecting this guy

robindch

Pussy Riot found guilty. Prosecutors looking to jail them for three years. Putin says they shouldn't be judged "too harshly".

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0817/breaking11.html

Irish Times wrote:

A Russian judge found three women from the punk band Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred on Friday for staging an anti-Kremlin protest on the altar of Moscow's main Russian Orthodox church.

Judge Marina Syrova did not immediately issue a sentence, but state prosecutors want there-year jail terms for the three women who stormed the altar of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February and performed a "punk prayer" asking the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of President Vladimir Putin. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (22), Maria Alyokhina (24) and Yekaterina Samutsevich (30) said they were protesting against close ties between Mr Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers.

The defendants "committed an act of hooliganism . . . based on motives of religious hatred and enmity," the judge told the Moscow court as the defendants sat in a courtroom cage. "They deliberately sought a public scandal and they wanted to insult not only the church workers but society as a whole," the judge said. "They deeply insulted Orthodox believers," she said. Earlier today, hundreds of people outside chanted "Freedom!" and "Russia without Putin!", and police detained several activists including opposition leaders.

Opponents of Mr Putin, who began a six-year presidential term in May, portray the trial as part of a wider crackdown by the former KGB spy to crush their protest movement. "Our imprisonment is a clear and distinct sign that the whole country's freedom is being taken away," Ms Tolokonnikova said in a letter written in jail and posted on the Internet today by defence lawyer Mark Feigin. Police blocked off the street outside the brick courthouse with metal barriers, and police buses stood by. Four people were detained when they unfurled a banner reading: Free Pussy Riot.

The trial has divided Russia's mainly Orthodox Christian society, with many backing the authorities' demands for severe punishment over a protest the prosecution has described as sacrilege, but others asking for clemency for the women.

Mr Putin, who returned to the presidency for a third term in May, has said the women did "nothing good" but should not be judged too harshly.

Meanwhile, in Austria:

http://rt.com/news/pussy-riot-international-support-775/



I'd have rephrased the "Free Pussy Riot" line though. Too much chance of a double-entendre.

[-0-]

robindch wrote: »

Pussy Riot found guilty. Prosecutors looking to jail them for three years. Putin says they shouldn't be judged "too harshly".

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0817/breaking11.html

Meanwhile, in Austria:

http://rt.com/news/pussy-riot-international-support-775/



I'd have rephrased the "Free Pussy Riot" line though. Too much chance of a double-entendre.

Jailed for two years.

robindch

[-0-] wrote: »

Jailed for two years.

Bastards. Can't see Putin receiving any invitations from Western capitals for the next while. Hey ho for pizzas in Pyongyang, I suppose.

Meanwhile, Moscow has just banned gay parades. For the next 100 years. I'm sure they'll have found a cure by then.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19293465

Nice one, Pooty-poot.

robindch

And up the road in St Petersburg, a $10 million dollar suit has been launched against Madonna for "insulted the[ir] feelings" of some homophobes:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0817/breaking47.html

Irish Times wrote:

A group of Russian anti-gay activists sued American pop star Madonna for $10 million today, saying she had insulted their feelings when she spoke out for gay rights at a concert in St Petersburg last week.

Performing in black lingerie with the words "No Fear" scrawled on her back, Madonna attacked a city law adopted in March that imposed fines for spreading homosexual "propaganda". She had earlier called the law a "ridiculous atrocity". Homosexuality, punished with jail terms in the Soviet Union, was decriminalised in Russia in 1993, but much of the gay community remains underground as prejudice runs deep.

"She (Madonna) had been warned with words that she should behave in line with the law and she ignored it. So we will speak in the language of money," said Darya Dedova, one of the 10 activists who filed the lawsuit in a St Petersburg court. "Of course, it is difficult to measure moral damages and suffering but maybe people who earn money regardless of moral rules will better understand this," Ms Dedova said. She added if they won the case, the money would be sent to orphanages.

"Maybe someone does not see the link but after Madonna's concert maybe some boy becomes gay, some girl becomes lesbian, fewer children are born as a result and this big country cannot defend its borders - for me it causes moral suffering," said Alexei Kolotkov, another of the activists who filed the suit. The St Petersburg propaganda law is the model for a bill that has been submitted to the national parliament but has not yet faced a vote. Critics say they fear it could be used to clamp down on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, for example by barring gay rights demonstrations.

In Moscow, gay rights suffered a blow when an appeal court upheld a lower court's ruling that found city authorities had acted legally when they rejected applications from activists to hold a gay rights march every year for the next 100 years. Attempts to hold gay rights rallies in the Russian capital have often ended in arrests and clashes with anti-gay activists.

In May, dozens of people were detained in Moscow after Russian Orthodox activists broke up two gay rights marches, throwing water and shouting prayers.

At least they're honest enough to admit their motivation.

Gbear

Russia is a ****hole masquerading as a democracy.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19199411

Practising Muslims across the world are observing Ramadan. For one month, they are fasting between first light and sunset. But what do Muslims do in a town where the sun never really goes down?

The town of Rovaniemi in Finland lies in a land of extremes.

At 66 degrees north it straddles the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland. During midwinter it is cloaked in total darkness. But in the summer it is bathed in daylight.

The long days pose a particular problem for fasting Muslims like Shah Jalal Miah Masud.

It doesn't get dark. It always looks the same. The sun is always on the horizon”

Shah Jalal Miah Masud
The 28-year-old moved to Rovaniemi - 830km (515 mile) north of the capital, Helsinki - from Bangladesh five years ago to study IT. He has not had any food or water for 21 hours. And he laughs.

God that's ****ing stupid.

Nodin

Scotland's Roman Catholic leader - Cardinal Keith O'Brien - has suspended direct communication with the Scottish government on gay marriage.

The move is in protest at the Scottish government's support for the introduction of same-sex marriages.

The cardinal has turned down an invitation to discuss the issue, leaving any talks to officials.

The Scottish government said First Minister Alex Salmond and the cardinal do continue to communicate.

A spokesman revealed Mr Salmond and the cardinal spoke on Saturday morning and had an "entirely amicable conversation on first-name terms".

However, in a letter to Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the cardinal asked for any future discussions between the church and government on the issue of same-sex marriage to take place between officials.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19305232

fitz0

Better off without him, the church has little to add to any discussion on gay rights.

Nodin

An 11-year-old Christian girl has been arrested after being accused of desecrating pages of the Koran.

She was detained for blasphemy after an angry mob demanded her arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes outside of the capital, Islamabad, Pakistani media say.

The girl is known to have learning difficulties and could not properly answer police questions, officials say.

Police have taken her parents into protective custody following threats.

Dr Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for National Harmony, told the BBC that the girl was known to have a mental disorder and that it seemed "unlikely she purposefully desecrated the Koran".

"From the reports I have seen, she was found carrying a waste bag which also had pages of the Koran. This infuriated some local people and a large crowd gathered to demand action against her. The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd, who were threatening to burn down Christian homes."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19311098

("Minister for National Harmony"....I'd say the poor bastard had to be sedated when he got the job.)

robindch

[-0-] wrote: »

Jailed for two years.

The OSCE rips Putin a new one: http://www.osce.org/fom/92939

According to their lawyer, Pussy Riot will not appeal: http://www.thejournal.ie/pussy-riot-appeal-564939-Aug2012/

And Nick Cohen tells it like it is: http://secular-europe-campaign.org/2012/08/russias-sinister-marriage-of-church-and-state/

Bannasidhe

Wasn't sure where to put this but reckon that in all likelihood this douchebag's views have been 'informed' by his deep faith ... if I am wrong and this man is does not hold deeply held views of a 'Christian' nature I shall apologise...

A REPUBLICAN congressman has sparked fury by claiming that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant.

Representative Todd Akin , a Missouri congressman who is also his party's nominee for the US Senate, said that "from what I understand from doctors" women's bodies naturally reject pregnancies that result from rape.

The six-term representative made the comments as he argued that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest.

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare," Mr Akin told a local television channel. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

"But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

Mr Akin's comments may damages his chances of defeating the incumbent Democrat senator Claire McCaskill, who is a vulnerable target for Republicans in November's elections.

Mrs McCaskill seized on the remarks, tweeting: "As a woman & former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape cases, I'm stunned by Rep Akin's comments about victims this AM."

In the face of a widespread backlash on the internet, Mr Akin hastily released a statement claiming that he had "misspoke".

"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year," he said.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/republican-congressman-claims-legitimate-rape-does-not-cause-pregnancy-3204009.html

Deep empathy my arse! There are not angry emoticons in the world to allow me to express my opinion of this...this...person. Were I too use words I would deserve an infraction for posting an expletive fest of a diatribe.

DazMarz

The thread in After Hours about the 11 year old girl in Pakistan is heating up, and I need back up over there!!!

Nodin

DazMarz wrote: »

The thread in After Hours about the 11 year old girl in Pakistan is heating up, and I need back up over there!!!

I was unaware this was some form of reserve force base....

Bannasidhe

Nodin wrote: »

I was unaware this was some form of reserve force base....

I always though 'we' went for a more scattergun approach. Riding out as individuals across the various fora, occasionally tipping the hat to familiar fellow riders of the no-such-thing-as-an-ark-lost-or-otherwise 'gang'. I never knew we would be called to form an actual posse :eek:

Kivaro

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I always though 'we' went for a more scattergun approach. Riding out as individuals across the various fora, occasionally tipping the hat to familiar fellow riders of the no-such-thing-as-an-ark-lost-or-otherwise 'gang'. I never knew we would be called to form an actual posse :eek:

You're funny.

DazMarz

The slimy reptile has gone into his cave, licking wounded pride... A Marlboro and a coffee might help...

I got caught up in a frenzy. ugh... never leave me unattended with a laptop again...

The Mad Hatter

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Wasn't sure where to put this but reckon that in all likelihood this douchebag's views have been 'informed' by his deep faith ... if I am wrong and this man is does not hold deeply held views of a 'Christian' nature I shall apologise...

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/republican-congressman-claims-legitimate-rape-does-not-cause-pregnancy-3204009.html

Deep empathy my arse! There are not angry emoticons in the world to allow me to express my opinion of this...this...person. Were I too use words I would deserve an infraction for posting an expletive fest of a diatribe.

He's issued a clarifying statement in The Onion: "I Misspoke—What I Meant To Say Is 'I Am Dumb As Dog **** And I Am A Terrible Human Being'"

robindch

Representative Tod wrote:

"I Am Dumb As Dog **** And I Am A Terrible Human Being'"

I think that's something we can all agree on.

The Mad Hatter

robindch wrote: »

Representative Tod wrote:

"I Am Dumb As Dog **** And I Am A Terrible Human Being'"

I think that's something we can all agree on.

Indeed - I don't think the clarifying statement was really needed.

robindch

The debate about circumcision is rising up the BBC's newsticker:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19072761

Interesting to see that most of the people leaving comments, and most of the people voting on them, appear to disagree fairly strongly with the practice.

Penn

robindch wrote: »

The debate about circumcision is rising up the BBC's newsticker:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19072761

Interesting to see that most of the people leaving comments, and most of the people voting on them, appear to disagree fairly strongly with the practice.

I disagree with circumcision unless medically required. I actually had a circumcision myself last month for medical reasons, and unless those medical reasons are valid, there is simply no reason for it.

"It can prevent problems later in life." Sure **** it, take his toes while you're at it doc.

Penn

Deleted User wrote: »

"It can prevent problems later in life." Sure **** it, take his toes while you're at it doc.

"One more push... Congratulations, he's a healthy baby boy. Would you like to hold your newborn son? You can only hold him for a few minutes though, because we're going to remove his appendix. Y'know, just in case..."

Nodin

Deleted User wrote: »

"It can prevent problems later in life.".........

You could make that argument for removing the whole penis, for jaysus sake.

robindch

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/state-magdalene-response-cynical-204643.html

Irish Examiner wrote:

The Government’s response to the UN Committee Against Torture recommendations on the Magdalene Laundries issue has been termed "cynical" and "disingenuous".

The Government had been given one year to report back on measures taken to put last June’s UNCAT recommendation on the laundries into effect. The committee said it was "gravely concerned" at the failure by the State to protect girls and women who were involuntarily confined in the laundries between 1922 and 1996.

It recommended that the State institute "prompt, independent and thorough investigations" into complaints of torture and other forms of mistreatment in the institutions. In its response, the Government said those alleging criminal wrongdoing in the laundries "have been consistently advised that if they have any evidence of criminal offences having been committed, they should report the matter to the police for criminal investigation and where appropriate prosecution".

It also said people could initiate a civil action in the courts seeking recompense for any wrongdoing suffered. The response also stressed that, as the laundries were "private, religious institutions", basic facts about their operations "are not in the public domain".

It also said it would consider further action when it received the report of the inter-departmental committee examining State involvement in the laundries. In a statement, Justice For Magdalene’s said in a statement that the Government’s response to the UNCAT recommendations was "lacking in compassion".

"The Government’s response is disingenuous in suggesting that the women are primarily focused on prosecutions, when what they have sought is an apology and restorative justice. "It’s one-line invitation suggesting women take civil cases appears cynical and is lacking in compassion and understanding.

"There are barriers to this type of case that are not addressed, such as the statute of limitations, free legal aid provision, the availability of evidence as the religious orders have withheld records, and not least of all the fact that this is a vulnerable and aging population." JFM has uncovered and published more than 50 examples of the State committing girls as young as 14 to laundries.

In his most recent report, Geoffrey Shannon, special rapporteur on child protection, said the treatment of women and girls in laundries "constituted slavery".

Bannasidhe

Breaking News - The Republican controlled US House of Representatives has released an official guide to 'Lady Parts' for those who may be confused or never looked cos that would be icky.

Nodin

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Breaking News - The Republican controlled US House of Representatives has released an official guide to 'Lady Parts' for those who may be confused or never looked cos that would be icky.

Yez can note well the resemblance......



...not a coincidence either. Tellin yez now.

FrostyJack

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/baywatch-alum-donna-derrico-suffers-bruises-cuts-falling-052656058.html

Next she can go look for the crock of gold at the end of a rainbow. (not mocking her injuries fyi)

joseph brand

Missouri Republican official: ‘God chose to bless’ women with pregnancies from rape.

I had to check and make sure that this wasn't from The Onion.

Ms. Barnes said that she believed that the controversy would blow over, and that once people in the state became more familiar with Mr. Akin, they would learn “what a great, conservative, godly man Todd Akin is, and they’ll put his comment in its proper context.”

All sorts of crazy.

joseph brand

FrostyJack wrote: »

Next she can go look for the crock of gold at the end of a rainbow. (not mocking her injuries fyi)

I think I have what she's looking for, . . . . in my pants. Oh Yeahh!!

robindch

Ye gods, atheist schools create depression too via "Death Education"!

http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/12503-how-atheist-schools-create-depression

Some Nutter wrote:

Note that suicide is the sixth leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year-olds. The idea of child suicide was unheard of before the schools became atheistic. It is true that family dysfunctions can depress a child, especially if that child has no recourse to God, because the school told him that there is no God, just as there is no Santa Claus.

Everybody wonders why there have been so many shootings and massacres in schools and elsewhere, so many teen suicides, and so much self-destructive behavior among teens. But the obvious is too unbelievable to atheist-humanist America. Simply put, Godless education leads to depression.

[...]

Depression, fear, anger, nightmares, morbidity. These are the negative emotions and reactions stirred up in students by death education. Is this what parents want their children to experience? Is this why they send their children to school so that they can learn about death rather than life? However, according to the misguided Ms. Rosenthal, simply because death education can cause such emotional turmoil and anxiety is no reason not to teach it. “Since death has been such a taboo topic, open and honest communication is essential. Such communication,” she writes, “helps to desensitize students to anxiety-arousing items.”

Thus, the purpose of death education is to “desensitize” children to death — to remove or reduce that reasonable, rational, and useful antipathy toward death that helps us preserve our lives. It is when children begin to see death as “friendly” and nonthreatening that they begin to be drawn into death’s orbit and lured to self-destruction. It’s a phenomenon that might be called “death seduction,” in which an individual is drawn irresistibly into a fascination and then obsession with death. The individual begins to disdain life and love death.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/12524-the-evil-legacy-of-godless-education

Some Nutter wrote:

The spiritually crippled young Americans who emerge from the public schools become the drug-addicted young men, the unwed mothers, the delinquents, the functionally illiterate youths who become the nation’s social problems. They were led by their educators into the blind alley of social dysfunction. Some of them are eventually saved by finding God. But many of them remain dependent on government programs for the rest of their lives as members of the underclass.

Dades

robindch wrote: »

Ye gods, atheist schools create depression too via "Death Education"!

http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/12503-how-atheist-schools-create-depression

kylith

Let me see if I've got this straight; death education, i.e. explaining about it, makes the prospect of dying not scary so kids are killing themselves? Unlike the terrifying thought of living in paradise forever after you die? Or is it just that they're not having the idea that it's a sin beaten into them?

magicbastarder

http://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/08/22/falling-angels/

biko

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/19/pakistan-christian-tensions-quran-burning-allegations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HcAU-A8L7o

Links234

I feel dreadfully sorry for this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD5mFQkenqI

Has he been in other videos as well or is that just an old one? I know I should feel sorry for him but I just find it very funny.

Nodin

Links234 wrote: »

I feel dreadfully sorry for this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD5mFQkenqI

Yep. Not a trace of teh ghey left. Must be a miracle.

Sonics2k

Links234 wrote: »

I feel dreadfully sorry for this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD5mFQkenqI

Blasted image won't load.

murphthesmurf

biko wrote: »

The Islamist-led government has unveiled a draft constitution which refers to women as "complementary to men".

I can't wait to use this one on the other half next time she asks why she has to make the cup of tea and not me

Gbear

Links234 wrote: »

I feel dreadfully sorry for this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD5mFQkenqI

That's heartbreaking stuff.

His brain must just be absolutely destroyed from tying itself up in knots over that "pray the gay away" bull****.

What would that amount of self-loathing and nonsense do to a person?

I'd say tricking yourself into thinking that you're not gay anymore is a self-defence mechanism to stop your brain imploding.

Bannasidhe

Gbear wrote: »

That's heartbreaking stuff.

His brain must just be absolutely destroyed from tying itself up in knots over that "pray the gay away" bull****.

What would that amount of self-loathing and nonsense do to a person?

I'd say tricking yourself into thinking that you're not gay anymore is a self-defence mechanism to stop your brain imploding.

Looks like trying to pray away the ghey resulted in praying away any sense of style he may have had. That scarf with that jacket is a abomination.

PopePalpatine

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Looks like trying to pray away the ghey resulted in praying away any sense of style he may have had. That scarf with that jacket is a abomination.

He's probably using different kinds of fibres too! :eek:

Nodin

Roman Catholic priests are to read out a letter in each of the Church's parishes in Scotland criticising the Scottish Government for plans to introduce gay marriage.

Last week the leader of the Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, broke off discussions about the issue with the First Minister, Alex Salmond.

The church has declared 26 August as National Marriage Sunday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19383571

Unlike those American nuns, Cardinal O'Brien has the real problems of society firmly in his sites.

Delirium

Malaysia charges family in exorcism death of 3-year-old

A Malaysia court on Friday charged 7 family members, including the parents, of a nearly three-year-old girl who suffocated to death in a suspected exorcism ritual earlier this month.

According to the court, Chua Seng Ban and his three-month-pregnant wife Lim She Lee, both 35-years-old, pleaded not guilty to charges of causing the death of Chua Wan Zuen, at their home in the northern town of Bukit Mertajam.

The five other family members, who face a maximum two-year jail sentence and a fine if convicted, also pleaded not guilty.

Police chief Azman Abdul Lah said police raided a house in the northern Penang state after receiving a distress call from a relative and found a group of 8 people lying on top of the girl in a bedroom.

He reported the girl was lying face down under the human pile, which comprised her parents, grandmother, uncle, aunt, two cousins and their Indonesian maid.

He said the room was dark and that chanting could be heard from under a blanket covering the group.

Azman said that the girl, who was ethnic Chinese, died of suffocation.

****ing scumbags.

legspin

The five other family members, who face a maximum two-year jail sentence and a fine if convicted, also pleaded not guilty.

Where the fúck is a life sentence when you need it?

Nodin

An expert group is due to report to the Minister for Health next month on the implications for Government of a 2010 European Court of Human Rights ruling.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Cardinal Brady said the Catholic Church's role in opposing any attempt to introduce abortion would include a media campaign, lobbying public representatives and providing resources to priests to preach on the topic.
He said the church believed that a referendum on abortion was possibly the only solution to the issue.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0826/abortion-laws.html
Another one? fuck off, rat face.

Responding to Cardinal Brady's comments on a referendum, Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said the Government did not see any necessity for undoing what had been done to date, but did need to address the fallout from the X Case and decision of the European Court of Human Rights.
Minister Rabbitte said he was somewhat surprised at the Cardinal's reference to lobbying.
He said he did not have any objection the church stating its position and making it clear, but that it was a retrogressive step to go back to the Catholic Church dictating to elected representatives on how to address this issue..

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0826/abortion-laws.html

Good man Rabbitte.

Kivaro

Men in dresses/frocks dictating the rights of all women in Ireland?