Monthly Archives: May 2010

Secular Right is back (sort of)

Posted on May 30, 2010 by David Hume

Hope you’re having a good holiday weekend. I decided to reinstall WP because we’ve had several hacks compromise the system over the past few years, and I am beyond stop-gap solutions with the previous install. So I deleted it and … Continue reading →

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Missing the Hymn

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Bradlaugh

An unbeliever can enjoy a good hymn as much as the next man, as many have testified.  (G.B. Shaw, D.H. Lawrence, Kingsley Amis, and E.O Wilson come to mind.  Not sure about Bert Russell; but the religious side of his … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | 9 Comments

Thou shalt not blaspheme democracy

Posted on May 24, 2010 by David Hume

The Big Money has a story about Pakistan blocking Facebook because of the “Everyone Draw Muhammed Day!” page. My issue? The title, This Week in Despotism, Google Edition. Pakistan isn’t a despotism, it has a semi-functioning democracy, and, from what … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Rise of Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

There was an interesting piece in Saturday’s Financial Times on how the rise in Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox population is a source of increasing tension within the country. Here’s a key extract Once a tiny minority, the community today accounts for at least 8 … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Spreading The Word

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Via the London Times, an instructive tale from Uganda: When he arrived at Kampala’s Hotel Triangle for a three-day conference, the Rev Kapya Kaoma knew that he would not like what he heard. The clue was in the event’s title … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Life Goes On

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Blind faith in progress is like most faith a mistake. Nevertheless, on the whole this  (via the Economist) seems to be good news:     Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith, the two American biologists who unravelled the first DNA sequence … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Dalai Lama, Marxist?

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

That a monk announces vaguely incoherent support for an millennial cult shouldn’t be much of a surprise, but these remarks by the Dalai Lama seem to have caused some annoyance:     NEW YORK (AFP)— Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Are There Enough Jews on the Supreme Court?

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Bradlaugh

There has been some muted comment about the religious composition of the U.S. Supreme Court after a Kagan approval: 6 Catholics, 3 Jews. Is this enough Jews, though?  Let’s crunch numbers. First permit me to switch from religion to self-identifying … Continue reading →

Posted in law, politics | 41 Comments

Mumbo Jumbo Medicine, Taxpayer-Paid

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Via the Daily Telegraph: Hundreds of members of the BMA [The British equivalent of the AMA] have passed a motion denouncing the use of [homeopathy], saying taxpayers should not foot the bill for remedies with no scientific basis to support … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Atheists are “vincibly ignorant”

Posted on May 13, 2010 by David Hume

Joe Carter at First Things, The Vincible Ignorance of Atheism: Even as a fervent believer I can acknowledge that skepticism and atheism can be inspired by the reasons Hart lists. But I fail to understand how that makes them noble, … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Science & Faith | Tagged | 39 Comments