The View from Number 80

AB ABSURDO

Number 80 Home Page 80's Recommended Reading

Links from Number 80

Backwards Glances Index 2005 part 2

A word of warning - owing to the Weekly Glance's attempted topicality some of the links below may be even more ephemeral than usual. (Tip - a search for cached versions of missing sites is often productive using either Google or The Internet Archive Way Back Machine.)

February 15th 2005 Money Well Spent

February 16th 2005 Election Strategy

February 18th 2005 Phobias for All

February 20th 2005 Seeds of Disaster

February 22nd 2005 By Human Hand

February 24th 2005 Trickier Than Dick

February 26th 2005 Sleazy as ABC

February 28th 2005 Other Voices

March 1st 2005 Soft Target

March 4th 2005 The Other PC

March 5th 2005 Darfur Hell

March 6th 2005 A Happy Atheist

March 8th 2005 No Thanks

March 10th 2005 Lunar Smarts

March 12th 2005 Rites versus Rights

March 15th 2005 Penta Gone?

March 18th 2005 Meddling Priests

March 20th 2005 Impious Imax Implications

March 23rd 2005 Rant for the Day

March 25th 2005 Faith Works?

March 27th 2005 Still a Sham

March 29th 2005 Georgie's Angels!

March 31st 2005 Narconon is Scientology

Money Well Spent - the months of January and February tend to be the time of the year for the renewal of various subscriptions, whether for a magazine, club or society. 80 recently reviewed various outgoings of this nature, with a view to the prudent reduction of expenditure. Two computer magazine subscriptions bit the dust, but few other savings were possible. In 80's view certain things are value for money and, if humanly possible, no New Year's resolution belt-tightening can be allowed to intervene. New Scientist, Analog, British Interplanetary Society, Skeptical Inquirer, are indispensable. As is membership of the Association for Skeptical Enquiry (ASKE), a skeptical organisation based in the UK. The aims and principles of ASKE include "the application of rational, objective and scientific methods to the investigation and understanding of ideas, claims and practices, especially those of an extraordinary or paranormal nature." and, importantly "ASKE opposes the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of science for purposes which deceive the public." Given this, ASKE also "accepts the rights of individuals to choose for themselves their beliefs about the world." If all this sounds very serious it is, but ASKE also offers a most wonderful service that could save you a packet - Free Psychic & Pseudoscientific Services - before you ask say, Colin Fry, or anyone else who makes a living from your money and their "psychic powers", er, ask ASKE. There are two publications, firstly The Skeptical Adversaria, described as "..ASKE's quarterly newsletter that never seems to appear quarterly. In fact the Loch Ness monster has been seen more often." That is a little unfair - informal newsletter is more accurate, and members are invited to contribute (as 80 has done, and intends to do again). The other publication is more serious in tone and is called Skeptical Intelligencer. In this you will find articles of a high quality that easily equal those in other, better known, publications. The latest issue, devoted to Pseudo-History, Pseudo Anthropology, Pseudo-Archaeology and Pseudo-Palaeontology, is outstanding. Lee L Keener takes a devastating (and well-referenced) swipe at Egyptian pseudo-history, which, if you look in your local bookstore, has become quite an industry with glossy and ill-researched tomes from the likes of Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval. Oddly enough, Mr Hancock's name crops up again in Spin Doctoring History by John (Hall of Maat) Wall. Most of us have heard more than enough about Christian Creationism but Michael (Antiquity of Man) Brass enlightens us on the equally implausible Hindu version. The Newport Tower, variously claimed to be a 17th century windmill, Viking, watch-tower, a church and subject of much, in 80's view, unhinged speculation, comes under the scrutiny of Doug Weller. This is the same Doug Weller whose Archaeology Site, linked in the left margin of 80's home page, is an essential stop off for archaeological information, genuine and pseudo. Mark Newbrook has featured before in 80's pages, not least for bringing a welcome breath of fresh air and linguistic insight to the reviews of fringe history and archaeology books at Amazon.com. In the latest Intelligencer he looks at a vast range of pseudo-historical claims which are underpinned by questionable (to say the least) historical linguistics. Here you will find colorful claims (Hungarian as the ultimate ancestor language) and colorful individuals (Ior Bock the Finnish sperm-drinker). Newbrook, along with Sarah Thomason also reviews a very odd book, "The History of England Revealed". For instance, did you know that modern English "..has been in existence since ancient times and is in fact the ancestor of most modern western european languages?" Thought not. If the above sounds interesting there's more where that came from - just ASKE. (although 80 is a member of ASKE all views expressed on this site are 80's fault alone)

February 16th 2005

Election Strategy - disguised as legislation? It looks like Britain is to be saddled with unecessary legislation in the form of religious hatred measures within the Serious Organised Crime Bill. Despite the concern of many people for the freedom of speech, the government won the day. As this BBC report tells us, only a minor concession was made on the wording, "which will change the proposed offence of causing "racial or religious hatred" to "hatred against persons on racial or religious grounds"." This will not make much difference to the more zealous religionists, mainly Muslim, who seem to believe the bill will enable the prosecution of those they fancy have insulted and offended them. They may be in for a surprise and find themselves on the wrong end of the legislation in their turn. Deciding matters of religion in court, which is what will ensue, is utterly ridiculous. The example of what has happened in Australia is hardly encouraging. Just for the record, 80 tolerates religion but has zero respect for such unsubstantiated supernatural beliefs. In common with author Arthur C Clarke, 80 considers religion to be a "disease of infancy" and it is high time we all grew up. Religionists are welcome to their supernatural view of the world but they must not be permitted to enshrine it in law. Actor Rowan Atkinson has it right when he says "This is undoubtedly a politically motivated move on the government's part because they think it will give them some advantage among certain religious groups in the imminent general election." In 80's view, and a far from solitary one, is that this is a cynical attempt by the Labour government to court the Muslim vote, after the reaction against the invasion and occupation of Iraq. What subsequent governments will do with the weapon Labour has handed them, 80 shudders to think. Someone who understands well the importance of free expression is author Salman Rushdie, who is still under an Iranian murder threat, dressed up as a religious edict (see Murderous Rhetoric). Read his "Defend the right to be offended" at Open Democracy, where he states "The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible."

Biter Bit - 80 was amused to read of a cock-up by Microsoft over the name of its new European venture, EuroScience. Bill Gate's outfit is well-known for the heavy-handed policing of its own name, remember the MikeRoweSoft affair? Whichever bright spark thought up the "new" name should have checked if anyone else was using it, by typing it into say, MSN Search, and pressing enter - here try it. Easy eh? (Compare the results to Google, which shows a little less Microsoft bias in the results.) Maybe such a check as this was too trivial for the arrogant software giant. The last word belongs to Jean Patrick Connerade, president of Euroscience, an association founded in 1997, "Mr Gates does not approve of software piracy, so I am sure he does not intend to steal our name." More of Connerade's remarks are here.

Too Inclusive? - it is generally considered a good thing for a country to be "inclusive", but this can be overdone to the point where ideas and institutions actually damaging to society are embraced. Canada is, in 80's opinion, in general, a fine example of a modern liberal democracy but a couple of recent developments are more than a little worrying. The first is the suggestion that Islamic shariah law be introduced for certain cases (see What a Revoltin' Development). This seems to be a classic case of me-tooism by some particularly vocal Muslims in Canada, who point to existing religious courts where Jews are allowed to settle civil cases. The answer is not to introduce even a limited version of shariah, but to close the Jewish courts so that the whole population is on a level legal playing field. The second cause for great concern is Mount Royal College's embrace of sCAM* as reported with almost breathless excitement in the Calgary Herald, "Calgary is poised to become the national leader in research and training in the field of complementary and alternative medicine." with the establishment of a new center. Therapies mentioned are acupuncture, energy healing, yoga and aromatherapy. As 80 has pointed out before there is no such thing as "complementary and alternative medicine", there is medicine that can be shown by dint of scientific tests to work, and there is nonsense. Whether the writer, Mario Toneguzzi, has been carried away by enthusiasm is not known, but it is to be hoped that the new center is not for "advancing complementary and alternative health" but for rigorous testing of any claims of efficacy. Enough "advancing" is already done by practitioners, they need no government-funded help. Pat Trottier, Integrative Health Institute chairwoman at Mount Royal, is at least quoted as saying "....here is a growing demand and need for quality, trustworthy evidence-based information around complementary and alternative health." but then cites the public demand for sCAM as a prime motivator. The efficacy of a medicine or therapy is not decided by a popularity contest, this is the same daft argument advanced by Charles Windsor in Britain, and it makes no more sense in a Canadian context. By all means test sCAM with the same rigor as any other medical treatment. That which is proven effective is not complementary, not alternative, it is medicine - anything else is not, no matter how many of the population think so. Proper testing is also vital to find out how dangerous some of these treatments are alone, and most importantly, in combination with prescribed drugs. Patients often don't tell their doctor of herbal or other treatments they are taking, which may lead to a bad interaction with what the doctor is prescribing. A survey quoted in the Calgary Herald piece reckons Canadians spend an astounding $1.8 billion annually on sCAM which is a very good reason for scrupulous testing of efficay and interactions, but definitely not an excuse for advancement. An inclusive society must exercise judgement to avoid including that which is harmful or useless.

February 18th 2005

Phobias For All - Here is a good piece by Sunny Hundal, editor of Asians In Media, commenting on how there seems to be a competition between various religions as to which can be the most outraged, complaining that their particular faith has been singled out for insensitive treatment. This is certainly the case with Christian Voice, whose national director, Stephen Green, when whining about Jerry Springer - The Opera said "...The BBC would not have done this if it had been Muslims or Sikhs, but because we are Christians we are fair game." Hundal provides examples of followers of other faiths using the same argument, who by doing so in fact render that argument meaningless. Hundal's observation below is spot on so long as the British institutions to which he refers include the Blair government, which could hardly be more accommodating to unrepresentative religionists. "The worry is that in the desire to be politically correct, British institutions end up listening only to highly vocal and organised religious groups. There is a tendency to assume they represent everyone in their respective communities." In this climate of complaint 80 would like to add his 2 cents worth and point how offensive to his beliefs are religious TV and radio programming, more so if state (taxpayer) funded. Equally offensive is the smug certainty of religionists that they occupy some kind of moral high ground. For example, the Bible and the Quran are packed with bigotry, hatred and incitements to violence, so to reach that high ground they have to do some judicious cherry-picking to find much that is ethically sound. 80 is offended by the British Association for the Advancement of Science's consultation exercise, the Grosseteste Dialogues in which "Inter-faith groups will discuss issues arising from science in society. From these discussions, religious leaders will gain knowledge of science, while practising scientists will be able to discuss the ethical issues arising from their work with members of the public." Apparently the humanist or atheist's concern over ethical issues is unimportant. Why have they not been asked to contribute? This is discrimination in favor of people of faith over people of none. Perhaps outraged atheists could riot outside the venues where the Dialogues are being held and cause the meetings to be closed on the grounds of public safety - after all it worked for the Sikhs in Birmingham. Too much is made of the outraged feelings of offended religionists while the feelings of the godless are ignored. Never mind Islamophobia and Christianophobia - what about Atheistophobia? If religionists can make up some cod pseudopsychological term then so can the godless.

Who Said That? - and who were they referring to? "One has to worry about weapons of that power in the hands of leadership of that nature, I don't think that anyone would characterize the leadership in that country as being restrained." Chirac on Bush? Perhaps Gerhard Schroeder on Bush? No, it was Donald Rumsfeld, referring to North Korea and its Beloved Leader. If you remember, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, along with Iran and Iraq formed the infamous Axis of Evil. Rumsfeld was referring to North Korea's nuclear weapons program, something it has in common with Iran. Iraq was the odd one out in the Axis - it had no nukes program - and was invaded. What lesson do you imagine the leaders of Korea and Iran, (and any other "rogue state" in the making) learned from that? But where would such a rogue state, keen to join the nuclear club and avoid the imposition of "freedom" from the US, obtain such sensitive technology? Why, from our partner in the "War on Terror", Pakistan, a country run by a military dictator, who overthrew a democratically elected government. This is the same dictator who pardoned that one man nuclear proliferation industry, A Q Khan, who, on his own admission, sold nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea . If any of this makes sense to you, you must either work for the Bush administration or be in need of psychiatric help.

Deya Demand - here is a letter from the Nigerian Humanist Movement written by Executive Secretary Leo Igwe and published in the Kenya Times calling for the deportation of so-called Archbishop Gilbert Deya from the UK to answer charges of baby trafficking in Kenya, in what has been called the Miracle Babies affair. For more on this extraordinary and long-running story involving miracles, curses, threats, lies and evasion see here. (item courtesy of Humanist Network News)

February 20th 2005

Seeds of Disaster - what do the Prince of Wales, son of Star Wars, endangered species and creationism have in common? They are all connected with a trend toward treating the knowledge gained from scientific research as little more than opinion, opinion that can be spun or ignored as necessary. Charles Windsor has won a victory in his push to have his favorite "complementary therapies" funded by the taxpayer. His Foundation for Integrated Health has produced a booklet, partly paid for with tax money, its first guide for patients on how to seek such treatments from the state service, private practitioners or charities. No matter that in a review of sCAM* published in the Guardian today by Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, the scientific medical evidence for efficacy was conspicuous by its absence. The only things in its favor are the endorsements of celebrities such as Madonna and Cherie Blair, who may well shine in their own fields, but should not be taken as authorities on healthcare, and a certain popularity with the public. As 80 has mentioned before, effective medicine is not chosen by a popularity contest. The Guardian quotes a wonderful understatement by Michael Fox, chief executive of the foundation, who "conceded the guide was not an analysis of the evidence base for complementary approaches, but hoped it was "easy-to-read and useful. There are six million people using complementary healthcare at the moment. Yes, we would want to understand more about what works and doesn't work, but if we are already receiving healthcare from a complementary practioner we want to see the care we receive properly regulated." Never mind whether any of this twaddle actually works, just so long as his booklet is "easy-to-read". This is stupidity of a monumental nature - and stupidity that should not be publicly funded. (If Windsor is so keen, he is more than rich enough to fund it out of the 300 per cent increase on his 1993 income from his fiefdom in Cornwall. It is doubly disgusting that taxpayer's money is spent on his sCAM hobbyhorse while his lucrative Duchy of Cornwall business pays no corporation or capital gains taxes.) Despite another test failure, the Bush administration still seems determined to deploy its missile defense system - the Washington Post (reg rqd) quotes David Wright, of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), stating that "...the program is being pushed ahead for political reasons regardless of its capability." Never mind whether it works, let's roll it out and let the taxpayer foot the bill, a sentiment no doubt well understood by Charles Windsor. Talking of the UCS, it was they who highlighted multiple cases of scientific abuse by the Bush administration. One world-renowned ecologist at University of Washington, Robert Paine said his advisory panel on endangered salmon and trout were effectively told "...to strip out specific scientific recommendations or see our report end up in a drawer." As for creationism (and its Intelligent Design offspring) now being pushed in American schools by those who are unable or unwilling to understand the concept of evolution, this requires huge amounts of verified findings in biology and geology to be ignored (creationists cannot refute the evidence) and replaced by Judaeo-Christian mythology. This new relativism where wishful-thinking meets and embraces nonsense and mumbo-jumbo is exceedingly dangerous. It is is difficult not to see this trend as an unthinking lurch toward a new dark age. To quote Richard Dawkins, "By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out."

Hail To the Chief - most folk in the US, including George Bush, think the War on Terror solely applies to Islamic jihadists and yet the US produces plenty of its own armed and dangerous nutters, including individuals like the late Timothy McVey and countless white supremacist gangs. (There is something wonderfully ironic about a violent clod with an IQ smaller than his shoe size being described as a supremacist of any sort.) One group that claims to have eschewed the use of violence and supremacist notions is the Republic of Texas, whose new leader, one Daniel Miller, told the New York Times (reg rqd) "We are not extremists, we simply believe we were illegally occupied by the United States in the 1800's." The group, involved in the past with hostage-taking and an ensuing siege, is now bidding for some kind of respectability. They have set themselves up in the small, quiet town of Overton, converted an old hospital into their Capitol and are busy issuing their own coinage and passports. This story is in many ways unremarkable but the local police chief, Edward J. Williams sounds like a wise man, blessed with a priceless native wit, a wit which caused 80 to choke on his breakfast. In common with others in the town the Chief is keeping a wary eye on these Texas Republicans and, following a violent incident involving two group members and a beer bottle, Chief Williams had this to say "I normally wouldn't be alarmed by a few boys getting into a fisticuffs thing, but this is a group with a violent past in parts of Texas. However ludicrous their beliefs might sound to you and me, we can't forget that Jim Jones got a bunch of folks to drink Kool-Aid with him down in Guyana. You could shave one side of your head and have a loyal following around here by nightfall."

February 22nd 2005

By Human Hand - whether religionists claim divine guidance or not, all morality is in fact the product of human thought. The claim that the farrago of violence and prejudice that constitutes a large part of, say, the Bible or Quran is divinely inspired or even the direct word of a deity is patently absurd. Even if it were true it would mean that God has many of the same defects as his creations, such as anger, jealousy, bigotry and cruelty, although perhaps this should not be too surprising as we are supposedly made in his image. Despite this, religionists are always ready to claim the high moral ground, even though the majority of them are just as fallible as those unencumbered by supernatural beliefs. The myth that religion and morality are entwined is perpetuated in a new British TV show on the ten commandments. Jon Snow, the Channel 4 news presenter is fronting the program on the relevance to the modern world of these Iron Age laws. This article in the Daily Telegraph seems much more interested in the sideshow distraction of Snow accusing Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, of "running scared" for declining to contribute to the debate. However, this is a trivial issue compared to just exactly who else has been, or not been invited - we are told the show "....incorporates contributions from all of the major faith groups in the UK...". Now a properly convened debate should be balanced in nature, otherwise the exercise is meaningless, so where are the atheists and the humanists? It seems that Snow, the son of a Church of England bishop, does not consider them worth consulting - and yet indirectly their presence will still be felt. As background to the debate, researchers polled 65,000 people and came up with a list of 20 new commandments. These were greeted by Dr Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi as being "...very good indeed. They show that we still, as a society, have a strong moral sense, and the new entries are sound, sane and serious." This is particularly interesting in light of another survey that demonstrates Britain is among the most secular nations in the world - which means that if the 65,000 people polled for the show are in any way representative of the general population - which they should be, or the poll is worthless - a large, even major part of these new commandments represent the views of those who follow no religion. The unbelievers may not have been invited to the debate, but they are still there, a godless spectre at the religious feast.

February 24th 2005

Trickier Than Dick - it is old news that the Bush administration pays so-called independent commentators for their "impartial" coverage, but to create a fake journalist from scratch is something else again. It appears that a reporter, Jeff Gannon, Washington bureau chief of Talon News, and a regular at White House press briefings, isn't Jeff Gannon and isn't a reporter. This may go some way to explain the handy way a question from Gannon has helped a White House spokesman out of a tight spot on more than one occasion. Gannon, who memorably wrote that John Kerry may be America's first gay president, is in fact one James Guckert, star of gay escort websites according to the Washington Post (reg rqd). This makes him an unusual choice, to say the least, for the post of bureau chief of Talon News "your source for unbiased news coverage and no-spin reporting", and the wholly-owned subsidiary of a group of Texas Republicans. It seems his press credential application to Congress was refused but the Bush White House is a lot less picky. Maureen Dowd, writing in the New York Times (reg rqd), is more than a little miffed that, while she has failed to have her White House press pass renewed, Guckert could gain access under his real name and then ask questions using his Gannon alias - questions that may as well have been scripted by the administration. This paragraph, from Sidney Blumenthal writing in the Guardian, sums things up succinctly, "Thus a phony journalist, planted by a Republican organisation, used by the White House press secretary to interrupt questions from the press corps, protected from FBI vetting by the press office, disseminating smears about its critics and opponents, some of them gay-baiting, was unmasked not only as a hireling and fraud but as a gay prostitute, with enormous potential for blackmail." The last word is with Dowd, "Even the Nixon White House didn't do anything this creepy."

Update - to the above, look here for a blustering, inept defense (of sorts) of Gannon/Guckert by an obviously warm and understanding human being called David Thibault. Thibault reveals his qualities in this quote, with his considered and empathic understanding of what it is like to be gay, "Homosexuality, at its core, is about narcissism and self-loathing." In 80's admittedly limited understanding narcissism is self-loving, which sits oddly with self-loathing, but perhaps Thibault is the expert here. For the latest on this intriguing story check in at Americablog . Scroll down when you get there.

Guckertgate - for a good background piece on the Gannon/Guckert affair (see above) read Paul Harris, writing for the The Observer. In "The mole, the US media and a White House coup" he not only summarizes the story so far but also examines the present sorry state of America's mainstream media, which. "... is in the midst of a transformation which the Bush administration is keen to foster. They have discovered that a partisan and atomised media can be controlled, manipulated and used to an unprecedented degree."

February 26th 2005

Sleazy as ABC - when is a documentary not a documentary? When it is ABC's Primetime Live on so-called psychic surgeon John of God. When is a show totally unbalanced in its coverage? When it is ABC's Primetime Live, which cut James Randi's skeptical contribution to just 19 seconds. When is a show little more than an ad for a dangerous and unscrupulous quack? When it is ABC's Primetime Live, which is more concerned with ratings than even an attempt at accurate reporting. (The sad thing is that this kind of uncritical trash pulls in the marks.) Read Randi's commentary here about the whole sorry story, reflecting his anger, frustration and great sadness at this cruel and dangerous con, which is all John of God's antics are. (see this credulous website for a starry-eyed tribute to his "abilities") For those of you who smugly think that such deceptive practices are confined to countries such as Brazil or the Philippines, be aware that these charlatans crop up all over the place. Tony Youens, on his commentary page, has plenty to say about these creeps, and reveals that a "bare hand surgeon" (in 80's view bare-faced liar would be more accurate) will be visiting the UK in July for a lecture. It is described here, by this "surgeon's" confederate, as a "must to attend if you have ever been interested in natural healing, spirits or channelling." ....and if you are prepared to spend money on this unmitigated crap. It is cruel and unethical to bring false hope to those suffering from serious, sometimes incurable medical conditions - those that profit from these practices are beneath contempt. (A look at this page from the Skeptic's Dictionary reveals how depressingly widespread psychic surgery is in our enlightened times.)

“Primetime Live” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Featuring John Quiqones’ travels to Brazil to meet “John of God,” the man some claim is the most powerful spiritual healer since Jesus, ABC News’ “Primetime Live” equaled its second-best performance of the season in both Total Viewers (8.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7).

Satanic Silliness - of the myriad troubles afflicting the world where does satanism figure in the list of priorities? You would think that there are enough real horrors without clinging to the bogeymen of the past but Rome's Pontifical Academy, the Vatican's university, is launching a new course on satanism, exorcism and black magic. After a moment's reflection this is not as weird as it sounds - if you believe in a supernatural god, miracles, transubstantiation and all the other baggage of the Catholic faith you must also believe that the other, dark side of religion exists, such as satanism. Once this is accepted then the rest follows, such as possession by demons and its cure, exorcism. After all, Jesus performed such tricks in the Gospel fables, famously driving a demon (an unclean spirit) from its victim and then, unfairly in 80's view, sending said demon into a herd of swine which then ran over a cliff. (This must have been quite a spectacular sight and costly to the pigs' owner. It is little wonder the local inhabitants asked Jesus to move on. Whether he had liability insurance we are not told, but technically speaking I suppose it was an "act of God" and not covered). In a nod to reality Father Giulio Savoldi, Milan's exorcist, told the BBC, "Those studying to become exorcists should also study psychology and know how to distinguish between a mental illness and a possession." How he can tell whether the voices in some poor sufferer's head are caused by a chemical imbalance, a genetic predisposition of some sort or a demon is not explored. Now 80 is no expert but to tell someone with schizophrenia that they have the devil in their head is surely cruel and very likely useless. It must be something in the air but coincidentally, in the UK, Channel 4 will be featuring an exorcism by an Anglican priest, proving one thing at least, this superstitious nonsense is not confined to the Roman Catholic church. According to this piece in the Times the ritual will be performed on a "...young man who claims he is possessed by evil.." whose brain activity will be monitored to see what effect, if any, the exorcism produces. 80 may be an old cynic but it sounds like this show is more about ratings than any kind of scientific inquiry, although naturally Channel 4 claims otherwise. What will surprise many viewers is that, according to Rev Tom Willis, who has carried out exorcisms for 35 years, every diocese in Britain has priests able to perform exorcisms. How these people are supervised is not mentioned - or whether exorcism cases are followed up to see whether such "cures" are permanent or, as seems likely, ineffectual or even harmful. Proper research is needed to see if such primitive practices should be permitted to continue - and wiring up some poor deluded sod in a one-off TV show is not the way to go about it.

February 28th 2005

Other Voices - talking about Christian Voice, firstly in The Scotsman (you may need to register) from a spokesperson at Maggie's Centres, who manages to get to the truth about Christian Voice, "This isn’t about us. They [Christian Voice] are seeking to publicise their activities by this initiative. We have no affiliations to any religious group and we have no link to Christian Voice." Also Jonathan Bartley from the Christian thinktank Ekklesia had this to say "It is a terrible irony that campaigners against blasphemy have distorted the Christian message through their actions in this way. Whatever your views about 'Jerry Springer: The Opera', this is not the way to go about making your case. Christian Voice claim to be defending the Jesus portrayed in the gospels. But that Jesus emphasised compassion over religiosity." Somehow 80 cannot picture Green losing much sleep over this - he has got his headlines.

Lowdown - on these self-appointed guardians of public morals. For some interesting background information on Green and Christian Voice take a look here - it seems they are even more unsavory than 80 had realised. Green was at one time chairman of the homophobic Conservative Family Campaign and wrote a book, The Sexual Dead End, Broadway Books, 1992 which, according to this page (scroll down to the UK section) claimed that "one in five gay men regularly have sex with live gerbils". 80 would like to see a copy of this for the light it throws on Green's earlier interests and thought processes (if any).

Green, Fried - 80 couldn't resist this snippet from Pendennis in the Guardian that appeared in January "Let's hope the po-faced lobby group, Christian Voice, will not be employing its high priest, Stephen Green, to argue its case if its Jerry Springer-inspired blasphemy action against the BBC makes it to court. If so, it will have to pray very hard Green has more success than the last time he used his powers of advocacy. Speaking at the Cambridge Union a decade ago, in a debate about the age of consent for homosexuals (no prizes for which side he was on), Green was roundly humiliated by Stephen Fry. Even journalist Michael Bywater, who was supporting Green, was so appalled to have him as a bedfellow that at the end of his own speech he crossed the floor to 'join the faggots', as he put it." Priceless..

Update - to the item below. Green appeared on the BBC's Today show (February 23rd) to defend his bullying of cancer charity Maggie's Centres. He was effectively upstaged by David Soul, who played the part of Jerry Springer in the opera, who pointed out that cancer is not confined to Christians and Green's actions were in fact "strong arm" tactics. Green seemed perfectly comfortable with the fact that his "chat" with Maggie's Centres has resulted in the charity donation from the Springer show going elsewhere. You can catch the discussion here (aired at 08:20). It is an interesting lesson in how an unrepresentative group can grab national radio airtime by behaving like prigs. This may well backfire as the more attention that is directed toward Green and Christian Voice the more their true nature will be revealed - to their detriment. The British tend not to like fanatics, especially religious ones. (Note that the sum of money involved seems to have shrunk from £10,000 to £3,000 if the figures mentioned in the interview were correct, which confirms Green's quote below - not that this in any way excuses his conduct) Update - Green and Christian Voice were also the subject of a somewhat cursory piece on Thursday's Today show (February 24th aired at 07:51) in which Green seemed oddly coy about revealing the the number of members of his organization.

"Christians" Cut Cancer Cash - or the Parable of the Stopping of the Ten Thousand. Here is an unpleasant piece of news featuring Stephen Green and his unrepresentative but highly vocal pressure group, Christian Voice. This was the bunch you may remember that led the complaints over the BBC showing Jerry Springer - The Opera. Now they have used their malign influence to stop a cancer charity accepting £10,000 from a benefit performance of the show. Naturally no threats were involved, as Green told the Independent, "We did have a chat with the people at Maggie's but the decision to pull out was theirs alone. All I did was explain that if they carried on they would cause offence to Christians, who are known for being generous, and they would probably do far better to forgo the few thousand pounds they would get out of the performance." (note how £10,000 has become "the few thousand"). It would have been interesting to have a been a fly on the wall during that "chat" which threateningly pointed out that the charity, the Scottish-based Maggie's Centres, in accepting tainted money would offend Christians, the obvious implication being that they would withold donations. (Remember this is the bunch that published BBC staff's private telephone numbers on the internet and then were surprised that abusive and threatening calls were made.) On the Christian Voice website a statement from Green hypocritically gives credit to the charity for its refusal of the money and then adds, "I hope and pray that Maggie’s Centres will know the blessing of God in their efforts to raise funds for their London centre ......" Perhaps Green will make up any shortfall from his own pockets. As the UK general election looms closer we can expect to hear more of this group, and their bigoted, homophobic, intolerant and ignorant view of the world. A look at their website shows that they are little more than an offshoot of an American phenomenon, the unhealthy fusion of fundamentalism and right-wing politics, with little, if anything, original to say for themselves. The attempts to make their fire and brimstone remarks relevant to Britain are clumsy and unconvincing and make their transatlantic origins glaringly obvious. In the pluralist society of Britain today their clumsy mixture of rabble-rousing rhetoric and biblical quotes is no substitute for reasoned discussion and argument. This lack of tolerance is illustrated by these two quotes from a " Briefing Paper" on Diwali, the Hindu festival observed by many British citizens, "We believe that the powers behind the Hindu 'gods' are real and dangerous, and that celebrating Diwali can expose children to the demonic." Green's conclusion, for he is the author, is that "The Hindu religion is not of God but is a manifestation of Satan. Hindusim (sic) exalts created things and debases man to the level of a sacrificial victim. The social system based upon its teachings is oppressive and murderous." Divisive and offensive statements such as these show Christian Voice in its true light. (80 looked at Christian Voice and its unpleasant tactics in No Still, Small Voice and Non Vox Populi.)

March 1st 2005

Soft Target - now let's see, it has been a busy few months for the fundamentalist gang who call themselves Christian Voice. Having caused a fuss over two works of art which jarred their superstitions, and threatened a cancer charity in order to deprive it of a large donation, what to do next? Women who seek abortion do it for a number of reasons, but, whatever that reason is, it cannot ever be a decision taken lightly, and is the cause of much anguish, distress and heartache. This makes them a perfect soft target for Stephen Green and Christian Voice. 80 has noted before that he and his group are far from original, and ape the tactics of far-right fundamentalists in the USA, with whom they have obvious links. Whether this involves funding and ideas or is merely slavish copying is not known (yet). According to this article in the Times, Green and gang are planning to target patients and staff at abortion clinics. So women going through the emotional turmoil of a possible abortion, and medical staff trying to do their jobs are to be harrassed on the pavement by a bunch of ignorant, self-righteous bible-bashers. Green said "The taking of innocent blood brings judgment on our land and cries to Heaven for vengeance. The presence of abortion centres in our towns is iniquitous. They should be shut down. It would not take much: just a few prayer vigils outside clinics." No, it is Mr Green and his unpleasant and intimidating little gang of followers whose presence is iniquitous. We live in a multicultural and increasingly secular democracy, like it or not, and they have no right to try and impose their superstitions upon those that do not share them. As 80 wrote previously about Green's attempts to grab headlines, "This may well backfire as the more attention that is directed toward Green and Christian Voice the more their true nature will be revealed - to their detriment. The British tend not to like fanatics, especially religious ones." This process may well have started, with Labour MP John Cryer composing a written statement to the House of Commons calling for the Home Secretary to investigate Christian Voice. The Times article that carries this welcome news also speculates on possible links with violent anti-abortionists in the US. It is also the first report that 80 has seen that mentions the hate-filled references to other religions on Green's website, something that the BBC Today show missed. So far, all the attention is making this John the Baptist wannabe's head swell with pride, "Perhaps the Lord thinks I have got a certain gift. With all the hate mail I have been getting, I am obviously rattling Satan’s cage." To send hate mail to this person is counterproductive and sinks to his level. He certainly does not arouse feelings of hate in 80. Pity, contempt, disgust, sadness and revulsion perhaps, but not hate. Green should worry about the scrutiny he has now attracted and the spotlight that will be shone on his activities, past and present. Before harrassing people outside abortion clinics he and his gang should reflect upon these words, and upon his own arrogance, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her." (John 8:7)

Guess who crops up if you enter the phrase "ignorant bigots" into Google?

Narconon Outed - there is slow, dead slow and then there is the speed of a bureaucracy. In the San Francisco Chronicle on June 9th last year Nanette Asimov wrote about Narconon, an anti-drug program provided free to schools in the area. She revealed that Narconon was a front for the distinctly creepy Scientologists and that addiction experts described the medical theories taught as "irresponsible" and "pseudoscience". To anyone who has bothered to look into L Ron Hubbard's cobbled-together religion this is hardly news (see Hubbard's Minions). Schools in San Francisco and Los Angeles dropped their "services" after Asimov's report but they have continued to peddle their nonsense, cloaked by Narconon, elsewhere in the state. Until now. Asimov today reports that State Superintendent Jack O'Connell has told schools to ditch the anti-drug education program following a report which "...concluded that its curriculum offers inaccurate and unscientific information." Teachers have reported that Narconon representatives had told schoolkids "...that drug residues can be sweated out in saunas and that colored ooze is produced when drugs exit the body." You probably have to be on something to dream up stuff like that in the first place. Now that Narconon has been outed it will hopefully make teachers more wary of the kind of information outside organizations give to children and not just assume such information is accurate. It is not difficult to find out more about the side of Scientology that its proponents would rather hide - take a look at Operation Clambake and if anyone says that Scientology is harmless, ask them to look at this site, dedicated to Lisa McPherson. (Bonus link - a photo of L Ron Hubbard dianetically auditing a tomato. Also see 80 on Hubbard's Bare Cupboard.)

Gonzo Gone - For those of us that mourn the passing of Hunter S Thompson this page in the Guardian is full of links to stories and reminiscences including a piece by Ralph Steadman, Thompson's collaborator. Some of Steadman's drawings for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas can be seen here.

March 4th 2005

The Other PC - no, not political correctness, not even political correctness "gone mad" or "run amok", to echo the tired phrases used by some religious commentators. This time the initials stand for persecution complex. The large amount of airtime and newsprint devoted to religion reflects its influence as a source of discord, repression and violence, often triggered by delusions of persecution, which to this observer is on the increase (see Faith-Based News). This gloomy prognostication is confirmed by the "me-tooism" of some religionists who perceive that they are being persecuted more than others. An example of this is a preposterous book, published back in 2003, but typical of the current religious persecution complex, by David Limbaugh. It is called Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity. Let's get this straight - in a US where the president seems unable to open his mouth without mentioning the Almighty, where TV stations are fearful of showing even mildly controversial material for fear of a backlash from Christian groups, where polls show the US is an overwhelmingly religious society, and an overwhelmingly Christian one at that, and where school science is under constant attack by Christian fundamentalists, Limbaugh actually thinks they are being persecuted? What utter drivel - and drivel gladly taken up by this enthusiastic review, "Christians are increasingly being driven from public life, denied their First Amendment rights, and even actively discriminated against for their beliefs. In this relentless exposé of political correctness run amok, best-selling author David Limbaugh rips apart the liberal hypocrisy that condones selective mistreatment of Christians in the mainstream media, Hollywood, our schools and universities, and throughout our public life." These people are obviously living in the America of their persecution-ridden imaginations, divorced from anything approaching reality.These idiots should try being a Christian living in Pakistan or a Shiite (reg rqd) in Saudi Arabia, incidentally both allies in the "War on Terror". For a reasoned and far less adulatory assessment of Limbaugh's book see this from Tim Wise. Christian copycat persecution whining has now crossed the Atlantic, as anyone will know who has been following the increasingly sinister antics of those ignorant bigots, Christian Voice. 80, for one, has had a bellyfull of Stephen Green and his gang. To keep an eye on this bunch 80 recommends regular visits to mediawatchwatch.org.uk, which is doing a fine job of keeping tabs on these extremists and others, such as Operation Christian Vote (see 80's view of them here), the UK Life League, an anti-abortion group connected with Christian Voice, and lastly mediawatch-uk, which claims to provide "an independent voice for those concerned about issues of taste and decency in the media". Currently this site does not seem to be worth monitoring, as it is full of dead links and appears to be moribund - it is a pity the same does not apply to the others. (also see Phobias for All)

March 5th 2005

Darfur Hell - Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International, died the other day, and humanity lost one of its greatest champions. Originally begun as a one-year campaign, the Appeal for Amnesty, in 1961, it was something the world desperately needed, and so it grew into the organization it is today. At Amnesty's 25th anniversary Benenson referred to its symbol, a candle caught in barbed wire, "The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to prison, who were tortured, who were kidnapped, who ‘disappeared’. That is what the candle is for." Amnesty is now the world's largest human rights organization and is needed now as much as ever. If anyone doubts this, read Nicholas D Kristoff in the New York Times (reg rqd) on the murder, rape and pillage that is happening right now in the Darfur region of Sudan, aided and abetted by that country's government. Kristoff tells the story of a 28-year-old former Marine captain, Brian Steidle, one of three (yes, three) advisors to the African Union monitoring force in the area. "Every single day you go out to see another burned village, and more dead bodies, and the children - you see 6-month-old babies that have been shot, and 3-year-old kids with their faces smashed in with rifle butts. And you just have to stand there and write your reports." There has been enough quibbling over whether what is happening in Darfur should be called genocide or "serious human rights violations" - whatever the label, it should be stopped immediately. What is needed is not more discussion, hair-splitting and unenforced peace agreements, but armed intervention to stop the bloody murder and bring the Janjaweed militia killers and their government enablers to trial.

Harley's View - here is an interesting article, by Harley Sorenson, writing in the SF Chronicle on accountability in Bush's America. He covers various inttriguing topics including the Gannon/Guckert mess (also see Trickier Than Dick), "If the Clinton White House had allowed a twerp like James Guckert into its news conferences, using an alias, do you suppose Congress, like Atlas, would have merely shrugged? Of course not. But in spite of pleas by outraged Democrats, the Republicans in Congress are seeing to it that the Guckert-Gannon outrage is made to disappear from the public consciousness.", as well as Doug Wead's Bush tapes, and the singularly dodgy outfit called ChoicePoint, a personal information provider hired by Florida in 2000 to scour convicted felons from its voting rolls. They did a great job making 8,000 mistakes that removed mainly black and Hispanic (ie Gore) voters. Oops! Well that could be considered mild compared to their latest boo-boo, and Sorenson has the details. (More on ChoicePoint from Wired)

March 6th 2005

A Happy Atheist - earlier this year the San Francisco Chronicle's online manifestation, SFGate.com, began a new series of interviews by David Ian Miller called Finding My Religion. Regular readers will know that 80 thinks there is more than enough published on this subject already but this looked kind of interesting. In the wake of the Bush re-election, in which many saw a greatly increased role for religion, Miller wanted to talk to individuals, not churches or sects, about what they believe - as he puts it himself "Why not interview people one-on-one about their spiritual lives? I could pose the same questions to them that I had been asking myself over the last year -- questions about what they believed, and why. And so, this column, Finding My Religion, was born." In his usual helpful fashion 80 sent Miller an email, hoping to ensure that he covered not only belief, but also the lack of it, "The best of luck with your new series. I hope that your remit runs to talking to those who have no religion but still experience feelings that are spiritual. An atheist can be awed by the beauty and majesty of the cosmos and yet can be just as deeply moved by the smile of a baby or a random act of kindness by a stranger. Spirituality is not the sole preserve of the religious, and neither is morality. I do hope perhaps one of your pieces could reflect this." Sadly this was not answered, but then email can be an unreliable form of communication, so 80 read the columns, waiting for a sign. Several weeks went by featuring various characters like the guy whose "spiritual path led him to astrology" and the Lutheran that believes God "cares for each and every one of us", (one wonders, even in Darfur?) and even that rare and interesting beast, a left-wing evangelical Christian. Now this week Miller has found a guy who describes himself as a "happy atheist", who at one time studied for the priesthood. When asked how he became an atheist he had this to say, "It was a very gradual process -- a lot of reading and thinking and realizing. I remember praying at the age of 16 or 17 and starting to have the feeling that no one was home. It's kind of like you're talking on the phone, and there's no cord. You can talk all you want, but nobody's there. It took a few more years -- into my early 20s -- until I realized that my earlier feelings about there being somebody home had been optimistically delusional." Congratulations to Miller for what seems, certainly so far, a fair and balanced contribution to the discussion of personal beliefs - and the lack of them. On reflection though, it is a pity for just this one week he didn't call his column Losing My Religion. (Miller's interviews are archived here.)

What's an APOD ? - 80 recently heard a young digital music aficionado enthusing about his latest purchase, an Apple iPod, which he described, in somewhat dated slang, as far-out. The iPod may be many things, neat, innovative, trendy, cool, a design icon maybe, but it is not far-out. If you want far-out, APOD beats an iPod hands down, every time. And what, you may well inquire, is an APOD? An iPod will store and play your music but APOD will take you out to play amongst the planets, stars and galaxies, and, to use some more dated slang, will blow your mind. APOD is the acronym for Astronomy Picture of the Day, a huge free indexed and archived set of images of our Universe, with a new picture (click to magnify) each and every day, maintained by NASA. Here you will find exquisite Hubble images of deep space, of galaxies galore, and closer to home, of our backyard, the Solar System with our own blue planet Earth. Some recent striking images include a mindboggling animation, assembled from satellite images of an Antarctic iceberg, the size of Long Island, breaking free and drifting in the Ross Sea, Cassini images of Saturn's aurora, an electric-blue, charged particle-induced halo encircling the ringed planet's magnetic poles, NGC 6946, nicknamed the fireworks galaxy, undergoing a huge burst of star formation of unknown origin, a doomed star, Eta Carinae, a 100 time more massive than the Sun, and even a UFO, a mysterious streak of light captured in this animation formed from images taken from the peak of an active volcano in Hawaii. Last in this short list taken from the archive is the The Hubble Ultra Deep Field. This is what what you get if you train the Space Telescope for nearly 3 months at a relatively blank patch of sky. Before you is a field of galaxies of all shapes, colors and sizes, including some the earliest that formed nearly 13 billion years ago, when the Universe was young. Now that is far-out.

March 8th 2005

No Thanks - here is a good article by Mona Eltahawy, writing on the Muslim Wakeup site following the court decision that Shabina Begum, a 16-year-old Muslim schoolgirl from Luton, England may wear a near all-enveloping item of clothing called a jilbab. This has been hailed by some as a victory for religious freedom, not realizing there are many differing standards of dress for Muslims and the reasons for these are cultural rather than religious. Begum's school, whose pupils are overwhelmingly Muslim, has a code of dress reached in agreement with "pupils, parents, schools and leading Muslim organizations." Eltahawy's piece represents a more moderate and rational point of view compared to Begum's, who would seem to have been influenced in her "stand" by a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an extremist group, which says that it has been "explaining Islamic values" to her. Or to be more accurate, the group's particular fundamentalist values, not necessarily shared by others of their faith. To quote Mona Eltahawy, "My response to Shabina is thanks but no thanks. I wore the hijab for nine years from the age of 16 to 25 and do not feel my identity lies in a piece of cloth. I gain my hope and strength by sharing the excitement of ambitious young Muslim women like my sister Noora who loves her university studies. Noora wears the hijab but she knows that it is what is in her head, not what is on it that is more important." (Further to the idea of possible outside influences on Shabina Begum, 80 has had this interesting information brought to his attention - thanks once again, Simon. Here, from a transcription of the judgement against the Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School, is an illuminating quote from paragraph 15. "At the start of the new school year in September 2002 she attended the School dressed in a jilbab. She was accompanied by her brother and another young man. They saw the assistant headteacher, Mr Moore, who told her to go away and change into proper school uniform. He felt that the young men were being unreasonable and threatening. The three then went away, with the young men saying that they were not prepared to compromise on this issue. (80's emphasis)" So the two young men, Shabina Begum's brother and the other, presumably the above-mentioned representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir, were "not prepared to compromise on this issue." How very steadfast of them, they no doubt set a stirring example to the young schoolgirl. Naturally this masculine obduracy must not be seen at all as influencing the young woman's pursuit of her case, although perhaps she is being a little unfair for not sharing the credit with them for giving " hope and strength to other Muslim women.")

Quote - in the Times, from Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Bar on the Shabina Begum case (see below) "Hizb ut-Tahrir targeted the school, they grandstanded this case, they are trying to pick a fight . . . social services should have looked at this case. A 13-year-old girl does not make statements and decisions like that on her own."

March 10th 2005

Lunar Smarts - one of the more moronic conspiracy theories, and there are plenty around to choose from, is the Apollo Moon Landing Hoax nonsense. Not only does it fail to withstand even the slightest scrutiny, it is offensive to those who planned and executed those amazing missions. Some unscrupulous "news" outlets in the usual chase after ratings are happy to repeat the gormless non-arguments of the hoax crowd - a while back 80 looked at the Fox networks contribution - see Faker Fox. Space.com have a piece on the European spacecraft, Smart-1, now orbiting the Moon, which mentions that the cameras aboard will be capable of imaging Apollo landing sites, where the scars left by the Lunar Module ascent stage engine should be clearly visible. The author, Leonard David, muses that such pictures "might put to rest conspiratorial thoughts that U.S. astronauts didn’t go the distance and scuff up the lunar landscape." They will not - the kind of nutters that espouse idiotic conspiracy theories of this type are immune to evidence or logic. If they can believe the original landings were faked then any images from Smart-1 could be faked as well. Quite why anyone could be bothered to mount such a deception is beyond 80, but the hoax lunatics are sure to dream something up. The whole thing is such unbelievable tosh that adding additional layers of nonsense will not trouble them in the least. For anyone other than these dummkopfs this site, panorama.dk, has some stunning fullscreen 360° panoramas constructed from original Apollo images. These can be slow to download depending on your connection, but are definitely worth the wait. (For a good, detailed response to the hoax dolts take a look at Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy)

March 12th 2005

Rites versus Rights - Abraham, assuming that he actually existed, must have been a pretty unpleasant character. Most societies today would take a dim view of a man prepared to murder his own son at the prompting of a supernatural being, and yet this person is assumed by believers to be the shared source of three of the world's major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Apart from homicidal intentions toward his own son (which today we would view as mental illness) he must have been a something of a misogynist for whenever one of "his" religions rediscovers its fundamental side the first target is women, and most particularly women's reproductive freedom. This is illustrated by a couple of items from the Guardian, one global in reach and the other small scale, but equally representative in their attitude to women. The first article is by Mary-Ann Stephenson and looks at the Bush administration's continuous efforts to push its anti-abortion and anti-birth control agenda worldwide. This is part of an unbelievably hypocritical strategy to treat women as baby machines. The idiocy goes like this, cut actual sex education but promote abstinence (backed by inaccurate statistics and misinformation), which will lead to a generation ignorant of the risk of pregnancy (or sexually transmitted diseases), a generation who are denied access to birth control including the "morning after" pill and denied the possibility of an abortion. It is little more than a religiously-motivated attack on women's rights. So determined are these followers of abrahamic religions that they are even prepared to cooperate on this campaign in ways not seen in any other sphere. Stephenson quotes former Amnesty International head Pierre Sane on an early manifestation of this malign influence at a conference in 2000 in Beijing on women's equality and human rights when he referred to "...the unholy alliance formed by the Holy See, Iran, Algeria, Nicaragua, Syria, Libya, Morocco and Pakistan (that) has attempted to hold for ransom women's human rights at UN conferences". Strange bedfellows indeed, united only by a misogynist agenda. Note the Holy See among this cabal, for it pops up again in the other Guardian news item. Every year in Britain there is a huge fundraising charity drive based around comedy, called Red Nose Day. TV personalities, comedians, actors, schools and many other organizations compete with each other in dressing up and doing crazy stunts. The symbol of this excellent campaign is the clownish Red Nose worn by participants. Schools in particular have a great time while raising much needed charity funds. Thanks to the Roman Catholic church three schools in south Wales will not be joining in because "...church leaders claim money raised by Comic Relief will be used to fund abortions". Money can be still be raised but only to benefit Catholic charities. Father Michael Burke, spokesman for the diocese said that "We have advised the schools not to raise money for Comic Relief this year simply because in the past money raised has gone to agencies supporting abortion." Burke cannot prove this and his claim would seem to be refuted by a statement from Comic Relief "In 2000 we opened dialogue with the Catholic bishops of England and Wales to help communicate the facts. They issued a statement confirming that after careful examination of our records, they were satisfied with Comic Relief's assurance that we do not fund and have never funded abortion services or the promotion of abortions." This is evidently not enough for the Catholic killjoys even though "Over the last 17 years, the organisation (Comic Relief) has collected more than £250m from eight red nose days." So, from a global scale, right down to the Welsh valleys, the war on women's reproductive freedom is being waged by these self-righteous sons of Abraham as never before. (It has been pointed out to 80 that the Attorney General of Kansas, Phill Kline's sordid little fishing expedition through women's medical records, not just any records, but those involving late term abortions is part of the same patriarchal pattern. It seems that violating the privacy of women patients who have gone through such a traumatic experience is part of this nasty little man's job - or so he says. Father Abraham would be proud of him. For a look at Islam's treatment of women, read Maryam Namazie's powerful piece on Islam, Political Islam and Women in the Middle East in the excellent Butterflies and Wheels.)

March 15th 2005

Penta Gone? - it is always heartwarming to see a happy ending to a story, the story in this case being that of Penta Water's operations in the UK and Ben Goldacre of the Guardian's excellent Bad Science column. Following Goldacre's exposure of the non-science behind the company's claims for its water and the subsequent threat he received, it seems Penta have been unlucky enough to attract the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA's verdict (see full adjudication here) on Penta's so-called scientific evidence is damning, and will certainly force a change in the way Penta describes its product. To quote one line "The Authority told the advertisers not to repeat claims that implied the product was chemically unique, had been restructured or molecularly redesigned, or hydrated cells and improved physical performance better than tap water." Strip away all the woo-woo stuff and all you have left is expensive, bottled water - just one more product in an already crowded marketplace. (See Murky Waters and Hot Water for the background to this story and find out how Penta fared with James Randi)

Voicing Threats - here is the text of a letter from Stephen "John the Baptist" Green, sent to theatres that may be risking not just damnation but also prosecution under Britain's archaic blasphemy law if they stage Jerry Springer - The Opera. "Should any regional theatre stage 'Jerry Springer the Opera' this autumn, we shall be looking to prosecute them as well. We shall be especially keen to prosecute since the BBC broadcast, because anyone staging the show will now be doing so as a deliberate act of provocation knowing full well that the show is highly blasphemous and extremely offensive to Almighty God and to Christian believers." If Green's God is "Almighty" why does He need a creepy bunch of fanatics to keep him from being offended? You can't have it both ways. Surely a supreme being doesn't need bigoted minions to fight His corner? To keep up with the latest antics of Green and Kristian Voice check in with mediawatchwatch.org.uk They keep tabs on these deluded zealots so you don't have to.

March 18th 2005

Meddling Priests - it looks like paedophile-shifting Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, he of the high moral ground, will not get his wish that British politics descend to the level of the US, where religion is a powerful factor. The very idea that he thinks such a change would be beneficial merely demonstrates how out of touch with reality he is. Despite his attempts to make abortion an election issue after remarks in an interview by Tory leader Michael Howard, Murphy-O'Connor has not succeeded. As noted in this Guardian piece the leaders of Britain's main political parties have no wish to go down the American route, and decisions on abortion are a matter for a politician's individual conscience and not a party political matter. Still with the Roman Catholic clergy here is another cardinal that has a problem with reality. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa, is worried by the success of Dan Brown's derivative thriller The Da Vinci Code, seeing it as an attack on his church. He seems unable to understand it is only fiction, but maybe this is because if you already believe enough impossible things one more is fairly easy. Brown himself doesn't help much when he says, "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact." This is utter hogwash but maybe Bertone believes him. Naturally, following the latest trend for religionist whining, he views the book's undoubted success as "...only further proof of the fact that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice...". Hold on, Bertone, you forgot the rest of it, you remember, claiming your religion is subjected to treatment that would not be applied to others? Oh-oh, here it comes, "I ask myself if a similar book was written, full of lies about Buddha, Muhammad, or, even, for example, if a novel came out which manipulated all the history of the Holocaust or of the Shoah, what would have happened?" To place "revisionist" views of the Holocaust as an offence on a par with Brown's silly thriller shows that Bertone has as firm a grasp upon reality as Murphy-O'Connor. Bertone, once deputy to the the Pontiff's mastiff, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is quoted by the BBC as saying, "It astonishes and worries me that so many people believe these lies. The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true." He may be referring to The Da Vinci Code, but funnily enough it matches almost word for word 80's view of the Bible. Talking of the good book, it is being quoted by those in California who are horrified that a judge, Richard Kramer, declared unconstitutional the state law that defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man. One evangelical pastor, the aptly named Thomas Wang, quoted the same tired old sentence from Leviticus 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." As is common with Bible-bashers he does not go on to quote Leviticus 19:19 "..neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee." Or Leviticus 20:9 "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death..." If Wang thinks one Iron Age tribal law should be applied in this day and age why not all of them, no matter how bizarre, cruel or inapplicable they may be? Because not even a Bible-quoting nutter could live with such absurd strictures. It is much easier to be a hypocrite and choose the verses that reflect your own particular prejudices. (also see God Hates Shrimp)

Faux News - in the US these days TV companies are increasingly tailoring their output to avoid offending increasingly puritanical and litigious conservative religious groups as well as the Bush administration. The fuss that followed the Jackson Nipplegate "wardrobe malfunction" showed the way, followed by the censoring of Private Ryan, and the dropping of a so-called "lesbian mothers" segment in kid's show Postcards from Buster. This may seem repressive but at least the TV folk are trying to maintain high moral standards, right? Wrong. According to this lengthy report from the New York Times (reg rqd) they have been happy to spread Bush administration propaganda in the guise of independent news. Video segments made by government departments are being shown in regular news slots, shorn of any attribution, giving a strong impression that they are genuine news. This is helped by using TV professionals to commentate, such as Karen Ryan, a journalist who has found propaganda pays better than proper news. Another ploy is to remove the original commentary, and replace it with the familiar voice of a local presenter, thereby giving the impression the report is not only unbiased but of local origin. It must make cheap and tempting padding for a news editor short on content to use such unattributed propaganda. It is also another nail in the coffin of responsible TV news reporting in the US.

March 20th 2005

Impious Imax Implications - 80's concerns for the future of American science and technology find an echo here in an interview with science fiction author Neal Stephenson, courtesy of Reason. "It is quite obvious to me that the U.S. is turning away from all of this (science and engineering). It has been the case for quite a while that the cultural left distrusted geeks and their works; the depiction of technical sorts in popular culture has been overwhelmingly negative for at least a generation now. More recently, the cultural right has apparently decided that it doesn’t care for some of what scientists have to say. Since our prosperity and our military security for the last three or four generations have been rooted in science and technology, it would therefore seem that we’re coming to the end of one era and about to move into another. Whether it’s going to be better or worse is difficult for me to say. The obvious guess would be “worse.” If I really wanted to turn this into a jeremiad, I could hold forth on that for a while. But as mentioned before, this country has always found a new way to move forward and be prosperous. So maybe we’ll get lucky again." Sadly 80 finds little justification for Stephenson's hope that the US will "get lucky again", particularly when faced with news such as this article by Cornelia Dean in the New York Times (reg rqd) which tells how Imax theaters, some in science museums, are turning down the screening of documentaries that may offend religionists who are unable or unwilling to get their heads around the concept of evolution or the true age of the Universe. Although the number of theaters involved so far is small it is a sign of a growing trend which will result in a generation ignorant of the scientific method and unable to understand even the basic principles behind the technologies which underpin their comfortable modern lives. To dismiss the thrilling discovery of undersea volcanic vents and their possible connection with life's beginnings on Earth as depicted in the film "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea" as "blasphemous" is as absurd as it is worrying. Anyone who is not frightened by the following quote from Lisa Buzzelli, of the Charleston Imax Theater in South Carolina, fails to understand the seriousness of the problem, "We have definitely a lot more creation public than evolution public..." She confirms that this is a factor of which she has to be aware when choosing content for the theater. Movie director James Cameron told the NYT that he was "surprised and offended" that folk took exception to references to evolution adding "It seems to be a new phenomenon, obviously symptomatic of our shift away from empiricism in science to faith-based science." Faith-based science, a nonsensical oxymoron if ever there was one, is not going to combat the next 'flu epidemic and can already be seen to be hindering any rational response to the undeniable phenomenon of human-induced global climate change. You cannot pray/wish away the challenges that face not only humankind but every creature on the planet. Life on Earth forms an evolved, interconnected, dependent web which affects both climate and geology. We are not some special creation, immune to factors affecting the biosphere - we are part of that biosphere. When the shit hits the fan, when climate change reaches a tipping point, as it is going to, despite such initiatives as the Kyoto Accord, no caring, personal God is going to rescue any of us from what effectively will be Hell on Earth. An unholy alliance of short term economic gain and religion-induced scientific ignorance in the form of the Bush administration and unchecked religious fundamentalism is a far greater threat to all our futures than that hobbyhorse of the moment, terrorism.

Two-Edged Sword - more from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on the dangers of reading The Da Vinci Code, and his desire to combat the book's malign effects, in this BBC report. In his haste to protect his gullible flock from Dan Brown's novel Bertone may be damaging his own church by promoting ideas that could well rebound. "I think we sounded the alarm too late, but the book is now so widespread, I don't think the interest will mount. What we can do is arm our believers with critical awareness. I believe and hope in this." What madness is this? Arming believers with "critical awareness"? Do that and in 10 years there may be no believers left. Suddenly 80 finds himself warming towards the Cardinal Archbishop of Genoa......

March 23rd 2005

Rant for the Day - a while back 80 said that religion was to be tolerated but respect was out of the question. Now even the tolerance is looking endangered. This feeling has been triggered by no one thing in particular but is a consequence of the steady day-by-day, drip-drip assault by religious fantasists on everything we have gained in the last 300 years. They are doing their damndest to snuff out the Enlightenment. What right has a self-righteous, celibate, middle-aged man, his head stuffed full of impossible nonsense, have to dictate what is admissable in a sex education class? (What is it with religion and sex? Why does God keep poking his nose into people's genitalia? It's downright weird.) What right does some misogynist mullah, his head stuffed full of slightly different impossible nonsense, have to dictate to women what to wear because he and his bearded followers cannot restrain their lust at the sight of a well-turned ankle. Leave the women alone and go have a cold shower - you are the problem, not them. There has been a deal too much tolerance in the name of inclusivity and multiculturalism. If someone is talking irrational crap they need to be told so, regardless of whether they wear a clerical collar, a mitre or any of the other badges and odd costumes that identify many religionists. If a group of bigots decides to foist its tight-assed views on the rest of the community as to what is deemed acceptable in movies, the theater or in print they should be told to shove it, in no uncertain terms. Just because someone harbors an assortment of irrational and contradictory beliefs between their ears does not mean they are necessarily worthy of a hearing. Let them explain on their own behalf and not keep claiming holy endorsement for their own particular hangups, prejudices and phobias. Governments such as Tony Blair's should stop soliciting the opinions of these unrepresentative know-alls on legislation, for the chances are they actually know even less than the average politician. Anyone who claims certain knowledge of the mind of a supernatural being does not need respect - they need psychiatric help to stand on their own two feet and stop appealing to a dubious authority to give weight to what are no more than personal opinions. Just because you believe that there is something beyond the physical world, which is all our instruments and senses can detect, it does not make you special in any way. If anything, you are to be pitied for being unable to appreciate our amazing Universe without your religious crutch. A single image of countless galaxies captured by the Hubble conveys more awe and mystery than any Iron Age tribal god, even if these days the old boy is tricked out as the universal creator. Irrational beliefs are not admirable, they are a threat to the future of humankind and the rest of the biosphere. You only have one life, this is not a rehearsal, there is no heaven with angels serenading, nor is there a paradise with 72 willing virgins waiting to reward acts of murder. No one is getting raptured out of here, you are not "chosen". Deluded perhaps, but not chosen. You do not need the promise of a reward after death to live a good and kind life - nor do you need threats of hellfire. Sympathy for others, charity and kindness are possible without religion - the so-called Golden Rule is not solely a religious command, it is a humane way of living, common to many cultures. No one religion or faith has the answers - in fact none of them have, and the sooner we realize that we are all in this together, groping our way towards a better life for everyone on this planet and not just a chosen few, the better for humankind and the creatures with whom we share this planet, our pale blue dot.

Pale Blue Dot - the planet Earth seen from Voyager 1*, then 3.7 billion miles away. "Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every ‘supreme leader,’ every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam." Carl Sagan 1934 - 1996

A Ha'p'orth of Tar - This is the same Voyager 1, launched in 1977, that showed us astounding images of the outer Solar System, the gas giants and their myriad moons, more fascinating, complex and active than we could ever have guessed. Still trekking outward after all these years Voyager may now be approaching the boundary of the Sun's influence to become our first interstellar craft. Sadly it now appears that this will not come to pass (or at least we will know nothing of it) as funding will be cut in order to save a few bucks for George W Bush's "Vision for Space", piloted trips to the Moon and Mars. 80 has long supported human spaceflight but you do not begin the grand adventure of the exploration of the Solar System by dumping our most far-flung observer. Along with threats to unmanned explorers such as Hubble and Ulysses, and the cancellation (reg rqd) of other, non-space research, this amounts to an act of scientific vandalism - the amount of money saved is a drop in the bucket, certainly cheaper than a small war or a modern weapons system. What would be lost is priceless knowledge about the Universe, a beautiful yet dangerous environment for us planet dwellers, and most certainly an environment upon which we cannot afford to turn our backs.

Quote -"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." Oscar Wilde. More of his wit and wisdom may be found here.

March 25th 2005

Faith works? - Tony Blair gave a speech today to the "mostly Christian Faithworks group" which apparently consists of "faith leaders". The two opposition party leaders have already addressed this group. The question arises just what is Faithworks and more importantly, what constitutes the membership of a group capable of commanding the attention of busy politicians involved in the run-up to the (as yet unannounced) General Election? The list of participants and their various aims is certainly worth more than a casual glance, particularly as they have the ear of top politicians in our increasingly secular society. An odd mix it is too, mainly Christian, many of them one man bands and tending strongly towards the evangelical. Quite why this disparate bunch should be pandered to in this way is a complete mystery. One name though, leaps out of the crowd immediately, that of The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG). This bunch was the subject of invquiries following the tragic death of Victoria Climbié from repeated abuse. The verdict of an investigation by the Charity Commission is available here, a verdict which highlighted the lack of a child protection policy within the church. Victoria had visited the church three times in the period immediately prior to her death. She was tortured to death by her great-aunt, Marie Therese Kouao, and the woman's boyfriend Carl Manning, who believed the 8 year-old was evil and possessed. Possession, witchcraft and other such nonsense form part of the beliefs of the UCKG. This page from FactNet contains links to news stories and information about the UCKG's activities in the Americas and elsewhere, as does this page from Rick Ross - they both make for very worrying reading. A report by the Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service quotes a submission to the inquiry into Victoria's death, "Having heard the evidence from several churches, it cannot be left to the churches to take on a welfare and childcare role…….if some sort of statutory regulation is not looked at there can be little doubt that some churches and religious institutions will continue to act in a manner that is totally at odds with the child's welfare." A worrying verdict in the light of Blair's determination to involve faith groups more and more in the social services of the UK. The heady combination of Blair's Christian faith and the need to save a few quid is dictating policy here and calls into doubt yet again his judgement and his near-messianic belief in his own rectitude - a belief that is not widely shared. This BBC report of Blair's speech quotes him as saying religion should not play the same role in British politics that it does in America. Damn' right it shouldn't - just look at the brothers Bush unseemly involvement in the Terri Schiavo affair, driven by a need to satisfy religionists rather than leave a state court to handle the matter. (Here is cartoonist Steve Bell's take on Dubya's intervention.) But is Blair being honest? The sight of him, and the other two party leaders creeping around a bunch of religionists is hardly reassuring. Michael Howard, the Tory leader, even went so far as to tell Faithworks that faith groups were part of a "forgotten majority". A majority they certainly are not, something for which most ordinary folk should be thankful. Charles Kennedy, Liberal Democrat leader told them that fears of fundamentalism should not prevent local councils from trusting churches. Yes they bloody well should if the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is anything to go by. 80 can only cringe when Blair says to these so-called faith leaders "I would like to see you play a bigger, not a lesser, role in the future." This whole Faithworks and politicians dialogue must leave many a secular, agnostic or atheist voter in Britain wondering who is left to support when all three major parties toady to unelected religionists and promise them more involvement in our lives.

UCKG - for some background on the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in the UK and its roots in Brazil do take a look at Gospel of Greed by Jay Rayner in 2002, "The church's turnover is estimated at £700 million, all of it from its congregants who are told that the donations will help smooth the path to salvation. Even secret videotape of the founder lasciviously counting donations and encouraging his deputies to screw more out of congregants with the imperative that 'if they don't pay they can get out' has done no harm. The church continues to prosper and has now spread to 85 countries." More about this outfit in South America can be read in Beautiful Horizons blog with an update here. Finally here is a trio of stories courtesy of the Apologetics Index.

Also Featuring....among the other Faithworks participants is the Kingsway International Christian Centre, which is responsible for this page of credulous stories called Wonder Works Reporter - "I am unemployed so was only able to place 30 pence in the offering bowl. This was all the money I had in my possession that day. The next day God gave me £30.I then gave the £30 as an offering after much prompting from the Holy Spirit. The next day I received a £200 cheque in the mail." This "testimony" sounds like the gullible drivel otherwise known as a chain letter, but here it is presented as fact. Note the subtext - even if you are desperate and only have 30 quid, give it to the church. The immaculate and besuited Matthew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor of KICC, whose picture is everywhere on the site, certainly doesn't look short of £30. The church has a reputed income in excess of £7 million a year. It is also currently the subject of an inquiry by the Charity Commission over "..their remuneration and the possible misapplication of funds.". (The KICC in their turn have somewhat absurdly accused the Commission of racism.) The Evangelical Alliance and the Elim Pentacostal Church along with many others involved in Faithworks believe in the absolute literal truth of every word in the Christian bible - including all the misogyny, hatred, homophobia, xenophobia, cruelty and arrogance with which the "good book" is well-stuffed.These are the people that Blair told "I would like to see you play a bigger, not a lesser, role in the future." What a depressing and frightening vision - and one that needs combatting by everyone who is aware of the malign effect of religion on woman's rights, including the right to choose, on free speech, if the religious hatred legislation is passed and on the arts - just think of Behzti and Jerry Springer - the Opera.

Mark Twain - in view of the above 80 makes no apology for once again quoting the wise Mr Clemens - if only he was around to address Faithworks! "You believe in a book that has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, burning bushes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that WE are the ones that need help?"

Archbishop Unwin - the headline from this BBC news page boldly states "Williams urges debate on abortion". This refers to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, somewhat belatedly sticking his nose in where it is not wanted - to see him trying to keep up with the likes Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor (see Meddling Priests) is not an edifying experience and seems to be an example of jumping onto a passing bandwagon. Williams is renowned for his convoluted and muddled utterances, so much so he is even compared to the late, great Professor Stanley Unwin, a man who made a living from spoken gobbledegook. Someone at the BBC is obviously aware of this connection for, somewhat cruelly, they have chosen to highlight this quote from Williams - make of it what you may, "It would be a real failure if agreeing that it was not an electoral issue provided an alibi for taking it seriously as a public issue." So that's what "urging debate" sounds like. Perhaps he should stick to agonizing over gay clergy and women bishops and stay out of politics - he is obviously not cut out for the world of soundbites.

March 27th 2005

Still a Sham - the Arab League summit would seem to have been a lackadaisical affair with only 13 of the 22 leaders bothering to attend. These comments from the Arab press only reinforce that view. "Almost half the leaders are not attending, and those attending are doing so only to please Algeria. This leads us to conclude that the Arab summit is at a stage which precedes death." was the opinion of the London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi, an opinion widely shared. One who did make it to the summit was the dictator of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, whose appearance was greeted in this report as "livening up the lackluster...summit". The larger than life Gaddafi has had something of a rapprochement with the western democracies (can we say oil? Yes, we certainly can.) after loudly renouncing his country's quest for WMDs, and nuclear weapons in particular. This shrewd move does not show that Gaddafi is a reformed character but merely that he spotted which way the wind was blowing. (The fact that he had not got very far in his WMD quest anyway is another factor.) Anyone foolish enough to think Gaddafi is any more than a another looney dictator needs to look at another item about him in the news this week. Back in May last year 80 wrote this in a piece entitled Gaddafi's Sham Conversion, "In 1999 the authorities arrested 9 Libyans and 7 foreign health workers, one Palestinian and six Bulgarians, on charges of deliberately infecting 400 children with HIV in an experiment to find an AIDS cure, with many dying subsequently. Gaddafi himself originally accused the workers of acting on orders from the CIA and the Israeli secret service, Mossad, although this seems to have been withdrawn since, according to a BBC report. These people have been in custody ever since and subjected to beatings and torture. The charges against them have been thrown out once for lack of evidence, but were then reinstated. Now a verdict of death by firing squad has been passed upon them. Expert witnesses, including the French doctor who first isolated the HIV virus, have testified in vain that the children's deaths were the result of "an epidemic caused by poor hygiene at the hospital, not by any international conspiracy." All of which makes Gaddafi's wish for Libya to be accepted by the international community as deluded as his childish conspiracy theories." Now this BBC report tells us that nearly a year on, and almost six years after they were imprisoned, Gaddafi is refusing to pardon the Bulgarians, now numbered as five, who are still under a sentence of death. The fact that their confessions were obtained under torture does not seem to count with the dictator.The trial of the policemen accused of that torture has been delayed - twice. Gaddafi, in his usual quiet, understated way now says, "I swear by Allah that I will not release the Bulgarians, how can we free the murderers of children?" and claims he is tired of Western countries lobbying for the worker's freedom. The Bulgarians are not the "murderers of children" and there is no evidence supporting Gaddafi's statement. Confessions obtained by torture prove absolutely nothing and show the real, unchanged Libya of Colonel Gaddafi. His WMD gesture was an empty one, a transparent attempt to gain favor - until he mends his ways and respects human rights the process of normalizing relations, such as the lifting of sanctions, with Libya can, and should, go nowhere. This dictator, no matter how much the west desires his country's oil, should remain a pariah. ( Update - Gaddafi merely confirms that he is still a thoroughly nasty piece of work when h