200 lashes for being raped in Saudi Arabia

Actions have consequences, and in this specific instance, the utterly absurd actions are those that are being deployed by the religious authorities in Saudi Arabia. AAI reports (with links to their source) … According to The Info Post, a Saudi Arabian woman must be accompanied by a male guardian — typically relative — at all times … Read more

Dialogue: Faith vs Reason

As a blogger it is perhaps inevitable that I get drawn into discussions on an almost daily basis, and often I learn new things by doing so. One recent example of this concerns an interaction that illustrates the prevailing conflict between reason and faith that can at times manifest. The background context is an article on WND, … Read more

Storm in a coffee cup

It’s the time of year when the Christmas tinsel starts to emerge from hibernation and pop up in various places, and one of the early adopters will  usually be the coffee chains rolling out their seasonal cups in early November. Much to the great astonishment of many, the above very simple seasonal red design from Starbucks is causing offence … Read more

Study Results: Religion makes kids less compassionate and more intolerant

A few articles have been popping up about a new study that reports the discovery that kids raised without god are far more altruistic and compassionate than kids raised with god. This appears odd (to some) and might perhaps be a surprise, primarily because there exists a popular perception that religion is all about love, kindness, and compassion … Read more

Apostasy, Blasphemy and Free Expression in the Age of ISIS

Not too long ago Maryam Namazie, an Iranian-born secularist and human rights activist, was invited to give a talk to the Atheists, Secularists and Humanists Society at Warwick university. That however was then cancelled by the students union because they feared she might “incite hatred” because as an ex-Muslim she would simply dare to criticise Islam. After a huge uproar (it made … Read more

Bangladesh publishers burn books in protest at killing of secularists

Publishers, whose very life blood is printing books, have been burning books in Bangladesh as a very public protest against the governments refusal to take any decisive action in response to the growing campaign of orchestrated murder that is being directed against writers. The Guardian Reports … Demonstrations have continued over fatal attacks on secular writers and … Read more