The climate change debate is heating up yet again. OK, so what has happened? Well, before I go there, lets first establish a few things so that you fully understand where I’m coming from. Man made climate change is real, the evidence is in, there is not really much real scientific controversy. In April 2010 a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that nearly 98% of working climate scientists accept the evidence for human-induced climate change, this latest study does not change that.
The WTC cross and the 9/11 memorial
David Silverman writes in the Guardian to explain why the WTC cross does not belong at the 9/11 memorial. There is been a lot of biased news that does not represent what is going on here (think Fox News), so if this is not at all clear, then you might be interested in reading why … Read more
Multiple Christian death threats aimed at atheists in the past few days
The news is that following his appearance on Fox News’s show, America Live w/Megyn Kelly, American Atheists’ Communications Director, Blair Scott received multiple death threats from Christians. Many even appeared on the Fox News facebook page. Here are some examples … When posting Facebook snapshots the normal convention is to blank out names … but … Read more
Tim Minchin – The Good Book
Now here is Tim Minchin live … as always he is both brilliant and hilarious as he satires the bible in “The Good Book.” … enjoy.
IMDB reviews of “The Ledge”
Hopefully most of you within the skeptical/atheist community are aware that Mathew Chapman’s latest movie “The Ledge” (starring Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler ) is very much one you should check out if you ever get the chance to. The film deals with an intellectual, personal, and ultimately fatal feud between an atheist and an evangelical Christian (least you wonder, the Atheist is the hero here, hence its a movie of interest to us all).
OK, it is just a movie, but the portrayal of an Atheist as the hero in a movie that has an A-list cast is new, and so this is a direct attack upon the public myths regarding non-belief. Will it make a different out there? You bet, I heard an interview in which Matthew Chapman, (the writer and director) recounted the story of a Christian who had a relative that was a non-believer and for that reason alone, had not spoken for many years. Apparently after watching the movie, as the end credits were rolling, she was on the phone to reconcile.
News Bias – Attacking Atheists
It is often quite interesting to look at how a specific event is reported, and note the tone of the article. Such a comparison often tells us quite a lot about the bias that is introduced by the article’s author and perhaps also reveals a hidden agenda. Here now is an interesting example of this:
First … the event. A Metal beam, in the shape of a cross (pictured here) was found at 9/11 ground zero, it was subsequently blessed by a priest and erected as a memorial. What has now happened is that a US atheist group filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order the removal of the cross-shaped steel beam or request that other religions and nonreligious views be equally represented. My thoughts? Well, it sounds fair to me, we live in a pluralistic society, all they are asking for is an even playing field.