51. Germany imposes ban on Tom Cruise

Comment #52292 by nancy2001 on June 26, 2007 at 4:23 pm

Germany has banned Tom Cruise -- I think that's great.

52. 'Purity' ring case in High Court

Comment #51502 by nancy2001 on June 23, 2007 at 6:46 am

I hereby dedicate this limerick to Miss Playfoot from Horsham.

Miss Playfoot from Horsham's no swinger
That Silver Ring Thing on her finger
Though she claims that she's sure
She wants to stay pure
She's praying for someone to zing her.

53. In the name of the Father

Comment #51492 by nancy2001 on June 23, 2007 at 5:48 am

It's almost a waste of time to read these types of articles. What on earth could a bishop possibly say? "There is no god, and religion should disappear." Fat chance.

54. His word: Attacking religion can seem like breaking a butterfly on a wheel

Comment #51490 by nancy2001 on June 23, 2007 at 5:36 am

Reading this article can seem like hoisting a toaster on a string bean.

55. The courage of their convictions

Comment #51248 by nancy2001 on June 22, 2007 at 4:14 am

These people are heroes.

56. An Inquisition in science's name

Comment #51105 by nancy2001 on June 21, 2007 at 1:33 pm

This article is hogwash.

57. Is Prince Philip an island god?

Comment #50041 by nancy2001 on June 14, 2007 at 4:53 pm

This reminds me of an old Bob Hope-Bing Crosby road picture. Only this time in the last reel, Prince Philip has to be rescued by Dorothy Lamour just before the locals try to boil him alive in a giant cauldron. Sometimes truth is as strange as fiction.

58. The Benny Hinn Report

Comment #49395 by nancy2001 on June 11, 2007 at 7:22 pm

Thanks for posting this article. I live in the Bible Belt in the U.S. and we have three cable channels that broadcast this garbage 24/7. I'd like to see all the religious hucksters swept off the airwaves and thrown into prison.

59. U.S. a theocratic state, says former Canadian ambassador

Comment #46901 by nancy2001 on June 2, 2007 at 5:59 am

As an American I'd like to point out that the U.S. is self correcting and resilient. We've faced serious problems before (the McCarthy era, for example) and have managed to overcome them. If you read Frank McKenna's statement carefully, you'll notice he begins with the words "Right now" and qualifies it further with the words "in many ways."

I think people in the U.S. are getting fed up with the religiously dominated right wing of the Republican party. And they are certainly fed up with George Bush. According to recent polls less than a third approve of the way he's doing his job.

If a Democrat wins the presidential election next year as they are likely to do, the U.S. will change course. Most Americans know this, and Frank McKenna knows this too.

60. For the God Question, a Biological Perspective

Comment #43766 by nancy2001 on May 22, 2007 at 2:09 pm

Excellent review. Three cheers for the "sifting cultural climate" and "changing zeigeist." It's about time.

61. Christopher Hitchens is Not Great

Comment #40903 by nancy2001 on May 15, 2007 at 7:25 am

What a self-serving load of poppycock.

62. Unbelievable: That's what religion is, says Christopher Hitchens in his profoundly skeptical manifesto

Comment #40894 by nancy2001 on May 15, 2007 at 7:08 am

Excellent review. Thank you Prof. Dennett.

63. The Greatest Act of Human Hubris

Comment #40672 by nancy2001 on May 14, 2007 at 4:48 pm

Terrific article. This website is a feast for the mind.

64. Lou Dobbs w/ Hitchens on Al Sharpton's Bigoted Remark

Comment #39593 by nancy2001 on May 11, 2007 at 8:31 am

My hunch, and I have no hard evidence, is that Lou Dobbs is actually an atheist. I've watched his show on and off for a couple of years, and I've long suspected this. Lou used to publish a pro-technology magazine called "Space" that still exists as a website. Let's just say it wouldn't surprise me.

Another TV personality who I suspect was also an atheist was the popular talk show host Johnny Carson. On his show, he heavily promoted Carl Sagan, and his "Karnak-the-Magnificient" character poked fun at soothsayers and charlatans. In his private life, Johnny was an avid amateur astronomer and magician, contributed several hundred thousand dollars to James Randi's foundation, and most tellingly declined to have a religious funeral service, or any funeral service. Johnny was very guarded about the details of his private life, but I think he left his fellow atheists more than enough clues.

65. Fortune-telling no longer in the cards in Philly

Comment #39011 by nancy2001 on May 9, 2007 at 6:19 pm

This is great news.

66. Cardinal: homosexuality a form of prostitution

Comment #39007 by nancy2001 on May 9, 2007 at 6:06 pm

Considering how many Catholic priests are gay, it's ironic that any member of the Catholic clergy would call homosexuality corrupt and unnatural.

67. Londonistan Calling

Comment #39003 by nancy2001 on May 9, 2007 at 5:58 pm

Excellent article. Hitchens may be writing about a neighborhood in London, but his description is frighteninly similar to my old neighborhood in downtown San Francisco. In a few short years, my once vibrant, sophisticated neighborhood was transformed into San Franciscostan. Half a dozen blocks from my apartment was the large local mosque, where John Walker Linde, "the American Taliban" had converted to radical Islam. Needless to say, I wasn't sorry to leave.

68. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32491 by nancy2001 on April 17, 2007 at 6:54 am

Yorker, it's true I did not have cancer at that point in time, but I was in a high risk category. My mother and both grandmothers had all died from the disease. I was also over 40, the age at which my risk level would significantly increase. My health was more important to me than that particular body part. As far as I'm concerned it was a wise decision.

69. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32481 by nancy2001 on April 17, 2007 at 6:37 am

Adrian, if breast cancer runs in your family, prophylactic mastectomy can be a very prudent thing to do. Breast cancer runs in both sides of my family. I had the procedure twelve years ago, and am very glad I did. I reduced my expected lifetime risk from over 25% to less than 2%, more than a factor of ten. End of story.

70. Atheism isn't the final word

Comment #32472 by nancy2001 on April 17, 2007 at 6:12 am

What a tired, old argument. Still I wonder what the effect is on the general reader. Do articles like this pique people's interests and stimulate book sales? Do they do more harm or more good?

71. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32466 by nancy2001 on April 17, 2007 at 6:01 am

A 12 year old boy who doesn't want to be circumcised shouldn't be circumcised. Period.

There are however a few medical benefits to the routine circumcision of an infant, and these need to be weighed against the risks. I'm a nursing student and would like to offer the following information from one of my textbooks.

"Occasionally, parents will ask you about whether or not to circumcise the male infant. Indications for circumcision include cultural reasons, the prevention of phimosis and inflammation of the glans penis and foreskin, decreasing the incidence of cancer of the penis, and slightly decreasing the incidence of urinary tract infections in infancy.

"However there is no difference in the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Circumcision carries a very small but possible risk of complications, such as sepsis, amputation of the distal edge of the glans, removal of an excessive amount of foreskin, urethrocutaneous fistula, and significant pain, about which the parents should know."

Apparently, a reasonable case can be made either for or against the routine circumcision of male infants.

72. New Primate Species Found In 42 Million-year-old Texas Fossils

Comment #32201 by nancy2001 on April 16, 2007 at 7:00 am

Since these cute little creatures were discovered in Texas, the scientists should name them "Bush Babies." I'm sure that would embarrass Dubya and all his ID cronies.

73. Against God

Comment #32198 by nancy2001 on April 16, 2007 at 6:26 am

This article on the "new atheism" reads like almost every other one in the mainstream press. It starts out reasonably objective and informative. But then midway through, it morphs into an idiotic defense of religion. I imagine the newspaper editors insist on this.

74. Kadra attacked in public

Comment #32190 by nancy2001 on April 16, 2007 at 5:53 am

Any time you mix Islam and cultural relativism you end up with a toxic brew.

75. For Some Hispanics, Coming to America Also Means Abandoning Religion

Comment #32181 by nancy2001 on April 16, 2007 at 5:31 am

This is a very positive trend. If a parent doesn't attend church, the children aren't going be subjected to religious brainwashing.

76. Genie shows barred by Islam, clerics say

Comment #31979 by nancy2001 on April 15, 2007 at 5:30 am

So the Islamic scholars don't want people to believe in supernatural beings. Truth is stranger than fiction.

77. Einstein & Faith

Comment #31758 by nancy2001 on April 14, 2007 at 5:34 am

If Einstein were still alive, I strongly suspect he'd come out as an atheist. But Einstein lived in the first half of the 20th century and died over fifty years ago. Unless we whip out a ouija board, there's no way to ask him.

78. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #31754 by nancy2001 on April 14, 2007 at 5:04 am

I was delighted to see a front page article on atheism in the conservative Wall Street Journal. But I was very disappointed to read that disparaging and hackneyed cliche "militant atheism." It's ironic that the fundamentalists who terrify and brainwash people with threats of eternal damnation referred to "missionaries" and "evangelists," but those who inspire people to adopt reason and rationality are tarred as "militants."

79. Medical 'Miracles' Not Supported by Evidence

Comment #31743 by nancy2001 on April 14, 2007 at 4:12 am

Great article from the Skeptical Inquirer. But it's tragic that articles like this don't appear in the National Enquirer (or any other supermarket tabloid). Of course, you'd have to simplify the text to an eighth grade reading level, but the basic message would remain. There's an urgent need for this information in the wider community. Perhaps Prof. Dawkins should add something like this to the work of his foundation. That way, the message would reach the people who could benefit from it most.

80. Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Comment #31357 by nancy2001 on April 12, 2007 at 5:56 am

The Pope should stop writing articles that expose his ignorance about science and evolution. He should limit himself to topics within his area of expertise like "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin."

81. Praying for the Apocalypse

Comment #30756 by nancy2001 on April 9, 2007 at 5:23 pm

This is a powerful and insightful article. Thank you for posting it.

82. Even non-believers must recognise the moral necessity of Christianity

Comment #30632 by nancy2001 on April 9, 2007 at 4:50 am

This atheist read the article eagerly, wondering how the author was going to convince me "to recognize the moral necessity of Christianity." I read paragraph after paragraph, waiting to be convinced. I'm still waiting.

83. Time in the Animal Mind

Comment #29500 by nancy2001 on April 3, 2007 at 6:40 am

It's great these ideas are now being tested by scientists. I wonder whether dogs can remember anything personal about their past.

When one of my Yorkshire terriers was a few months old he leaped off the washing machine and hurt himself, limping for several hours. Now he refuses to jump from anything higher than the seat of a chair even though he often sees my other yorkie jump from high places.

Of course, I can't get inside my dog's head. But I suspect he has some type of personal episodic memory about being injured that day. It wouldn't surprise me if researchers confirmed this in a few years.

84. Postmodernism Disrobed

Comment #29131 by nancy2001 on April 1, 2007 at 7:34 pm

Thank you Dr. Dawkins for posting this excellent article. Back in the 60s a comedian named Prof. Irwin Corey often appeared on American TV. His routine was to deliver a lecture that consisted of multisyllabic nonsense. Apparently Carolyn Guertin is trying to steal his act.