351. Happy Birthday Josh Timonen!

Comment #119171 by Enlightenme.. on January 31, 2008 at 11:17 am

Happy Birthday Josh.

Thanks for maintaining my selected home page for the last 8 months. Cheers.

RD, what group did you select to make that line of best fit?, it's waay exaggerated ;)

352. Richard Dawkins on The Big Debate

Comment #117842 by Enlightenme.. on January 29, 2008 at 7:22 pm

Oh yes, I forgot..

Sir Richard Dawkins!!
..and well done to Dimbleby for agreeing that it ought to be by now.

Oops..please excuse my use of the ought word ;)

353. Richard Dawkins on The Big Debate

Comment #117839 by Enlightenme.. on January 29, 2008 at 7:05 pm

"Why does the bishop even bother with the faith? He seemed rather useless"

No, I disagree, he was very useful.
In seeming to be so harmless,.. so,. Christian, he allows the general populace to be reassured.
You only started to see his true colours when challenged by the rabbi about the sectarianism this road will lead to now that we can't deny other faiths the same ridiculous entitlements we've allowed the CofE to retain.

I was impressed by the Iranian-born woman, she's got more courage than I could ever have, and called that bloody Mufti on his weasel 'ignorance and prejudice' defence,
And the way he dismissed her was unbelievable - saying she was 'muddling issues' and asking did the father who killed his daughter go to a muslim school?

354. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #116680 by Enlightenme.. on January 27, 2008 at 4:42 am

^Another good video from that girl is this one;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwrqHzQY7hY

Where she takes us through her recommended reading list.
She's a natural charmer too!

355. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #116594 by Enlightenme.. on January 26, 2008 at 7:18 pm

"Please Richard, memorize the tiktaalik.uchicago.edu URL. Even if John wouldn't use it, other listeners might."

Or how about; "just google tiktaalic"?
I just did, 1st hit is Wiki, which references to Chicago uni site at the bottom of the page, and 2nd hit is the site itself.

356. Minnesota Atheists Interview Richard Dawkins

Comment #114748 by Enlightenme.. on January 22, 2008 at 5:32 pm

Mitchell,

I know it sounds odd now, kinda cart before the horse, but I feel that what held my hand out of belief was my emotions, not really reason, I grew up in UK thinking that the orangemen (of Ulster) were 'our side', when I started to realise just how much of a nutter Paisley was I felt something was wrong as it dawned on me he wasn't the opposition, but a part of this 'our side'. I was dead lucky in my view that the environment was right for me to feel something was wrong before I was even able to reason my way out.
I was well on my way thanks to the I.R.A (uvf,uda &c &c)
This all came before much later analysis that this is not about religion as it is just a sectarian tool.

I also grew up being excited by planes, cars, dinosaurs & 'tommorrows world', & thence sciency stuff, and vividly remember the logic of the dino extinction/which god? map on RD's X-mas lecture making an impression on me, this certainly helped complete the job, and much more now with reason.

357. Minnesota Atheists Interview Richard Dawkins

Comment #114103 by Enlightenme.. on January 21, 2008 at 11:27 am

The correlate of anti-abortionism or anti-nazism would be anti-theism.

Atheism simply means non-theism.

I would quite happily take the label anti-theist if it wasn't a little open to misinterpretation as being 'against theists' rather than a self-descriptor indicating 'I am against theism idealogically'.

358. Minnesota Atheists Interview Richard Dawkins

Comment #113847 by Enlightenme.. on January 20, 2008 at 6:50 pm

I rather feel that as an ex-protestant, becoming an atheist has actually meant rather more - I've had to learn to replace a whole lot about life that once was informed by that way of interpreting the world.

To give just one example - I was quite homophobic into my 20's, it was more prevalent then, and I just went with the instinctive gut reaction that 'it is against nature', backed up with the prevailing view that it was a sin.

I'm not saying directly that becoming an atheist changes that, but opening up your mind to reason comes with atheism doesn't it?

359. Honour Killings

Comment #113751 by Enlightenme.. on January 20, 2008 at 12:48 pm

Prankster;
"Perhaps we should just pity Mr Ahmad and ignore him.....he might give up and quietly disappear into oblivion taking his worldview and politics with him"

No, exactly the opposite, we need to start communicating, before it's too late to change minds.

I was simply pointing out that we are responding to the ramblings of a nutter, as if it was an official press release from the MCB or something.

360. Honour Killings

Comment #113735 by Enlightenme.. on January 20, 2008 at 12:17 pm

"Articles like this make my blood boil"

It is not an article, it's an e-mail, it appears to be more like the ranting justifications of a disaffected teen to me.

361. Mandrake: Charles's letter in support of Islamic 'fundamentalism'

Comment #113730 by Enlightenme.. on January 20, 2008 at 12:07 pm

Maybe it was bad translation, presumably this has been translated twice, surely?

362. The Moral Instinct

Comment #113713 by Enlightenme.. on January 20, 2008 at 11:36 am

"Commitment to universals does not rule out the need for dialogue"

Try saying that in a sharia court and find out how far you get!!

The universal standard for 'universal truths' is that they cannot be questioned.

363. The Group Delusion

Comment #112630 by Enlightenme.. on January 17, 2008 at 3:40 pm

Discussion between RD and J.Craig Venter coming up, after watching him present the Dimbleby lecture recently I am waiting in anticipation.

Interesting following the links on the announcement page for more who like to see their GS controversy served cold!

364. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #112553 by Enlightenme.. on January 17, 2008 at 12:57 pm

^ Thanks adamhaar, & echo the sentiment of your message.

Styrer..
..um..actually nevermind, some other time..

365. The Group Delusion

Comment #112367 by Enlightenme.. on January 17, 2008 at 1:30 am

On the subject of RD releasing a book for kids.

There'll be outbursts suggesting it's blasphemy and must be banned. Kids just love getting hold of things they're not supposed to!

366. Blind Faiths

Comment #112160 by Enlightenme.. on January 16, 2008 at 1:32 pm

"You can convert into Islam and go to Saudi Arabia"

!

367. Blind Faiths

Comment #112157 by Enlightenme.. on January 16, 2008 at 1:29 pm

"Should the Germans forfeit their rights because of their behavior?"

Erm.. according to you they should have..

368. Blind Faiths

Comment #112146 by Enlightenme.. on January 16, 2008 at 12:44 pm

"In Fanusi's mind all anti-Zionists are anti-Semites."

It's more 'anti-Zionism = anti-Israel'.

In the original idealogical sense (A polital aim constucted from a fairy-tail) the two are identical, but that was before anybody who is alive today existed.

In the pragmatic, the realpolitik, and about a thousand other senses they are not equateable.

I am strongly against the brick by brick inching in the direction of the Tigris/Euphrates by people who will insist 'it is written', and that doesn't just mean Jews.

I support Israel's right to exist. The 67 borders would seem the best thing to compromise around. The difficult one is; being against the right of return, for the pragmatic 'get real' reasons Fanusi motions towards but overshoots a little!

As for the rights of the genuinely dispossessed 1948 inhabitants & descendants? I should imagine a 'grand bargain' would have to be worked out for assistance to Palestine & the surrounding nations for resettlement.

I also fully understand what Fanusi is on about regarding the impotence of the UN, just ask a Tutsi, a Zimbabwean or a Darfurian.
There would have to be Strong force 'Nato style' guarantees for joint administration of Holy sites within a sadly walled & barbed-wired Jerusalem.

Now, what are we gonna do about OPEC as we approach peak-oil?, Capitalism abhors a cartel!!

369. Blind Faiths

Comment #111887 by Enlightenme.. on January 16, 2008 at 12:42 am

"I'll close by echoing Martin Luther King "Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism"."

Bullcrap Fanusi, a pathetic appeal to authority on your part. I am anti-zionist but I don't care about ethnicity. There will never be peace until there is joint 3-way access rights in perpetuity, not under the whim of Israel but probably administered by the UN or something, over temple mount/dome of the rock/holy sepulchre, and some compromise for Jerusalem to be a shared capital in name for Palestine & Israel.

370. The Group Delusion

Comment #111598 by Enlightenme.. on January 15, 2008 at 5:33 am

"Religion is probably a universal constant among intelligent life".

Archeology and Anthropology would seem to suggest so.

RD wrote something along the lines;
'The first thing for [E.T.] to find out about us is have they discovered the ToE'.

I would hope that they would be Post-theistic, and are not bringing any baggage!

371. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111576 by Enlightenme.. on January 15, 2008 at 3:35 am

^Bizarro, I agree that George would appreciate messages from the 'other side of the trenches' (so to speak) and I daresay being in your prayers is ok to say in that 'tongue in cheek' manner, but the way I read your post it appears you want to raise some general point about the site supporting "hateful speech" - do you really think that's appropriate?

I'm not a skilled communicator so I hope you don't take my request the wrong way, or preaching at you, or condescending/self-righteous/whatever!!

I welcome you re-draughting a post in the main thread, I certainly do not intend to sensor you.

This is also the first time I've ever flagged any posts, & hopefully last, and my priority was to flag the one further up about the Obit, as some posts that have now gone were referring to it, though George might have been quite amused by the echoing of that famous quote about "reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated!"

372. Blind Faiths

Comment #111477 by Enlightenme.. on January 14, 2008 at 6:14 pm

"The Jewish faith has been defined by an "us versus them" mentality for some time"

Hm-hmm;

Faith has been defined by an 'us versus them' mentality for some time.

373. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111458 by Enlightenme.. on January 14, 2008 at 4:53 pm

I don't know if I was correct to flag Bizarro's post or not - it may be genuinely heartfelt, especially as I didn't notice on first look that he's signed it, but with mentioning prayers 3 times, and saying some stuff about christs teachings as well I have my doubts!


I don't know why Cartomancer's post got flagged (not by me) It seems to be a really good message.

374. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111436 by Enlightenme.. on January 14, 2008 at 3:02 pm

I have flagged 2 posts above to admin, The man referred to in the post, another war hero btw, sadly died before George's Qroix de guerre arrived in the photo, so no need to refer to the post in question.

__I am also flagging this for removal from here.

375. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111406 by Enlightenme.. on January 14, 2008 at 2:19 pm

Thank-you, and your comrades, for our freedom, our liberty, our very existence.
And thank-you again for your support of RDFRS.

I wish you a speedy recovery and a Dennett-style second wind Sir.

--Steve Murray.
Ex RAF Marham & sometime crop-damager on gliding landouts. :o , oh and thankyou for the stubble-fires!

376. Blind Faiths

Comment #110927 by Enlightenme.. on January 13, 2008 at 8:35 am

Comment #110821 by Goldy on January 12, 2008;

"Speak for yourself"

Re; 'The Brits gave them Palestine' (from; Comment #110752 by Enlightenme.. on January 12, 2008)

You appear to have got the wrong end of the stick there Goldy! The inverted comma's and the preceding sentence should be a dead giveaway.

I was running with Al-Rawandi's outlandish proposition that the statement adequately summarises the story of the creation of Israel, also known in some quarters as 'The Zionist entity'. This led him to suggest "We should have given them Germany" (!!)

This betrays a falling for the mindet of absolutism we all rail against here and he constantly accuses Fanusi Khiyal of (though the latter is forgiveable in my view!)

This comes dangerously close to keeping the same company that also rails against - quotes; "A racist apartheid regime" (I suspect he's come across the respect party's manifesto or something) Whilst not railing equally against the surrounding region full of ethnically-run Arab states & Islamic states.

The British nation does bear some measure of culpability for the incompetence of handling 1922-1948, notwithstanding it's conveniently forgotten repeated attempts to limit Jewish immigration when they noticed they were sitting on a demographic time-bomb.

But I get sick of being told by a 'Galloway' mentality that it's all our fault.

I rarely hear such self-righteous anger, or 'sins of the fathers pass onto the sons' remonstrations, or see flag-burning addressed towards Us Brits over e.g. the Amritsar massacre or the slave trade.

I guess we should take this to the forums B4 RD tells us off!

377. Blind Faiths

Comment #110752 by Enlightenme.. on January 12, 2008 at 9:39 am

Comment #110663 by al-rawandi on January 11, 2008:

Enlightenme.,


That was it. Oh and I didn't give it to them the brits did.

I generally avoid all eschatological messianic tom-foolery.

378. The Group Delusion

Comment #110717 by Enlightenme.. on January 12, 2008 at 6:21 am

Triballypredisposed;
"Much of human behavior makes no sense at all if there is not group selection"

Yep, that's us in a nutshell, we are the birth of group selection!

I'd like here also to express my eternal gratitude to Mitochondria everywhere for their sacrificial altruism, and sheer work-ethic.
---Mytriballypredisposed.

379. Blind Faiths

Comment #110631 by Enlightenme.. on January 11, 2008 at 4:40 pm

"We should have given them Germany."

But We gave them Palestine. Is that what you mean?

380. Russia prohibits denial of Santa

Comment #110307 by Enlightenme.. on January 11, 2008 at 12:49 am

^ Here, Here.
In spades. When trying to self-analyse why I first became a doubter, the 'Father Christmas Delusion' definitely is part of the list, especially the bit about wishing it were true doesn't help.

Maybe it has larger sociological historic effect in Xtianity than recognised.

381. The Group Delusion

Comment #110222 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 4:37 pm

^ Blake C,
Kidding, right?
RD is the king of putting what he can into laymans terms, and especially at great risk of being ostracized as 'pop' when he started out.
Ever grateful he learnt the art in the age of elite intellectual cliquery.

382. The Group Delusion

Comment #110202 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 4:01 pm

Ha!
Yes, he was probably trying to take the mick with that 'altruistic gene' thing from the off I reckon!

383. The Group Delusion

Comment #110191 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 3:45 pm

Go easy on him RD
Selfish gene beat Sociobiology ;)

384. The Group Delusion

Comment #110173 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 3:14 pm

^ Damien, that sounds like a why is there still apples and oranges question.

385. Blind Faiths

Comment #110132 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 2:29 pm

"I think Fanusi is trying to say that no matter what, the underlying religion is violent and any behavior otherwise is the abnormality"


Al - It's like a billion kalashnikov's* basically, they're inanimate but deadly to have around - I'm not talking the Qu'ran, I'm talking all holy texts, the safety catch is too easy to undo.

*Simile to detonator, nuclear trigger

386. Blind Faiths

Comment #110107 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 1:47 pm

And what have Ay-rabs ever done for us anyway ([c] R. Kilroy-silk) ..I mean apart from saving a millenia of knowledge of the classical epochs and Hindustan from the science-fearing Xtian despots, such as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, the revolutionary zero-concept along with adding algebra, the first concept of light, the universe and everything as discrete particles, and gothic arches!

387. Blind Faiths

Comment #110089 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 1:22 pm

women imams - wow, ..seriously.

Maybe in another hundred years or so the next schism within one house of Islam will be over one sides acceptance of gay Imamship (-Joke)

388. Blind Faiths

Comment #110059 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Comment #110034 by al-rawandi on January 10, 2008:

"So to prove causation (total) you would have to show that the absence of Islam would mean that the Middle East and South and South East Asia would be a calm and passive place. You treat religion as an abstract idea, it is simply the product of a culture, the religion reflects the violence inherent in the culture."

It is relatively simple to disprove what you see as Fanusi's position by pointing to the numerous majority Islamic politys that are, for good or ill relatively benign; Turkey, Indonesia, numerous oil-rich arab states, some North african states, even, (though with grave freedom problems - for some good reason) the main birthplace of Qtubism - Egypt.

Little hope left for Pakistan I fear, quite possibly the next domino to fall to theocratic revolution, and that is unlikely to be as (relatively) bloodless as Iran, more likely Talibanistic.

389. Blind Faiths

Comment #110042 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 11:21 am

Comment #110025 by Peacebeuponme on January 10,

"We? You mean some British people from a while back.
Its like anybody under 80 saying "we won the war". "


..Or that we're responsible for the fucking Balfour declaration*...
innit?

*Draughted about the time my maternal great-great grandfather died in the bloodbath of Ypres.

390. Blind Faiths

Comment #110040 by Enlightenme.. on January 10, 2008 at 11:16 am

Comment #109977 by al-rawandi on January 10, 2008



I am half a mick myself...

Saying British colonialism, with all its violence, was good for the people, is like saying the Muslim invasion of Europe was good because it brought knowledge (Greek philosophy etc...).

391. Blind Faiths

Comment #109777 by Enlightenme.. on January 9, 2008 at 4:51 pm

What did the Brits ever do for us eh? I mean apart from the roads, the schools, the hospitals, the railways, the political system, the East India company (oops.. strike that) forcing us to speak Roman...

392. Blind Faiths

Comment #109768 by Enlightenme.. on January 9, 2008 at 4:33 pm

^ So the main problem with that post is the blockquote is it?
I f'kin split my sides at that al-rawandi,

Your little round up of 20th C history from the victimised point of view is .. mindboggling !

If there's one part I'd like to hear your view on, I suppose I'd start with how better we imperialist Brits should have handled our extraction from India - you can try it from the mindset of the guilty party first if you like, and try to imagine that you're just as dumb as we were about post-conflict Iraq, or post-colonial Rhodesia, like we can't anticipate what's about to come.

After you've done that, could you then remind us what 'part and parcel of decolonizition' was mostly our (the brits) fault?

..and why Mahatma Ghandi virtually starved himself to death?

393. Blind Faiths

Comment #109709 by Enlightenme.. on January 9, 2008 at 2:37 pm

Fanusi, you're misunderstanding my sentence completely, I was closing my post with a jest in a vain (to you) attempt to point out that the word Jihad can have entirely different meanings, both in itself, or in the hands of a sufi 'spiritualist' or a hamas vigilante.

It could be taken to mean similes of all three, strive - like, study to improve your mind - crusade, purify (in a neo-con 'family values' kinda way or a n*zi 'purify the blood' kinda way)

But now, in a stunning correlate of Bush bastardizing the once harmless western understanding of crusade except in one specific political context where a speechwriter should NEVER go, even when you're 911 'd, the sole ownership of the very important and central conceptual word Jihad is being pwned by...
the Jihadists

I don't suppose you have a lot of time for the ugly phrase hearts & minds, but we are well down the road to losing this battle in this war, and, in case you missed it, the explosion of the information age could well be our one & only opportunity we're rapidly squandering.

394. Blind Faiths

Comment #109395 by Enlightenme.. on January 9, 2008 at 1:50 am

But in fact the only thing the jihadists excel at is killing other Muslims.

395. What We Believe: Atheism

Comment #108874 by Enlightenme.. on January 7, 2008 at 6:54 pm

^ hey Goldy, that takes me back to those 4-minute warning good old days!

396. What We Believe: Atheism

Comment #108871 by Enlightenme.. on January 7, 2008 at 6:49 pm

^ apologies Dr Benway for taking your thing the wrong way, but I enjoyed the thought experiment someone turned it into.

By the by, that's my pet psych theory on what motivates a religious-minded suicide bomber (as opposed to a band of brothers, a hatred, or an infamy motivated one) - that is - it is the ultimate pascal's wager to end this veil of tears with, with the added attraction that it would then ensure they meet the standard *at that time*, and with no later chance of fucking it up for their miserable soul.

397. What We Believe: Atheism

Comment #108854 by Enlightenme.. on January 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm

In the life raft;

I think generally the immortal young would be terrified and become irrational, the over-40's would be calm, rational, accepting of their fate.

The convinced atheists would be melancholic at first at how little they had amounted to, then drift more settled into sleep philosophically thanking providence to have given them life at all, & sucking up as much of the best of each others memories as they can.

The agnostics & theists would die in dread torment at a possible wasted life in foolish pascal's wager, or that they are going to go get their asses burned, not a one of the true believers would think they meet the standard. They would hang on the longest I believe.

398. Did mozzies, not a meteor, do for the dinosaurs?

Comment #108676 by Enlightenme.. on January 7, 2008 at 12:11 pm

^ Hey, interesting couple of links there Bluebird, cheers.

I like this bit;
"The big, glory-hog dinosaurs never mastered flight." (?!!)

BCWC;
"Hi all, latest raiding link ..."
Looking forward to checking this stuff out.. please [providence] give me more time!

...but, whilst I'd look forward for some raiders coming our way to engage in debate, experience suggests we should brace for disapointment!

399. Wisdom From The Founding Rationalists

Comment #108417 by Enlightenme.. on January 6, 2008 at 8:01 pm

I think Scandinavian & European countries tend to top the 'Quality of life' index, I imagine what would most displease the people who wrote that 'all human beings are created equal/have inalienable rights' &c would be the huge amount of inequality, especially in the Anglosphere. I'd like to have the US's freedom of speech, seperation of church & state in the UK, but I wouldn't want to live in the states lest I should require healthcare.

400. Russia prohibits denial of Santa

Comment #108310 by Enlightenme.. on January 6, 2008 at 1:01 pm

I remember worrying that my parents would find out the truth about father christmas - that is - my knowing the secret, the news on the grapevine was that when they find out you know the secret, you stop getting things like bikes, and start getting crappy books & stuff !