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It's interesting that as Catholics come out in numbers to brandish crucifixes at gays fighting for equal rights in the eyes of the law, similar displays of intolerance are nowhere to be found as revelations surface of the scale of the Catholic church's sexual abuse of children. Hypocrites, that's what you are. in reference to: Argentina's gays celebrate as same-sex marriage comes a step closer | World news | The Observer ( view on Google Sidewiki )

Last year, a Saudi law firm launched a lawsuit against the Danish newspapers for publishing cartoon images of Mohammed -- suggesting that the Danes have insulted the heirs of the prophet. Now, the Danes are returning the favour -- suing the prophet's heirs for libel, for all the insults Mohammed has heaped on non-Muslims. in reference to: "The lawsuit demands an apology, and also that the offending passages of the Koran be changed or removed from all publicly available copies of the book in mosques, libraries, etc., by the end of this year." - Gates of Vienna: Suing Mohammed’s Heirs for Libel ( view on Google Sidewiki )

You don't have to love South Park -- in fact, you can hate it -- but if you live in the free world, you should be willing to defend its right to exist. You should be willing to defend its right to offend, as it does with every episode. That's what free speech is all about. Of course, that free speech also protects those that espouse hate, which South Park does not. (In fact, while it offends, the one thing you can't pin on South Park , is hate. It hates not one. It loves everyone equally, cause it can poke fun at them.) So recently, when South Park aired an episode featuring the Super Best Friends -- namely Buddha, Moses, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Muhammad, Jesus and Sea Man (actually, Semen) -- and censored Muhammad's appearance -- he appears in a U-haul truck, then a bear costume, since it might offend Muslims -- they got some hate directed at them. Specifically, revolutionislam.com got their shorts in a knot, and posted quite the diatribe on their ...

If you need any more reason to be pissed at the Roman Catholic church, here's another one. The revelations of the abuse of kids by priests in Europe continue. Now, it appears the once future pope, Archbishop Ratty, in 1980, assisted in quietly moving a pedophile within the church's ranks, away for a little bit of treatment to cure his sexual obsession with boys. The treatment didn't work. (Dogma! Huh-yeah! What is it good for? ...) Now I know papal infallibility is just some bullshit the catholic church made up to make their sheep bleat in unison -- and I'm also very much aware that it doesn't mean that the pope can't make mistakes or (gasp!) commit a sin ... however ... let's think critically about this for a moment (if you're religious, don't try this, you'll find yourself incapable of doing this). If there is a god, and said god tolerates pedophiles in his ranks -- and further, lets his future right hand man assist in hiding the abuse -...

It's never too late to be late, and the Saudis are way fucking late. But it's all part of a plan. King Abdullah is trying to move his diseased society forward, one tiny step, without being lynched by one crazy mullah or the other. The plan has been afoot to allow women lawyers to argue some cases in court -- for the first time -- for a few years now. Of course, before we get all emotional over this announcement, we shouldn't forget that the women are educated in the Shariah justice system. (And yes, I realized that I'm being moronic with that sentence. Add a little bit of oxy if you don't get it.) in reference to: BBC News - Saudi women to be allowed to argue cases in court ( view on Google Sidewiki )

Not content with their war in the US, the American Christian right is now taking it's hate to Africa. Earlier in 2009, Scott Lively, at the invitation of Uganda's Family Life Network, descended on the African nation to bring the word of hate. Lively, told Ugandans who attended his "Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals' Agenda" of how American homosexuals were actively recruiting young Ugandans into their movement. He claimed that homosexuality directly increased the divorce rate, child abuse & molestation and HIV/AIDS. The Ugandans attending his seminar, ate it up. Lively went on to meet with Ugandan lawmakers and government officials. The fruits of his labour became the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 . The act, which was proposed in October 2009, would ban LGBT organizations and introduces the death penalty for homosexuality. American evangelicals have been actively involved in Africa in recent years, as the importance of Africa to Christianity has grown....

They seem to be everywhere these days, and it's friggin' scary. It's scary that at this point in humanity's progress, we're encountering a concerted effort to take us back to the dark days when irrationality was the norm. More and more, irrational minds are making it to institutions of higher education -- which is a failure of our education system. The fact that irrational people are, 1) not being taught how to think rationally; and 2) making it into institutions of high education, is alarming. If they're not learning how to think rationally in school, then they are not being educated -- and if they are making it to post-secondary, then secondary schools are failures -- because these idiots should be failed there, and not allowed to continue any further. There is a bare minimum that is required to be able to continue. Why are they being allowed to squeak by? in reference to: "A 21-year-old medical student and member of the Islamic Society, who did not...

This shit disgusts me, makes me angry and reminds me why we send soldiers to die in Afghanistan -- and why every member of al-Shabab should be castrated -- to start with. Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was 13-years-old, and she cried for mercy. This was after she was raped by three men, tried under Sharia law by al-Shabab in Somalia, and had her sentence for adultery handed down. They took her to a football stadium, put her in a hole up to her neck, and with an audience of over 1,000 to watch, 50 men threw stones at her. When she stopped moving, nurses went to check her pulse. She was still alive. So they put her back in the hole, and continued the stoning. She died in that hole back in October 2008. Fuck your Sharia! If you're Muslim and I offend you, then fuck you too. You should be offended by the rape and murder of Aisha. It should make your blood boil. Not because your religion was used to justify this atrocity -- but because a little girl was raped and murdered. You sho...

Yesterday, Freedom House (FH) released it's annual edition of Freedom in the World . And, for the fourth year in a row, freedom around the world suffered another decline. FH recorded declines in 40 countries -- and in 3 of those, their citizens lost electoral freedoms. The assault on freedom came in many forms, with freedom of expression and association being the dominant areas of loss, in addition to violent repression by governments, prison sentences for dissidents, attacks on human rights activists, and, terrorism and insurgence disrupting the general population. Other trends noted by report: Russia, China, Vietnam and Iran, cracking down on frontline human rights defenders; Philippines, Russia, Pakistan, Mexico, Somalia, China, Iran and Azerbaijan, attacking journalists and new media; Guinea, Honduras, Niger and Madagascar, experiencing coups, overthrowing legitimate governments, or extending the rule of existing rulers; and, As if things weren't bad enough, from Afri...

I fully support any campaign to end stupid laws -- especially those that hinders fundamental human rights -- that of free speech. You don't have to like what someone says, but you should fight for their right to say it, regardless of whether you agree with it or not. in reference to: "We believe in the golden rule: that we have a right to be treated justly, and that we have a responsibility to treat other people justly. Blasphemy laws are unjust: they silence people in order to protect ideas. In a civilised society, people have a right to to express and to hear ideas about religion even if other people find those ideas to be outrageous." "In this context we now publish a list of 25 blasphemous quotes, which have previously been published by or uttered by or attributed to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Mark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Randy Newman, James Kirkup, Monty Python, Rev Ian Paisley, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Frank Zappa, Salman Rushdie, Bjork, Amanda Donohoe, George Carlin, Pa...

"Honour" ... honour is such the wrong choice of word for murder. Maybe it wasn't murder. Maybe the car did manage to miss every obstacle, leave no skid marks behind and plunge into the Rideau Canal to kill the three girls and their aunt . And maybe Canada does need the death penalty to deal harshly with such honour crimes. The girls were 19, 17 and 13 years old. They had all of their lives ahead of them. Now they have nothing. This shit pisses me off to no end. The three murderers need more punishment than Canada is going to give. Canada needs to make a bigger effort at cultural integration of those from higher risked countries immigrating here. More of this happening around the country in new immigrant families, where the old world rules still rule the house. It has got to stop. Read more .

Reverend Mark Stringer cried. He's obviously not a man of god, because if he was, he'd raise an army to hunt down gays and lesbians in Iowa. Stringer cried however, because the Supreme Court in Iowa just made it OK for gays and lesbians to legally marry in the state. Previously, Stringer had officiated the only same-sex marriage in the state, in 2007, when there was a short legal limbo on permitting same sex marriages. The only way to officially stop the state is to amend its constitution -- an opportunity that won't present itself until 2012. "We are firmly convinced that the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective," the court said in an opinion written by Justice Mark Cady. "The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification." The...

Saudi Arabia does it again. Earlier this month, the troglodytes of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice , sentenced a 75-year-old widow to 40 lashes, for mingling with two young men, who were not immediate relatives. Khamisa Sawadi had asked one of the men, a nephew, to drop off some bread for her. He and his friend dropped by her place with the bread. They were arrested after delivering the bread. According to the verdict, " Because she said she doesn't have a husband and because she is not a Saudi, conviction of the defendants of illegal mingling has been confirmed. " What a bunch of dumb fucks .

I tried to read a little -- I can't concentrate. Two girls are yapping in hysterics behind me. One is getting married -- although the guy apparently doesn't know yet -- and she is telling her friend that god has someone for everyone. [Sigh] I wish they would keep their plans from god to themselves. It's a ridiculous conversation -- torturous to my ears. They're both putting such store into finding a guy to get married to, and getting a ring. (What's with the Second Cup today?) Sure they can have more ambition than that -- sure they can define themselves beyond a guy -- even if he is a potential partner. Next to us, a Filipino couple have moved in -- and we've picked up and moved along. They are an older and younger women -- and they're discussing the Bible . They're being very studious about it -- the older one seems to be tutoring the younger one on the finer points of misogyny -- and how to embrace it. 1 Corinthians 14:34: Women should rem...

Indian society is actually divided by this. Divided! WTF?! 30 men, belonging to the right-wing Hindu organization, Sri Ram Sena, went out and attacked women in a pub in Mangalore . Why? They claimed that they were protecting traditional Indian culture. Indian culture? Apparently traditional Indian culture includes the beating of their women. Again, WTF? There is division over this? This is religious misogyny. Nothing more. Acts like this just takes India backwards, like some its neighbours in the region. It's not the behaviour that a nation with economic and social aspirations should condone. But condone it, it did. Within a short while after 28 of the men were arrested, they were released on bail. Unacceptable. If Indians, Hindus, don't step up to ensure a just outcome, they will condone violence against women and give the green-light for religious fundamentalism to grow.

Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's top religious asshole, has proclaimed that Saudi Arabia is a nation that welcomes pedophiles . "It is incorrect to say that it's not permitted to marry off girls who are 15 and younger," Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti, said in remarks quoted Wednesday in the regional Al-Hayat newspaper. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her." How else do you interpret that statement? Child marriages to old men -- to pedophiles -- who supposedly promise not to abuse the children sexually until they reach puberty -- is a common practice in Saudi Arabia. Just last month apparently, a judge heard a case, and refused to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man. Her father handed her over to a friend as payment for a debt. WTF? Isn't it illegal to traffic in human beings???? This shit...

You've probably heard about the atheist bus campaign in the UK. It's apparently offending a lot of people who are totally insecure in their religion and sin on a regular basis. Think about it. The bus with statement, " There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life ," plastered on it would probably be getting a lot of attention from god -- whichever one(s) you believe in. God's everywhere apparently, and sees everything, and such an affront would surely be noticed. But apparently, god doesn't care, because there's been no smiting. Back in the days of yore, god apparently carried around a lot of anger, as there was a lot more smiting back then. Nowadays, it appears god can handle the affront . The insecure and sinners can't seem to handle it however. How else do you explain the preference to not travel around on those buses -- or drive them? After all, a bus giving the proverbial finger to god is sure to get some divine atte...

A hidden camera that caught an Iranian cleric committing adultery is making its rounds on the blogosphere ... especially in Iran, where the MSM works in concert with government censors. Let's hope the woman in the video doesn't get the blame, take the fall, and is executed for being caught on video with a fat-assed mullah. Many remember how last year—ironically in the same province of Hamadan—a medical student was arrested by the “Morality Patrol” for sitting with her fiancé in a public park. When her family was finally allowed to visit her 48 hours later, they were asked to remove her lifeless body. Police claimed she had hanged herself in the temporary detention centre, and the state blocked an investigation by warning that any discussion “would only give the enemy’s propagandists their much-needed opportunity to attack us.” The punishment that this cleric received was 100 lashes and banishment to another province. Hardly justice, but the embarrassment this is causing the...

I've heard of Sufism , but knew nothing about it, until my introduction via last week's Economist . It's an article that I highly recommend you read if you think Muslims and Islam equates to the Taliban. You couldn't get further to the other extreme if Islamic belief than Sufism. Some of the outlying Sufis celebrate with revelries that are nothing short of bacchanal. Yes, I said that. An orgy of dance, and music, and colours, and hashish, and yes, even sex. And Sufism is big -- bigger than the stupid Wahhabis . The stringent, legalistic creeds of the Taliban and other revivalists are on the rise in South Asia, but only a minority follow them. Most of the 450m Muslims in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh—nearly a third of the Islamic world—practise a gentler, more tolerant faith, in which pre-Islamic superstitions are still evident. It is strongly influenced by Sufism, an esoteric and, in theory, nonsectarian Muslim tradition, which is strictly followed by a much smal...

What the hell is up with the Economist? The latest issue (Dec. 20 - Jan. 2) has a three-pager on angels -- yes, people with wings that work for god and are constantly looking over people's shoulders. A serious discourse that brings your regular non-believer, up to speed on just how scary the friggin' world has gotten. Seriously, folks, we're not just talking regular superstition here -- like not shaving during the playoffs -- we're talking full blown flabbergastery! The non-medicinal, hallucinatory inducement of the divine. People w-h-o s-e-e t-h-i-n-g-s!!! The article points out that 75% of Americans believe in angels -- 45% in Israel, and somewhere in the 30s for Canada, Britain and Australia. A qualifier for the Canadian statistic comes from Ipsos Reid , in a survey published in December 2008, in which, 37% of Canadians believed in angels with certainty, while 30% said they believed somewhat. That's a whopping 67% of Canadians! The prairie and Atlanti...