As someone who exists largely on the fringes of the sceptical and atheist communities I pretty much stayed out of the debate.  I figured that it was all just a storm in a tea-cup and would blow over soon enough. Indeed, as the weeks turned into months the story slowly faded from my sight, only occasionally popping up. Just as any big story does in the press.

Because I wasn’t really paying attention, and I usually switched off when I realised a blog post was about this event I never fully understood the levels of depravity some dirty low-life scum were still sinking to, and how there were treating Rebecca.

Until I decided to read this post:

http://skepchick.org/2011/09/mom-dont-read-this/

I am in utter disgust with the way that some people are treating not only a fellow human being, but also a fellow sceptic. The hate that Rebecca has had directed her way is utterly deplorable, and completely uncalled for.

If sides are being taken, and I really wish they weren’t, then I want to make it publicly known that I am absolutely, 100%, behind Rebecca Watson here.

So have at it you scurvy dogs!

Arrrrrrrrr

Please visit the Libel Reform Campaign website, sign the petition (it’s not just for UK citizens) and send a message to your MP (if you are a UK citizen).

The recent earthquake in Haiti is a major disaster. From the what I have heard and read there are thousands, probably hundreds of thousands dead, and the immediate area is in chaos. Governments and organisations the world over are promising aid and financial assistance, and people of all beliefs are dipping into their pockets to give money to the various aid agencies that have sprung into action.

So, this is all the things that normally happen when there is a huge humanitarian disaster. Everyone bands together in an effort to help those stricken by whatever natural even has befallen them.

Then the religious nuts chime in. First it was that odious toad Pat Robertson claims that it was divine retribution because of Haiti’s pact with the devil to throw out the French, and that it is a blessing in disguise. Second, whilst driving in to work this morning I was listening to Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2, and some religious numpty came on (I didn’t catch his name unfortunately) and proceeded to make some utterly bizarre claims. Echoing Pat he said something along the lines of “How can a god exist and allow this sort of thing to happen. Well, he can’t, unless some good comes of it.”, “Among the first support that came were words of support from the Pope.”, and “God didn’t cause this, it was just a natural event.”

HOLY COW!

OK, first off Haiti overthrew the French over 200 years ago. There is a saying that “Revenge is a dish best served cold” but wow, God obviously wanted it very cold!

Next, this is a huge disaster, with massive loss of human life. What sort of heartless, uncaring, opportunist do you have to be to say “It’s OK, don’t worry about all those dead people,God allowed this to happen so something good would come of this”. An all powerful, loving being would manage to bring about good without killing off vast swathes of the population of a country. A country by the way where around 95% of the population identify themselves  as Christians.

But lastly, the Pope(^TM ) can blow it out has fat ass. Right now what the people of Haiti need is food, medicine, and rescue workers then money in the coming months not some pompous twit sitting in his lavish palace blowing hot air.

If you can, please give to one of the international aid organisations that is actually doing something. I suggest either the Red Cross, or Oxfam.

*** FOLLOW UP ***

Some details of the supposed Pact with the Devil from StraightDope.com

Just shows that Pat has his facts wrong – no great suprises there.

Happy New Year everyone!

In many ways AGCC is a very contentious issue, and in many ways it isn’t. There is a substantial, an often vocal, group of denialists who see a conspiracy at every turn, and try to use any perceived crack as a way to shatter the whole thing. There is also an equally vocal group of AGCC evangelists who are trying to get the word out to the world, and convince us to mend our ways. Both sides have a right to an opinion, although not everyone’s opinion is backed up by evidence nor does everyone’s opinion necessarily have a right to be heard on a public platform.

Then there is me. Up until about 9 months ago I was what most people would probably consider to be a denialist. Not that that is how I saw myself of course, but of the two extremes that is the camp that I probably closer fitted in with. I was openly sceptical of the climate change ‘promoters’, and their motives. I knew that the long term records (various proxies – tree rings, ice cores etc) showed that CO2 and temperatures had been both much higher and much lower than they are today so it seemed reasonable that whatever was the cause then could equally be the cause today. There was no need to invoke a human cause, and try to stir up the demons that changing our ways would invoke. I didn’t so much think that the scientists were part of a conspiracy, or that they were wrong per se, but that their models were too simplistic, and that there was some hidden ‘something’ that was being ignored or overlooked.

Then I decided to take a step back, and examine some of my core beliefs a little closer. My musings reaffirmed my atheistic beliefs, but in doing so I realised that my reasoning for being sceptical about AGCC were almost identical to that of Creationists/Intelligent Designers and their attitude towards Evolution. Given that I accept evolution because it works, it’s supported by the science, and is the prevailing opinion of the experts in the field it seemed slightly unacceptable to deny AGCC for exactly the same reasons.

That’s not to say that I’ve done a complete about turn. I haven’t. As I said above, I never thought of myself as a denialist to begin with. I accepted that the data showed that we have experienced a 0.7C increase in temperature since the start of the industrial revolution. I knew that CO2 had at least the potential to influence the temperature. I was just unsure that human activity was the sole cause of it all.

My current view is quite a bit more complex. I accept the prevailing scientific view that human activities seem to be the primary driver behind increased CO2 levels (and other atmospheric greenhouse gasses like methane), and that these increases seem to be the primary driver behind the observed temperature increase. I am still sceptical about certain aspects however. I’m not convinced that human activities are the sole cause of climate change. I have concerns that many of the pieces of remedial action that governments and ‘green’ groups are trying to push on us are nothing more than just fund raisers, or an attempt to gain attention. Whilst stumbling around the web I frequently come across websites promoting ‘green’ goods or initiatives. Almost without fail such goods only have a thin veneer of green, and if you dig even slightly below the surface they quickly lose their credentials and they just become another persons attempt to make money on the back of a global problem. I still believe that our understanding of the intricacies of our climate are still woefully inadequate. We still do not understand whether certain aspects are positive or negative feedback systems. We’re constantly gaining insights into how the whole system hangs together, and how best to integrate such information into the models that we use to predict what will happen.

One thing that strikes me as odd however is that there are certain aspects of the whole Climate Change/Green arena that are surely beyond argument, but are rarely mentioned. We are highly dependant on oil, and oil is a very finite resource. Once it runs out, it’s gone. At this point it’s unclear exactly how much is left (estimates change all the time, I remember in the mid 1980s there being talk of only 15-20 years left) but it will run out. We need to work hard to find alternatives to oil (and coal) that are at least as cost effective financially. At worst such alternatives are a win, at best they’re a win-win. As a minimum they will allow our society to continue to function approximately as it does today. If the currently accepted position of too much CO2 being a bad thing continues to be held as true then anything that reduces that additional load must be a good thing.

As always I must point out I am not a scientist. I do not work in any field even remotely related to any form of climate science. I am just an interested bystander, and aspiring sceptic. I am willing to be proved wrong, and if I have my facts wrong I only too happy to be shown sources that help me to understand where I have gone wrong.

One thing that is annoying me however is the propensity for web sites to add stupid little ‘Snow’ animations. You know the sort, you visit the page and a few seconds later you start to see flakes of ‘snow’ falling down from the top. Personally I find these sorts of things really annoying, and tend to drive me away from the website. Doesn’t help though that I am an avid Stumbler, so I seem to regularly arrive at such sites. Then to top it all off Steam started doing it too. GAH!

Oh well, I’ll just have to suffer in silence as usual!

Now, if only it would snow in real life then I’d have something to smile about. I love the stuff, but never get any of any consequence where I live. I’m not asking for much, maybe a foot of it. Just enough to make a proper sized snow man and instigate a real snowball fight.

So it was that a week or so ago in the kitchen of my place of work (I work for a large US based international IT company with offices in most countries) a cardboard box appeared, with a note attached requesting that milk bottle lids be left therein. No further information was given at all. Being the human sheep (sheople?) that we all are, milk bottle tops began to appear in the box.

I however, was a little more sceptical. I wanted to know what the collection was for, what purpose was being served by the collection of small pieces of plastic. I suspected that it might be for some charity thing or other but I couldn’t imagine what exactly. For all I knew it was for the local KKK chapter, or maybe the BNP – two causes I absolutely don’t want to support. So I simply wrote ‘WHY?’ on the note. For a couple of days that question went unanswered. But when the response came, it didn’t help. All that happened was that the portion of the notice I had written on was ripped off! Unperturbed I wrote another question. I simply asked if there was a reason for the collection, or if it was just a strange fetish. I figured that should be provocative enough to elicit a genuine reply.

A couple of days later a real response came. Again my question was ripped off, but this time an additional bit was added to the note. Apparently the collection was to help get a wheelchair for a disabled child. At last, some real information, and who wouldn’t want to help such a worthwhile cause?

But, I’m still a sceptic.

So, I fired up Google, and searched ‘wheelchair bottle tops‘. Imagine my surprise (not) when I find that there are loads of people collecting milk bottle tops, and no-one seems to know exactly what to do with them. Many people are calling Hoax, and I can understand why. There may have been such a scheme once, but it obviously did the rounds, and the origins are lost and the scheme is gone.

But the idea persists. Some big hearted people catch a whiff of the idea, and unquestioningly perpetuate it. If just a few more people would ask ‘Why?’ when presented with a command the world may be a better place.

It’s a great allegory for religion I feel.

*I don’t wish to denegrate sheep with this comparison. Sorry if it offends any of my Ovis aries readership.

P.S. If anyone genuinely does know what to do with these tops here in the UK, and can provide a web link to back it up, I’ll be sure to pass it along to the mystery collector. If there is a genuine cause that can be supported, then I’m only to happy to help out.

Not much is known about St George. He was born in Turkey in the 3rd century, and served with honour and bravery in the Roman army. He was a Christian, and despite the Romans best efforts he never renounced his beliefs.

The most famous story about St George is of course where he is said to have slain a dragon. Unfortunately though the first evidence for the story seems to be from around the 12thcentury, so it’s almost certain that the story is apocryphal – that and the fact that there is no such thing as dragons of course! That seems to be a common thread with Christian mythology.

There are many people calling for St Georges day to be declared a public holiday, and more be done to celebrate Englishness. That’s fine with me, anything that gets me an extra day off work is A-OK.

Anyway, to all of my fellow countrymen out there, wear your English rose badge on your three lions t-shirt whilst waving your red and white flags with pride! (Oh, and don’t forget the knotted handkerchief, shorts, milk-bottle white legs, and sandals with socks – all part of the English national dress)

Have a great St Georges Day.

There seem to be a number of current campaigns here in the UK trying to get us to be concerned with the dangers of this or that, and promising that if we all do something about it we can cut out ‘x’ number of deaths a week. The thing is, it’s BS.

We’re all going to die. End of story. By convincing us all to quit smoking (which I did about 3 years ago) then yes, the number of deaths caused by lung cancer for instance will drop off. But the number of deaths won’t change, only the cause of death.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be made aware that certain activities can increase the incidence of certain diseases that will likely kill you. Certainly, give us the facts, and allow us to make out own informed decisions, but don’t pretend that it’s going to stop us from dieing.

As a side note, there is also another side effect of delaying all these deaths that the campaigners most likely don’t think about, but most western governments most certainly do. Aging populations. The UK government is already in a bit of a panic because it’s grown to realise in the past few years that people are living longer and longer after they retire, and the cost of paying all those pensions is just going to go up and up, with no easy way to fund them. Again, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should just let the ‘oldies’ just die off, just be more mindful of the consequences of what we’re doing.

Sorry, I rambled a bit there. This was my third attempt to post this, the last two disappeared when I suffered connection problems.

Right, that’s enough of that sillyness. Now onto the sensible bit – eating chocolate eggs that were apparently laid by a rabbit!

Have a great day all (as I hope you do every day), try not to eat too much chocolate.

BBC News Article

Obviously, as an atheist, I’m reluctant to let any of my tax (or National Insurance in this case) pounds be used for any theistic purposes. So to that extent I do support the calls of the NSS. I have no problem with chaplains per se, and I’m quiet happy for them to visit hospital patients and their families if called upon to do so. I just don’t want to be paying for it.

There is one other point however that I’d like to touch on, and my views may be slightly surprising. In the radio interview, the chaplain (whose name I didn’t catch) mentioned that their services do form part of a ‘whole body healing’ service. He claimed that patients who were subject to the services of a chaplain had a much better recover rate. I did cough slightly at that statement, but then I thought on a bit. Obviously, such a claim should be subjected to a properly controlled scientific study, and anything that can aid the healing/recovery process needs to be encouraged. The thing is however, there is already some data that may support this position – sort of. Investigations into the efficacy of ‘Complementary and Alternative Medicines’ (CAM) seem to indicate that there is a small improvement above and beyond what can be explained from the placebo effect. This improvement isn’t down to the actual medicines themselves, but is due to the fact that CAM practitioners are often more able to spend time just being with the patient. The human body does have amazing powers to heal itself, and anything that makes the patient feel happier and cared for can assist the overall healing process. Because of this it’s just possible that chaplains can be beneficial. But so could doctors and nurses if they were able to spend more ‘bedside’ time. So could anyone whose job was just to go round the wards, and be a friend to the patients.

I wonder, can we have atheist/humanist chaplains?

Tonys Pot Noodle Doner Kebab

First impressions…

Well, it smells like Doner Kebab, and the chilli sauce is bright red and hot. Just need to wait a little bit for the hot water to ‘cook’ the noodles.

Now, the eating…

OK, I wasn’t expecting some gourmet delight obviously, but this takes bland to a whole new level. If it wasn’t for the chilli sauce it would have no flavour at all – either that or the sauce has completely numbed my tongue. I think I’m going to have to eat the plastic tub just to add a bit of variation. This is by far the least flavoursome Pot Noodle ever – which is saying something. I doubt this will appeal even to drunks who have just arrived home from the pub, they’d be much better off with the real thing.

I’ve no idea who Tony is, but if this is the quality of his food then I can only presume that he was incredibly desperate and so the idea of selling out to Pot Noodle seemed like a good idea.

Final thoughts…

I would have had a better meal at McD’s.

Remember, I do this so you don’t have to.

*** Update ***

Oh my Gawd, I’m suffering some major wind problems. Phew!

I’m not Irish – my nearest Irish link is the fact that me ex-wifes parents are Irish. I also don’t drink as a rule (I can easily go a couple of months between alcoholic beverages) which is the traditional activity in celebration of St Patricks day. Add to that the fact that I’m atheist and thus don’t believe in the whole Saint bit, and you might be wondering why I’m passing on wishes for this day.

The simple fact is that most atheists, just like most theists, only need the slightest excuse for a bit of fun. So, put on some green clothing, wear a shamrock, celebrate with friends, family, or whatever way suits you best, and above all, have a bit of fun.

Irish Clover