Actions have consequences

If you happen to be plugged into the community, then you might (or perhaps might not) be aware that strong words have been exchanged by various individuals. The problem is that words have meaning and so there are consequences when such words are exchanged. Michael Nugent, the chair of Atheist Ireland, is a good guy, … Read more

Ensaf Haidar, wife of Raif Badawi has a petition for you to sign – #FreeRaif

Ensaf Haidar, wife of Raif Badawi above, has a petition for you to sign … His hands and feet in shackles, his face contorted with pain, for everyone to see. It’s unbearable to think this is how they publicly flogged my husband, 50 times over. Now I hear he could even be executed — but you can … Read more

Replying to comments – A rebuttal for Dualism

I tend to normally let comments stand asis and generally don’t reply, but today I have one that provokes a bit of thought. A couple of days ago, I blogged a response to an article by Paul Poulton, the singer/songwriter, author and speaker. He in turn has replied and dropped a thoughtful reply, and so it … Read more

The brutal murder of secular activist and writer Avijit Roy

I’m personally sickened and appalled to learn that secular blogger Avijit Roy was been murdered in Bangladesh yesterday. The IHEU (International Humanist and Ethical Union) has the details, so I’m cutting and pasting the following directly from their website … “Abhijit Roy lives in America and so, it is not possible to kill him right now. He will be murdered when he … Read more

Sex, Lies, and Blog Statistics – the top 5 from 2014

Time for me to indulge myself in a little rant about the increasing pervasiveness of what can best be termed click-bait, but first, since it is January 1, I’ll start with a bit of crowd sourcing by taking a quick look at the statistics to see which of my posts got the most views in 2014. Here are the … Read more

Saudi Atheist Facing 10 Years in Jail and 1,000 Lashes for Blasphemy Receives Prize from Reporters Without Borders

A very brave Saudi Arabian blogger, Raif Badawi (pictured above), was sentenced to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes for the (from the viewpoint of the Saudi authorities) hideous crime of starting a progressive website. It contained ideas that truly frightened and terrified them, for example religious tolerance and women’s rights, and so they came down hard on … Read more