After the faux-spring we had a few days ago it seems winter has arrived at last. At last the weather has reverted to what you expect for this time of year, possibly going further as an excited presenter on local radio today exclaimed this was “the first snow in ‘this’ area for nearly 10 years.” I am not convinced how true that is, but nevertheless, snow is rare here.

While the snow does indeed make everywhere look beautiful and is always fun to play in, this is a big shame. Following the blinding sunshine and really warm days we have been having, lots of plants and flowers (and I can only assume insects and animals) must have assumed it was really spring. I suspect this “sudden” cold snap will prove fatal to lots of them.

This really is a shame. Especially because snow is great.

(as if proof was needed).

Without going into too much detail as previously mentioned in passing, a group called the “Rational Response Squad” have created something they call the “Blasphemy Challenge” in which they encourage people to YouTube themselves saying they do not believe in the Holy Spirit. To an atheist this seems like a trivial way to get a free DVD. To a Christian this seems to be the worst thing on Earth. Strange people, aren’t they?

It is entertaining that the main accusations thrown against the Rational Response Squad is that they are trying to seduce children into atheism. Does any one really think children are born Christians? If so, why the need to indoctrinate them from as early an age as possible? Hypocrites.

Anyway, there is a blog, oddly titled “The Blasphemy Challenge” (I can only assume it is to lure the unsuspecting) which tries to refute the (real) Blasphemy Challenge. It has this as its tagline:

This blog is in response to the Rational Response Squad’s (RRS) Blasphemy Challenge. Here you’ll learn the true nature of this so-called challenge and who RRS are and what they’re all about. We’re also myspacing.

Now, as a naive atheist I would have assumed if you were going to counter the arguments put out by the RRS, you would actually counter the arguments. It seems that this blog would rather attack the RRS themselves and ridicule even the thought that people could deny the holy spirit. For the record, I think of the holy spirit in the same category as I think of Father Christmas, the tooth fairy, goblins, elves, dragons (etc). I find it difficult to “deny” the existence of something which does not exist as to me “deny” is a faith based term. The holy spirit is as real as the unicorn on the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon all those years ago.

Still, I suspect that as theists have no evidence to support their arguments use of ad hominems and arguments from a false premise are pretty much par for the course.

One part that really got me, and proved the Christians on this blog really do not get it (the point of the blasphemy challenge or what atheism actually is) was this: (emphasis on the original)

Well, it’s quite easy to see now. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is to attribute the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to Satan. That’s all it is, folks. And it’s plain for anybody to see that.

Priceless. There you have it. If you are an atheist, and don’t believe in the holy spirit you are actually saying the holy spirits power belongs to Satan. What unadulterated madness. Adding an argumentum ad populum at the end does not make this resemble any form of logical reasoning.

I presume if you blaspheme or deny the existence of Father Christmas you are actually attributing his present giving power to the grinch.

Nutcases. All of them.

Tags: Religion, Religious Fools, Blasphemy, Christianity, Blasphemy Challenge, Rational Response Squad, Society, Philosophy, Nutcases, Atheist, Atheism, Logical Fallacy

It is not often that a blog gets specifically mentioned here, rather than just being added to the blogroll, but today I came across a blog with such a funny “about” section I couldn’t resist.

About this blog

People die for it. People kill for it. They ignore fact to support it. They champion ignorance to defend it. And worst of all they teach their children to do the same. Faith is a disease; a dysfunction of the mind and of society as a whole. Faith is a dangerous irrationality that has cost millions of lives and will cost millions more. In a world in which we hear so much about respecting others beliefs this blog is a stand against that idiocy. Faith deserves no respect. Faith deserves to be cured.

If that is not enough to make you want visit, [Deity of Choice] knows what will do the trick.

Tags: Atheism, Atheist, Blogroll, Links, Religion, Society,Philosophy

For those who are interested, the debate between Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan is continuing. You can catch up with Page 4 (the most current) or start from the beginning.

Currently, it seems to be getting a bit long winded and part of the problem with this sort of “online blog-war” style of debate is that each post contains a number of points, but with a few exceptions these are overlooked. The responses on both sides seem to focus on one salient point that the other has made, then build in another 10 – 20 spin off points of their own.

It might have been better if the combatants in this particular war were forced to keep each post to a single point and there was some moderation to focus them. Both are excellent writers and both are more than capable of “spinning” their viewpoint to the extent that onlookers (myself included) can see the logic and “reasonableness” of what they are saying. I really do think this is a debate which will never, ever end.

Before anyone gets started, this is not science. This is a debate about faith on a website called Beliefnet. You still can not do science by debate :-).

[tags]philosophy, society, Religion, Sam Harris, Andrew Sullivan, Blog War, Debate, Faith, Religious Tolerance, Atheism, Religious Moderates[/tags]

For months now, this blog has had “issues” with Technorati, and sadly it is like banging your head against a wall. Fundamentally, nothing that this blog complains about is going to make Technorati change they way they do things (and we are aware of that), but we do feel that by highlighting it there may eventually come the time that enough people have the same problem – which may then get them to change.

The problem is a recurring one. Technorati is erratic in how it indexes blogs following a ping. For example when you look at the most recent posts from this blog, the last two posts (Intemperance and AJAXification) are conspicuous in their absence. According to Technorati, the most recent post is the Charlie Brooker one, made 23 hours ago now (and an hour before the last two).

Broadly speaking this is not a massive problem. The posts are there. Any one who visits the site will see them and other indexing services have picked them up. The problem is Technorati. Technorati is probably the most popular blog search and using tags to find blogs is truly an excellent idea. Rarely do we at Why Dont You search for content, we search for tags. Finding posts tagged with the words you are looking for is often a much better way of getting information.

Given Technorati’s problems though, there is no way to know what is being missed. As an example, if the one true AJAX tutorial is out there, it could be tagged AJAX on an indexed blog, but Technorati may have decided to capriciously ignore it.

At the moment, I don’t think there is a solution. As previously mentioned Google seems to have a better index and is a much faster (and more reliable search) but it doesn’t use tags – which are (IMHO) quite critical regarding blogs. I suppose I still wish I had the skil, and server capacity, to make my own blog search / indexer.

Tags: Search Engines, Technology, Technorati, Software, Code, Blogs, Blog Index, Tagging, Weblogs

Nearly a year ago, there was a bit of debate on this blog about the difficulties finding good on-line tutorials about AJAX. Things have certainly not changed. Still today a search on a famous search engine produces little of value. It seem that a lot of the AJAX furore was just a version of web-based-Vapourware. Who would have thought it.

Even today, the idea that putting AJAX onto a site is a “GOODTHING®” holds sway on lots of web designer magazines and websites. Part of me thinks this is total nonsense, and I have yet to see a compelling example of how AJAX can really benefit websites. I mean, does it actually add value, or is it like rounded corners – just something which looks cool? All the demos I can find fall into two broad categories. One type have some implementation of Google maps with cool little pointers telling you things like the most likely place to get mugged. Nice but of certainly limited value. The other type (this blog included) make use of AJAX to do “cool” things like show images in floating boxes (try it here!), again light boxes are undeniably cool but it could be questioned how much value they really add.

Despite this, I am still trying to learn it. There is the off chance that I can come across something which will change my mind and make me think it is all worthwhile. Even though I am far from a JavaScript newbie (I even have the certificate to prove it!), finding tutorials is not an easy thing. Multiple web searches find either examples which are so trivial it is embarrassing that someone has posted them, or examples which seem to show the creator does not really have a good idea what AJAX can be used for but wants to make a tutorial about it! (These tend to involve meaningless sorting of lists and the like).

Does anyone know of a good AJAX tutorial?

Is there ever good journalism?

Today’s Daily Mail, always an example of the moral outrages of the UK…, has a front page expose about how 8000 police officers in the UK are on limited duties but being paid full rates.

Basically, when a police officer goes on a long period of sickness and then returns to work they are intially kept doing limited duties (phones, manning CAD, co-ordinating patrols, helping with background work and paper work etc) until they get back into the swing of things. This is the only course of action available to a responsible employer.

Now the Mail is complaining that this is costing the taxpayer £243 million a year and is not helping to keep crime off the streets. Seriously. This is what it says:

But, despite playing only a limited role in protecting the public, they receive their full salary – an average of £30,000 a year.

What madness is this. I am even more gobsmacked by the comments made on the newspaper article (mostly “pay them sick pay like everyone else”), which goes a long way to highlight how the UK seems to have divorced itself from reality.

The paper rounds this off with some good old fear mongering and false authority fallcies:

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance pressure group, said: “Some officers will obviously have to be on restrictive pay but when the numbers get out of hand, taxpayers are getting poor value for money and public security is put at risk. This problem needs to be sorted immediately.”

What on Earth does he know about running a police force?

These are police officers. Fortunes have been spent training them. They are often injured doing their job protecting the public and have to recuperate. While they are recuperating they are not going to be as effective on the streets. But equally importantly, since when has doing the work back in the police station been a “limited role.”

It really is insane, but then again it seems the Daily Mail has suffered some kind of mental disorder over the past few years anyway.

Shame on them.

Tags: Police Officers, Police Forces, Daily Mail, Society, Nonsense, Sick Leave, Home Office, Home Affairs

And I mean breathtaking.

That wonderful source of philosophical magic that is MySpace has continued to come up trumps. This time it has a post by “jennandahalf” which defies any rational understanding. She is obviously distressed about the Blasphemy Challenge and writes: (emphasis mine)

Okay, I’m not here to preach to anyone, but I hope that this means something to you.

About a month ago, a video was posted on YouTube by an Atheist group encouraging people to use blasphemy against Christianity and the fact that there is a God, Son and Holy Spirit by posting a video. The reward? Having an unforgivable sin on your slate and getting a free movie called ‘The God Who Wasn’t There.’ Woo…

Upon watching this in church this morning, I started to cry. It’s so sad that so many people don’t have faith in anything at all. It’s absolutely astounding! There are young kids, former Biblical counselors, and older nonbelievers. There was even a girl I recognized from Christian Club. What compels people to give up faith? Many of the people state that Christianity is close-minded and not ‘fun.’ Nothing could be farther from the truth! Christians should be accepting, loving, and get the most out of life! But that’s a different story…

Also featured on YouTube is an interview with one of the originators of The Blasphemy Challenge, as it’s commonly called. Fox news did something right for a change and asked why the Atheist community that sponsors the challenge is sucking kids into a world of no hope and disbelief.

I encourage everyone to reflect on this. Visit YouTube and watch the videos.

There is talk that Christians are planning a rebuttal by posting videos declaring the name of Jesus Christ.

Amazing. I hope this is a satirical post.

First off, she is pretty deluded if she thinks all atheists dont have “any faith in anything at all.” This is a oft argued topic so I will leave it for now and concentrate on the second, best bit.

Yes, Christians should be accepting so why can’t she accept that not all people are Christians? If they made videos saying they had converted to Islam would she be as upset? Some times I am truly amazed by the nonsense Americans can put out when they think their faith is challenged – and surely if they have faith, they have nothing to worry about.

The last point was addressed in a previous post here.

Tags: Idiot, Religion, Fox News, Philosophy, Blasphemy, Blasphemy Challenge, Society, Christian, Christianity, Islam,Atheist

imaginaryfriends,
originally uploaded by DiscoWeasel.

Well, some people may well be. Personally, given the comments about Atheism I have been reading today, I am not sure I care.

Is it acceptable for “theists” to complain about Godless Atheists but unacceptable for a godless atheist to mock the theist?

Personally I think not.

Take this picture any way you want 🙂

Or is that just insane? There is an excellent post on Effect Measure today which chronicles some of the nutcases who can get on TV as long as they are praising their Lord.

All the good, pertinent points have already been made over there, and it is late here so I wont write too much.The post begins with a bit of background when a family complained about too much prayer in their children’s school (what ever happened to separation of Church and State in the US?):

This week [Austin Cline] discusses a Paula Zahn show on CNN that begins with a brief vignette about couple in a small town in Mississippi who complained to their son’s public elementary school principal about time spent in bible study and prayer. Yes, his public elementary school. For their trouble they became outcasts. No one would speak to them or let their children play with their children. When it was later revealed they were atheists, the father’s boss got calls complaining he had brought an atheist to town. People drove parked in front of their house and stared at them as if they were animals in a zoo. They left town.

This on its own is shocking enough, but the rest of the transcript takes it to a new level. I can’t do it enough justice here, pop over to Effect Measure and see it for yourself. The panelists are barely coherent in their urge to insult and denigrate Atheists. So much for Christian compassion – they would rather you worshipped Zeus than no God at all. The comment “I’m Jewish, but I recognize we’re a Christian country and freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion” really made me laugh. What idiocy.

Makes you wonder, when the Land of the Free shows the same religious tolerance as a fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship…..

Just to let you know we have added the Atheist Blogroll to the site now – this is a frequently updated link to loads of great blogs. Well worth checking out and if you have a blog of your own – Join Now! It doesn’t have to be an Atheist Blog as such, but you can find more details out from Mojoey’s site. What are you waiting for?

Another entertaining link courtesy of the Nullifidian Blog. This time it is Professor Alister McGrath who comes under the spotlight. Claiming his two doctorates (molecular biology and theology) as a ground point, Prof. McGrath is about to publish a book called the Dawkins Delusion – a not even subtle attack on Richard Dawkins.

That title alone is enough to show that the religious-right struggle to grasp the concept of humour, not to mention the issue with the fact that Dawkins is not God. Dawkis is not the Prophet, or Pope of Atheism. Will the religious crusaders ever grasp what the concept of Atheism means? It is not worship of some hitherto unknown deity. The God Delusion presented arguments about why worship of God was a mistake, and God probably does not exist. If the Dawkins Delusion is going to try the same tactic it will be funny. No one worships Dawkins and he certainly does exist!

The Nullifidian blog nicely deconstructs most of the nonsense and woo surrounding the book (and Prof McGrath) but one bit I could not ignore:

[Prof McGrath] continues: “When I was an atheist, I sounded like Richard Dawkins. I focused only on the things that fitted my theory. One of the things that made me stop being an atheist was realising things are rather more complicated.”

Now that was funny. Belief in the invisible friend is more complicated than working out how life forms evolve and adapt to their environment. Amazing, isn’t it. Yeah, “God Did It” is such a complicated concept to try and hold in your head. I love the way Prof. McGrath refers to him self as an ex-Atheist. That really tickles.

There is another side swipe a Dawkins, saying he “refuses” to debate with the anti-Dawkins Prof McGrath. Remember, Science is not Guided By Consensus. Debates are meaningless.

The UK is getting worse as far as education goes. Following from a post I found on the Nullifidian Blog, I ended up at the BBC News page for Friday 2 Feb 07, with the title “Teacher sacked over religion row.”

In a nutshell, a supply teacher at a Slough secondary school was “sacked” (after “several days” rather than an eight week contract) for saying “most suicide bombers were Muslim.” For context the supply teacher was teaching Religious Education so the debate about religion is probably appropriate.

Now it appears (the only source is the BBC website) that the teacher (Mr Andrew McLuskey) was sacked after the pupils complained at his comments. To put this in perspective, the school is predominantly Muslim, so it could be agreed that his comments were “ill advised.” Mr McLuskey was obviously upset that he never had the chance to defend himself and the BBC reports the school comments as follows:

The school authorities denied they were being heavy-handed and said their first priority was pupils’ welfare. “I don’t think it’s important what I think,” said the school’s deputy head teacher Ray Hinds. “It’s what the pupils think that were in the classroom at the time. And they were very upset.”

This is mind boggling. A quick Google search has reported that at least 99.9% of suicide bombers are Islamic, or supporting an Islamic cause (you can rarely ask the bomber about his religion after the event). It seems to me, that what Mr McLuskey said is factually correct.

It is certainly not the same as saying “Most Muslims are Suicide Bombers” which would have, quite rightly, caused outage and is blatantly false. The comments made by the deputy head are telling and it is a worrying story they tell.

I am sure the School (who oddly are unfindable on the internet), feel they have done the right thing but in reality all it has done is play into the hands of the right wingers who will cry “political correctness” and probably lead invariably towards backlash.

In the sad world where teachers can be sacked for saying something which, while correct, upsets the pupils (and I suspect the deputy head), it is no surprise that creationism and other forms of religious fundamentalism is sneaking into our society.

Tags: Education, Crazy Schools, Religion, Islam, Suicide Bomber, Society, Rants, Mistakes

Loathe though I am to admit it, there is actually an article (op-ed piece really) in this months .net Magazine which I agree with. Yes, it is shocking.

This is temporary. There are rantworthy bits to the rest of the magazine. Normal service will be resumed soon

The normally loathsome “Gary Marshall’s Big Mouth” section is about a news item in which two UK schools have banned Wi-Fi devices after parent’s complained about the health risks the devices posed. Strangely for .net they are actually on the ball here and, as Gary Marshall points out it is a load of “bollocks.”

There is no evidence that Wi-Fi is dangerous and from a scientific point of view you can’t prove they are “safe.” Sadly, some of the less informed people out there will hit upon this and assume it means they are dangerous. You cant prove using pens is safe, but you can say there is no evidence it is dangerous. Shall we ban pens? The reductio ad absurdum on this one could go on for ever.

What the schools really should have done, is made the parents come back in for science lessons. Well done to .net for standing up for sense and science (for a change).

Tags: Science, .net Magazine, Web Design, Wi-Fi, WiFi, Wireless Networking, Technology, Health and Safety, Education, Crazy Schools

Doing a search on Technorati tags for Error Messages was quite enlightening. First off it linked me to a site called RegSpyWareCleaner.com (which I refuse to link to but you can see it’s profile on Technorati).

The main thing to notice is the spelling mistakes: For example, posts have titles like “Kill spywrae,” “Spywarei nfo” and “Daware se” (I assume that is something to do with Adware – which the site often calls Addware). Now I am not doing a spelling offensive here, but it is interesting that a supposedly professional site, trying to sell its product to English speakers doesn’t spell check its content.

The more important thing is when you realise what is basically a Google Ad site has six backlinks on Technorati. That is surprising. Who in their right mind would backlink? There really is little on the site you could call content, and at first I though the links were just other blogs laughing at the site (as this one nearly was). However a second search on Technorati shows who the culprits are.

Now there is nothing wrong with getting backlinks, until you see these are from dodgy looking spyware sites which make the same spelling mistakes. The most recent is a post titled “Spyg ames” (I am not going to link, they have enough backlinks already) which is from a site that has 67 blogs linking to it. A quick visit shows it has almost no content (and what it does, seems to be by accident). That is amazing. The site has six times as many inbound links as this blog, which produced over 120 quality posts last month! Checking on Technorati again, shows that these 150-odd links from 67 blogs (this time all the linking blogs have zero links of their own) are from yet more scrap sites which do very little other than show Google ads.

I get the sinking feeling that if I carried out the same checks on each of the other blogs which have backlinks, I would find pretty much the same story.

So much for the power of the social web and the value of backlinking.

Tags: Technorati, Web 2.0, Useless, Technology, Rants, Backlinks, Social Networking, Backlink Spam