At the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday, 15 April, states belonging to the Organisation of Islamic Conference demanded that Holland prosecute one of its MPs for “defamation of religion”. IHEU and NSS sound the alarm on freedom of expression at the UN | International Humanist and Ethical Union.

A report by Muriel Fraser, via the NSS: “The increasing emphasis on religion and religious identities has led to the transformation of multiculturalism into multi-faithism” – and the ones who suffer the most are South Asian women. This is the conclusion of Pragna Patel’s important new study, Faith in the state? Asian women’s struggles for human rights in the U.K. Patel has long experience working with these women in a London-based resource and advocacy centre, the Black Southall Sisters.

Internet atheist firebrand Pat Condell has had 35 of his YouTube rants collected, re-mastered, and packaged into one DVD. As The Freethinker first revealed in its February interview with Pat, the DVD is produced by RichardDawkins.net. The 35 videos, plus an exclusive introduction by the man himself, add up to three hours of hard-hitting, no-punches-pulled irreligious wit. A snip at $15 – and all for a good cause! The Freethinker : Pat Condell DVD released.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has made a submission to the DCSF’s Rose Review of the Primary Curriculum, calling for a reform of religious education (RE), a focus on the development of morals, values and social interaction, inclusive assemblies and the teaching of evolution and scientific method in all primary schools. Andrew Copson, BHA Director of Education and Public Affairs, said, ‘Our submission to the Primary Review incorporates a vital and large part of our work in education – the reform of the primary curriculum to suit better the needs of all children, and to ensure that primary education is inclusive and consistent across all maintained schools.

Just one of several letters in response to an article by Esther Addley in The Guardian on 2nd April – Cardinal attacks ‘aggressive’ secularism gaining ground in UK. Read down the page for another from the BHA’s CEO, Hanne Stinson. Tony Blair and Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor deliberately conflate secularism with atheism. Atheism is lack of belief in gods. Secularism is a belief in equality in politics, education and law, regardless of religious belief.

E-mail: mail@suffolkhumanists.org.uk Event description: A report on the subjugation of women in Iraq – the programme will examine claims that ‘honour’ killing is being used as a weapon to fill them with fear. Further info: tinyurl.com/6mpghq

An animated film about Noah’s Ark is due to be released this year. The Internet Movie Database lists it as “science fiction”. That’ll upset the loonies who think it’s a true story.

Global food shortages, soaring prices and alarm over the environment. But every day, Britain throws away 220,000 loaves of bread, 1.6m bananas, 550,000 chickens, 5.1m potatoes, 660,000 eggs, 1.2m sausages and 1.3m yoghurts A new study has exposed the staggering amount of food thrown away every day by the British public, calculating that the annual total of wasted products adds up to a record £10bn. Each day, according to the government-backed report, Britons throw away 4.

The latest Suffolk Humanists and Secularists newsletter is online now, featuring more on our name change, birds in Ipswich, the 2011 census and more. Our website will be having a change of address and another facelift soon – watch this space!

The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday (6/5/08) to support the abolition of the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. This was the final stage in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, and the amendment was carried by 378 votes to 57. The Bill received Royal Assent yesterday, so the blasphemy law is now officially dead and buried. National Secular Society – Finally the blasphemy law is dead and buried.

Terry Sanderson, President of the NSS, blasts Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor: Where does on start with a speech as specious and self-serving as the one given by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor in Westminster Cathedral yesterday [8/5/08]? The BBC headed its report of the event: “‘Respect atheists’, says Cardinal”. Can you imagine anything so utterly patronising than the leader of some rapidly diminishing religious sect (in the UK at least – with a 40% decline in attendance in a generation) telling a huge proportion of the population that he’s prepared to tolerate them?

Addict-o-matic searches the web for news stories, blogs, videos, photos and all sorts on any subject you like, including Humanism. Go explore!

Sign the Brussels Declaration today. As the 50th anniversary of the creation of the European Union approaches, the principles and values on which modern Europe was founded are once again under threat. Recent events have thrown into sharp focus the divisions that exist between those who share our liberal, humanitarian values and those who seek to create a more authoritarian society, or would use our culture of tolerance to promote intolerance and undermine democracy.

An Employment Tribunal in Abergele has today [May 16] unanimously found in favour of a former employee of a Christian charity who was claiming constructive dismissal and discrimination on grounds of religion or belief. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which paid the legal costs of the claimant, today welcomed the Tribunal’s decision and warned religious employers that they can no longer discriminate wholesale in their employment on grounds of religion or belief.

We hope you like the new Suffolk Humanists & Secularists site design – jazzier than before, but the site is still full of good stuff! Register today to join our community, whether you are in Suffolk, NE Essex or elsewhere.

What do the terms “refugee”, “asylum speaker”, “immigrant” and “migrant” mean? Some of them have been used a lot in the media lately, often inaccurately. Rebecca will give us the facts, including statistics, about the situation here in the East of England. She’ll also be able to tell us about some of the refugees and asylum seekers’ stories. We’ll make a collection for the forum’s fund that benefits people suffering hardship, as well as the usual raffle.

There are so many worldwide problems – how do we prioritise them? A group of eminent economists tried to work out a plan… Imagine that you are Bill Gates. Not to daydream about what to buy with a $58 billion fortune, but to consider how, like the Microsoft entrepreneur, you might give much of it away. There are dozens of global challenges that could benefit from your philanthropy, but large as your financial resources are, they are not limitless.

I think Disney World sounds more attractive… Amid cell phones ringing, video cams rolling and ice cream melting under the Florida sun, a blood-spattered Jesus stumbles through the crowd on his way to Golgotha, where nasty Roman soldiers strip him, nail him to the cross and crucify him—while perspiring tourists look on in Bermuda shorts. After the resurrection sequence, visitors applaud and line up for a photo op, not with Mickey or Minnie, but a disciple or bloody-handed yet friendly centurion.