It’s time to respect the Japanese puffer fish. It nearly killed Homer Simpson, and now PZ Meyers suggests that it has the edge on us when it comes to its genome: Our DNA contains approximately 3.2 billion base pairs, about the amount of information that can be stored on a single CD, but only about 5 percent of that information plays a significant role in constructing the human form. Our human CD contains, in effect, the equivalent of one really good, but short, pop song, with the rest of the tracks being staticky hisses, noise, and repetitions of the same short phrase, over and over again.

Forget about Obama, Clinton & McCain, and follow something more interesting un the US. The IHEU reports: The 17th World Humanist Congress starts this week in Washington, DC, USA. We hope to bring you live updates from the Congress on the web site. The Congress runs from 6th to 8th June, with the IHEU General Assembly on 5th and 8th June, and other meetings of the American Humanist Association, IHEYO, the International Liaison Committee of Atheists and Freethinkers and other Humanist organizations also taking place.

The church in Zimbabwe has been dragged into Mugabe’s mire: The imposing Anglican Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints in central Harare was almost deserted on Sunday following months of violent clashes and legal wrangles between rival factions. Zimbabwe’s deep political divide has spilled over into the religious arena. BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Zimbabwe’s turbulent priests. Tags: Zimbabwe, Mugabe, BBC+News, Human+rights

Lots of links to articles about evolution here… In 1859 Charles Darwin published his theory of natural selection amid an explosion of controversy. Like the work of Copernicus in the 16th century revealing the movement of the Earth, Darwin’s idea shook the foundations of the establishment and profoundly altered humanity’s view of its place in the universe. Today evolution is the unifying force in modern biology; it ties together fields as disparate as genetics, microbiology and palaeontology.

If you’re visiting us for the first time after reading Lynne Mortimer’s feature article in the Evening Star on 2 June, please explore our site and maybe let us know what you think. Tags: Evening+Star, Ipswich, Press

Friends of the Earth Australia is putting pressure on its new government to deliver on policies relating to the displacement of climate refugees in the Pacific. Pacific Island nations are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, collapsing ecosystems and the contamination of their fresh water and crops with salt water. These detrimental impacts of climate change are already evident but are predicted to worsen. It’s likely that the UK and other European countries will face pressure to take in climate refugees from Africa in the not-too-distant future, yet the subject has (so far) received little attention, maybe because our politicians are wary of raising an unpopular subject.

East Suffolk Morris Man Alan Tong was given a Humanist funeral at Oakfield Wood green burial ground on June 5, conducted by our ceremonies team member Michael Imison. If you go to the Morris Men’s website and click on “Alan Tong” on the ticker at the top, and then “ulogy” [sic] at the bottom, you can read what was said. If you click on the “Anglia News” link at the bottom of the same page, you can see a video of the Anglia News report.

The latest edition is now available to download as a PDF file from the International Humanist & Ethical Union website. It contains articles about the difficulties of attracting Africans to Humanism, the portrayal of religion in the media, the destruction of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference), how to adopt a Dalit village in India, and an interview with George Broadhead of GALHA (Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association).

The church is upset about being ignored. Oh dear. I shall keep my sarcasm to myself, but it is amusing. A report commissioned by the Church of England will accuse the government of marginalising the Church. The report – by the Von Hugel Institute in Cambridge – will say ministers are failing to understand the Church’s role in providing social services. It will also accuse them of favouring Islam and other religions, and paying only “lip service” to Christianity.

A new movie coming out soon is set to take a gentle prod at religion.

Charles Darwin was only partially right when he put forth his theory on evolution. We did evolve; that much is clear. What Darwin fails to mention in his papers is that our DNA was programmed to evolve by a dying race of superintelligent aliens who once lived in our galaxy. Don’t believe me? Let us turn then to Star Trek, The Next Generation, 6:20. It is here that we learn of how Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise, along with some Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians discovered a hologram which tells us the story:

“There’s a vaguely new-age feeling going around that any form of inner agitation is bad and that we should all be heading for inner peace. I think that’s morally outrageous. There’s something deeply self-centred about aspiring to be the kind of person who’s not perturbed by anything.” Julian Baggini: The gripes of wrath. In an interview with Humanist philosopher Baggini in the Sunday Herald, it says, He singles out Buddhism as “one of those religions which are most explicit in encouraging us not to complain” and, when he does, his argument seems convincing.

If you read about us in today’s East Anglian Daily Times and this is your first visit, hello and welcome. Please explore. As the late Douglas Adams (a Humanist author) would have said, we’re “mostly harmless”. Tags: East+Anglian+Daily+Times, EADT, Welcome, Douglas+Adams

It’s a little over seven years since the death of Douglas Adams, atheist author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. In his “Lament for Douglas Adams”, written on hearing of Adams’ death, Richard Dawkins wrote, To illustrate the vain conceit that the universe must be somehow preordained for us, because we are so well suited to live in it, he mimed a wonderfully funny imitation of a puddle of water, fitting itself snugly into a depression in the ground, the depression uncannily being exactly the same shape as the puddle.

Turkey’s embattled prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, launched an attempt to save his political skin yesterday by seeking to lower tensions in a power struggle with the state’s secular establishment that threatens to split the country, close his party and oust him from office. After days of simmering government anger, Erdogan pleaded with his supporters and Turkey’s most senior judges to avoid a “clash of powers” following a ruling that overturned a law allowing female university students to wear the Islamic headscarf.

We all like celebrations, holidays and ceremonies – why should the religious claim them all? The Institute for Humanist Studies has provided a website that details all of the above for those who live free from religion – the Secular Seasons site. Find out about Thomas Paine Day, Darwin Day, the equinoxes and solstices, and all about Humanist ceremonies – though we’re not mentioned, so go to our ceremonies page for local info.

If you’re interested in joining us, please email by 28 July at the latest, so we know how many to expect. We can’t book at The Seal, so need to get there early and grab a table or tables. Varied menu includes vegetarian options.

The Ipswich & Suffolk Indian Association says, “If the Bollywood beat moves your feet, then bring yourself, your family and friends to the sixth Indian Summer Mela hosted by the association. ‘Mela’ means ‘to meet’ and describes community celebrations and festivals in the Indian subcontinent. It is open to all and admission is free. Experience the world of South Asian arts, culture and music. Performances on the covered stage feature local, national, established and up-and coming artists.

The US-based Institute for Humanist Studies has provided this guide to celebrations, holidays and ceremonies free from religion.

Darwin’s 200th birthday has become a rallying point for scientists opposing creationism as the 18 month long celebrations of his birth and the 150th anniversary of his theory started this week. Four out of ten Britons now believe either in Creation or in its watered-down cousin Intelligent Design, and Creationism is being taught in state-approved schools. Dr Bob Bloomfield of the Natural History Museum who is a key player in the Darwin 200 project expressed his concerns: “The statistics in this country are quite frightening.

Parents will have to sign agreements promising to support the ethos of faith schools in a concession to religious leaders unveiled by Ed Balls today. Children could be denied places if their parents refuse to make the commitment following a ‘clarification’ of guidelines by the Children’s Secretary. Children could be refused places at faith schools if parents don’t sign-up to religious agreements | Mail Online. Tags: Faith+schools, Ed+Balls

The Telegraph offers a typically facile report about atheism. Reminds me of something a member of our group said. One of her relatives asked “Don’t you have to be clever to be a Humanist?” She replied, “No, but you do have to use the brains you’ve got.” A retired professor has said that a higher proportion of clever people consider themselves atheists than the national average. Professor Richard Lynn, though no doubt clever himself, is hardly uncontroversial.

A historic precedent was set at the European parliament today [18 June]. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Mrs Asma Jahangir, addressed the European Parliament, much as religious leaders such as the Pope and the Grand Mufti of Syria have done. Sophie in’t Veld MEP, Chair of the European Parliament Working Party for the Separation of Religion and Politics, said: “I welcome the European Parliament’s invitation to Mrs Jahangir.

In early 1858, on Ternate in Malaysia, a young specimen collector was tracking the island’s elusive birds of paradise when he was struck by malaria. ‘Every day, during the cold and succeeding hot fits, I had to lie down during which time I had nothing to do but to think over any subjects then particularly interesting me,’ he later recalled. Thoughts of money or women might have filled lesser heads.

The latest news from our webmaster, Nathan, based in Siem Reap, Cambodia, who’s spent a few days in Borneo and met orang-utans, ants and assorted tourists. Travel misconception number 316 shattered – I got off the plane in Borneo and there weren’t bowl-cutted natives blowing darts at me, my luggage wasn’t stolen by a wasp the size of a poodle, my transportation to the guesthouse wasn’t a dugout canoe but a five-door Proton, and I didn’t have to hunt my own dinner.

A curious postscript to the blog on the US Religious Landscape survey – one in five of the atheists questioned by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’s survey of the religious beliefs of 35,000 American adults said they believe in God or a universal spirit. That’s 21 per cent of the atheists who took part in the survey. And of those, six per cent of admitted they believed in a personal God.

Labour MP Tom Harris caused a row … when he said people should stop being so “bloody miserable” and appreciate what they have. Philosopher Julian Baggini considers whether we are a nation of whingers and asks if that is such a bad thing anyway. BBC NEWS | Magazine | What’s wrong with whinging?. I’ll whinge if I want to, such as complaining about people who don’t know when they’re well off, or when people are inconsiderate.

Many of you will have seen the coverage in today’s press (30 June) of a new pamphlet on ‘faith schools’, published by the Centre for Policy Studies, written by Christina Odone, which seeks to portray the UK’s state-funded faith schools as inclusive and under attack from hostile secularists. The BHA’s Andrew Copson responded to the pamphlet today on The Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ website. You can read the blog and post a comment at http://tinyurl.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) and the religious thinktank Ekklesia are amongst those who have today criticised as ‘misguided’ a report published today by the Centre for Policy Studies, written by Christina Odone, which seeks to portray the UK’s state-funded faith schools as inclusive and ‘under attack’ from hostile secularists. The Church of England and those running other faith schools have previously tried to champion them as having a good track record of inclusion.