Diary
9/11, abortion, cryonics, faith in politics, Hypatia and mobile phones
Thursday, Sep 8, 2011Here’s some stuff I’ve found on the Internet recently. Stephen Howe wrote about the “reinvention of Islam” since 9/11 in New Humanist magazine. People have become defined by their religion, rather than their ethnicity, he says. He ends: The caveat that all collective identities are potentially oppressive and dangerous, not just religious, and not least national, ones, surely requires little reiteration. Even so, personally, Id quite like to see the past decades wave of ethnic cleansing reversed.Charity event in aid of the DEC East Africa Appeal at the Brewery Tap
Wednesday, Sep 7, 2011We’ve had an email from Sophie Wainwright, who’s organising a charity event on September 16th at The Brewery Tap, Ipswich, in aid of the East Africa Crisis Appeal. Sophie wrote, Money being raised will go to the DEC to help those affected by the famine in East Africa. I was interested to read your blog posts on your site about the DEC appeal and more recently about the situation with LGBT Africans, and thought you might be interested in this event.The Brewery Tap, Ipswich
Wednesday, Sep 7, 2011The Brewery Tap is a pub and restaurant right next to the old Tolly Cobbold brewery in the heart of Ipswich docks.The Christian National Registry of Atheists
Tuesday, Sep 6, 2011“Pastor” Michael Stahl from Florida, who doesn’t actually have a church and probably assumed the title himself, is clearly a very ignorant and prejudiced man. A year ago he wrote in his blog that he was going to start a grassroots organization to keep a database of atheists called “The Christian National Registry of Atheists.” He wrote, I mean, think about it. There are already National Registrys [sic] for convicted sex offenders, ex-convicts, terrorist cells, hate groups like the KKK, skinheads, radical Islamists, etc… This type of ‘National Registry’ would merely be for information purposes.Ipswich Science in the Pub
Monday, Sep 5, 2011John Benton says, “Bring an experiment. Also, news on a confirmed speaker for our upcoming season of talks.” What sort of experiment? You’ll have to be there to find out.Debunking Lord Monckton
Monday, Aug 22, 2011In our last newsletter, we reported on a meeting where our guest speaker, Prof. John Midwinter, had spoken about climate change. The report mentioned the arch-sceptic, Christopher Monckton, who travels around the world, rubbishing the science behind climate change. Thanks to American science blogger, P Z Myers, we’ve found a lecture online by Prof. John Abraham that exposes all the fallacies in Monckton’s arguments. Please refer anyone who doubts that climate change is our responsibility to it.The TES on Steiner free schools
Saturday, Aug 20, 2011The Times Education Supplement has an article about the applications for free school status by Steiner schools. It says: The Steiner approach emphasises the importance of practical crafts such as woodwork, book-binding and knitting, while students spend less time learning ICT skills. Such free-school proposals appear to undermine the Governments stance that schools should be teaching a more traditional knowledge-based curriculum. Steiner schools are based on the teachings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who founded anthroposophy, which promotes the belief that all humans possess an innate spirit or soul, through which a person can connect to a spirit world via inner development.The persecution of LGBT people in Africa going from bad to worse
Friday, Aug 19, 2011Ugandan gays aren’t the only ones facing persecution (see last posts). There’s a climate of fear for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across Africa. The Pink Triangle Trust released this news briefing in January: THE SITUATION FOR LGBT PEOPLE IN AFRICA GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE SAY GAY HUMANISTS Following the latest example of virulent homophobia in Ghana, the UK gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) says that the situation for LGBT people in Africa is going from bad to worse.Gay Ugandan asylum seeker Robert Segwani spared deportation, for now
Friday, Aug 19, 2011Gay Ugandan Robert Segwani has been spared deportation at the last minute and returned to detention. Thank you if you signed the petition we told you about the other day, but Robert isn’t out of danger yet. Joe Mirabella reports: Robert was spared from deportation at the very last minute according to his friend and fellow gay Urandan refugee John Bosco, “[Robert] is back in the detention centre waiting to hear what’s next.URGENT! Gay Ugandan asylum seeker faces removal tomorrow please sign a petition
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011Gay Ugandan Robert faces being forced to leave the UK tomorrow (Thursday 18 August). Please sign this petition to try to prevent this. LGBT Asylum News reports: Robert was imprisoned and tortured for homosexuality. On escaping prison in June 2010 he fled to the UK and applied for asylum a fortnight later. The UK Border Agency (UKBA) does not accept he is gay and a judge rejected his appeal claiming that there is no risk to gay people in Uganda.