Posted on November 17th, 2009 by larry1506
I’ve lifted this from The Ecomomist whole because it offers a great defence of free speech. The only thing missing is a reference to our own blasphemy law. JASON KUZNICKI at the Cato Institute offers a valiant defence of free speech against those who insist on a “right” not to be offended by what other people say. He observes that challenges to free speech…..
have lately arisen from the right, from the left, from Muslim perspectives and even in the name of protecting children online. These challenges seem to share an underlying concern, namely that we must balance free expression against the psychic hurt that some expressions will provoke.
[Examples include] flag-desecration laws, hate-speech laws in the United Kingdom and Canada, U.S. college and university speech codes, the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam and the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act…
Although seemingly unrelated, these measures rely on a common assumption, namely that governments should provide emotional well-being to their citizens, even at the expense of free expression.
The result is not more happiness, but a race to the bottom, in which aggrieved groups compete endlessly with one another for a slice of government power.
The Economist commentator ends with…..
You may decide, out of politeness, to refrain from mocking my religion. But the government should not punish you if you choose to say what you really think, so long as you do not explicitly urge your friends to burn down my house.
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Posted on November 16th, 2009 by larry1506
So you think you’re going to be in a tough debate – it’s like taking candy from a baby!
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Posted on November 5th, 2009 by larry1506
This information comes from a report in the Irish Times on a survey carried out by the Irish School of Ecumenics. They surveyed 700 faith leaders and 900 lay people about a range of faith related topics. 12% of the lay people self identified as atheist or no religion and and they felt that when they are talking noone is listening. The report states that this 12% is disproportinate to their numbers in the general population and I find this comment very interesting. I think that the proportion of atheists in the population is larger and their survey is faulty in the way they selected their sample
Our survey was obviously limited to people who first of all heard about it (through the various channels we employed), and then were interested enough in the topic to visit our website and had the technical skills to complete it.
The poor design of the last census form practically guarantees that atheists and people of no religion will be underrepresented. That 12% come through in a survey like this must give us hope that we are making progress.
Irish Times Article
Original report
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Posted on October 14th, 2009 by Jason
Atheist Ireland will be holding the first of what will hopefully be regular Atheists in a pub events here in Limerick on Friday the 30th October in the Locke Bar. Start time will be 8pm.
The idea is to allow people to meet up in an informal setting for a chat and a few drinks and yes we ripped off the name from these guys 🙂 If anyone can think of a more original name let me know.
I’ll most likely post future events here but to be sure you’re kept up to date you should join our meetup.com group (thanks to Louis for setting this up). I think meetup.com has the potential to be a source of new members so if as many people as possible could join it would be helpful. A popular group is more likely to attract new people and it only takes two minutes to sign up and won’t cost you anything.
Also a reminder that you can join Atheist Ireland here and help to build a secular and ethical Ireland.
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Posted on October 5th, 2009 by larry1506
Our October meeting will take place as follows:
Date : 13th October 2009
Time : 20:00
Venue : Carlton Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick.
Agenda:
- Presentation by Dr. Peter O’Hara – State Registered Partnerships: Independence and Support. Followed by discussion.
- Any other business.
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Posted on August 12th, 2009 by larry1506
JERUSALEM – Dozens of rabbis and Kabbalah mystics armed with ceremonial trumpets have taken to the skies over Israel to battle the H1N1 flu virus. About 50 Jewish holy men chanted prayers and blew ritual rams’ horns known as shofars in an aircraft circling over the country in the hope of stopping the spread of the virus
Irish Times 12th August 2009 – full article here.
Can we take this as a test? If more people get the flu in Israel is it proof of the failure of prayer?
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Posted on August 8th, 2009 by Jason
I was recently interviewed by the Limerick Post. The article is below, you can see a larger version here.
Limerick Post 8th August
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Posted on July 3rd, 2009 by larry1506
A Turkish game show is challenging atheists to reassess their views and win “the biggest prize ever”.
Penitents Compete will bring together an Islamic imam, a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist monk and a Greek Orthodox priest seeking to convert the atheists.
The prize for any converted contestants is an expenses-paid pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen faith.
But the producers say the show will also help contestants “find serenity” and raise awareness of the faiths.
Each episode of Penitents Compete will pitch 10 atheists – carefully vetted by a team of theologians to ensure their non-belief – against the four faith leaders.
The imam, rabbi, monk and priest will then seek to persuade the atheists of the merits and truth of their faith.
Adverts for the show promise: “We give you the biggest prize ever; we represent the belief in God. Believe, repent, God will forgive you.”
Full story here
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Posted on June 26th, 2009 by larry1506
Our next meeting will be as follows:
Date 7th July 2009
Time 21:00
Venue Carlton Castletroy Park Hotel
Please note the late start time. This is to allow people to get the best out of the Summers evening.
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Posted on June 17th, 2009 by Jason
Video from last night’s meeting in Limerick. Thanks to limerickblogger.ie for filming this.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
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Mid-west Humanists - An Irish Atheist Community 