Whatever, man...

You're the true winner. Everyone watched the fight. You won. Keep your head up.

Religiosity and Morality

Gregory S. Paul, in the Journal of Religion and Society (2005), systematically compared seventeen economically developed nations, and reached the devastating conclusion that 'higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies'. Dan Dennett, in Breaking the Spell, sardonically comments on such studies generally: "Needless to say, these results strike so hard at the standard claims of greater moral virtue among the religious that there has been a considerable surge of further research initiated by religious organizations attempting to refute them... one thing we can be sure of is that if there is a significant positive relationship between moral behaviour and religious affiliation, practice, or belief, it will soon be discovered, since so many religious organizations are eager to confirm their traditional beliefs about this scientifically. (They are quite impressed with the truth-finding power of science when it supports what they already believe.) Every month that passes without such a demonstration underlines the suspicion that it just isn't so."

"... maybe at the very bottom of it... I really don't like god. It's silly to say I don't like god because I don't believe in god... but in the same sense that I don't like lago or I don't like the Reverend Slope or any of the other villians of literature. The god of traditional Judaism and Christianity and Islam seems to be a terrible character. He's a god who's obsessed with the degree to which people worship him and anxious to punish with the most awful torments those who don't worship him in the right way. Now I realize that many people don't believe in that anymore who call themselves Muslims or Jews or Christians but that is the traditional god and he's a terrible character. I don't like him. I had a friend, now dead, Abdus Salam, a very devout Muslim, who was trying to bring science into the universities in the Gulf states. And he told me that he had a terrible time because although they were very receptive to technology, they felt that science would be a corrosive to religious belief and they were worried about it. Damn it, I think they were right. It is corrosive of religious belief... and it's a good thing, too." -Steven Weinberg, Nobel laureate in Physics

Highway to Hell

From the Torah

I always liked this story. Tanhuma, Noah 13 When Noah began planting, Satan came, stationed him self before him, and asked, "What are you planting?" Noah: "A vineyard." Satan: "What is its nature?" Noah: "Its fruit, whether fresh or dried, is sweet, and from it one makes wine, which gladdens a man's heart." Satan: "Will you agree to let both of us plant it together?" Noah: "Very well." What did Satan do? He brought a ewe lamb and slaughtered it over a vine. After that, he brought a lion, which he likewise slaughtered. Then a monkey, which he also slaughtered over it. Finally a pig, which he again slaughtered over that vine. And with the blood that dripped from them, he watered the vineyard. The charade was Satan's way of saying that when a man drinks one cup of wine, he acts like a ewe lamb, humble and meek. When he drinks two, he immediately believes himself to be as strong as a lion and proceeds to brag mightily, saying, "Who is like me?" When he drinks three or four cups, he immediately becomes like a monkey, hopping about and giggling, and uttering obscenities in public, without realizing what he is doing. Finally, when he becomes blind drunk, he is like a pig, wallowing in mire and coming to rest among refuse. All above befell Noah. Genesis 9:20-21 Noah, the tiller of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk…

해 따기

"그렇다. 결국 우리는 목적 없는 길을 홀로 걷게 숙명지어져 있다. 그 허망함과 외로움을 달래기 위해 우리는 수많은 신화를 지어내고 자진하여 미신에 젖어들지만 누구도 그런 숙명에서 벗어날 순 없다. 아아, 좀더 일찍 그걸 깨달았다면 나는 지나쳐 온 아무곳에나 머물러 그 평범한 주민이 되었을 것을--- 그리고 가엾은 육신이나 평안하게 길렀을것을......" 그러는 사이 그의 머리는 전보다 몇 배나 희어지고 수염이며 눈썹까지 하얗게 변했습니다. 등도 활처럼 굽고 온몸은 깊은 주름과 노년의 윤기 없는 피부에 감싸였습니다. 스스로 깨닫게 되는 그 순간을 기다렸다는 듯 한꺼번에 늙음이 덮쳐 온 것이었습니다. 그의 얼굴에는 절망과 비통의 굵은 눈물이 번쩍이며 흘러 내렸습니다. "나무여!" 그는 갈퀴 같은 손으로 그 나무의 밑둥을 만지며 쉬엄쉬엄 말했습니다. "이제 나는 이처럼 늙음을 맞았으니 죽음도 머지 않을 것이다. 뒷날 그녀가 오거든 전해 다오. 그래도 나는 온갖 힘을 다하여 그녀를 열망하였음을. 그리고 또 전해 다오. 내가 눈물 속에 죽어갔음을......" 순례는 잠시 숨을 모은 후에 다시 계속했습니다. "내 뒤에 올 수많은 나그네들에게도 전해다오. 어떤 이유로든 해 같은 걸 따겠다는 어리석은 야망을 품지 않도록. 어떤 신화가 어떤 약속을 하든 가장 좋은 것은 언제나 이 땅과 우리들에게는 속해 있지 않음을 잊지 말도록......" 그리고 오래잖아 그는 숨졌습니다. - 이문열, <젊은날의 초상>에서

Journalism at its best

Pulitzer Prize and 2nd place, Pictures of the Year International Kenji Nagai of APF tries to take photographs as he lies injured after police and military officials fired upon and then charged at protesters in Yangon's city centre September 27, 2007. Nagai, 50, a Japanese video journalist, was shot by soldiers as they fired to disperse the crowd. Nagai later died Reuters/Adrees Latif

유대교 신비주의 하시디즘에는 이런 우화가 전해진다. 사람이 죽으면 그 영혼은 천국의 문 앞에 있는 커다란 나무 앞으로 가게 된다. '슬픔의 나무'라고 불리는 그 나무에는 사람들이 삶에서 겪은 온갖 슬픈 이야기들이 가지마다 매달려 있다. 이제 막 그곳에 도착한 영혼은 자신의 슬픈 사연을 종이에 적어 가지에 걸어 놓은 뒤, 천사의 손을 잡고 나무를 한 바퀴 돌며 그곳에 적혀 있는 다른 사람들의 이야기를 읽는다. 마지막에 이르러 천사는 그 영혼에게 그 이야기들 중 어떤 것을 선택해 다음 생을 살고 싶은가를 묻는다. 자신이 보기에 가장 덜 슬퍼 보이는 삶을 선택하면 다음 생에 그렇게 살게 해주겠다는 것이다. 하지만 어떤 영혼이든 결국에는 자신이 살았던 삶을 다시 선택하게 된다고 우화는 말한다. '슬픔의 나무'에 적혀 있는 다른 사람들의 이야기를 알고 나면, 그래도 자신이 살았던 삶이 가장 덜 슬프고 덜 고통스러웠음을 깨닫는다는 것이다.

From 'Eight by Eight'

hiphop a la future, 내 목소리는 비트의 스키니진 fucker, 딱 달라붙어, my technique, lyrical kamasutra 넌 겨울에 반팔티... '아마 추워' 답답해, 니 가사는 마약 중독자처럼 '약 해' 망해도 누굴 탓해? 씹어봤자 넌 그저 껌 뿐이엿어 니 정신상태는 포장마차 싸움꾼... '병 들었어' 오늘도 비트를 가른다, 혀의 기술을 다룬다 마른 입술은 다물라 선봉 기수를 잡은 나 많은 실수와 빈 issue만이 전부는 아닌걸 적절한 비유와 입 치유만이 전부라 믿어 내 말은 천리길도 하루면 다다를 천마 깨져버린 사상들의 사막을 연다 막다른 변화에도 난 앞장을 섰다 그렇게 역사는 날 막장에 썼다

One nation under god

Arkansas's Constitution Article XIX, Sec. "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court." Maryland's Constitution Article 37 "no relgious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God" Pennsylvania's Constitution Article I, Sec. 4 "No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust under this Commonwealth." Tennessee's Constitution Article IX, Sec. 2 "No atheist shall hold a civil office" "No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments shall hold any office in the civile department of this state." Similar clauses exist in South Carolina North Carolina Texas "No, I don't know that athesits should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." - George Bush, Sr.

Among Wealthy Nations...

U.S. stands alone in its embrace of religion http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=167

Penn & Teller

The gentleman who speaks on 0:40 is Michael Shermer.

Douglas Adams

In an interview asked by a journalist how he became an atheist, Douglas Adams explained: "And I thought and thought and thought. But I just didn't have enough to go on, so I didn't really come to any resolution. I was extremely doubtful about the idea of god, but I just didn't know enough about anything to have a good working model of any other explanation for, well, life, the universe, and everything to put in its place. But I kept at it, and I kept reading and I kept thinking. Sometime around my early thirties I stumbled upon evolutionary biology, particularly in the form of Richard Dawkins' books The Selfish Gene and then The Blind Watchmaker, and suddenly (on, I think the second reading of The Selfish Gene) it all fell into place. It was a concept of such stunning simplicity, but it gave rise, naturally, to all of the infinite and baffling complexity of life. The awe it inspired in me made the awe that people talk about in respect of religion experience seem, frankly, silly beside it. I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." I see a resemeblance in this gentleman's testimony and mine.

My people

This chart depicts the public acceptance of evolution theory in 34 countries in 2005. A study of several such surveys taken since 1985 has found that the United States ranks next to last in acceptance of evolution theory among nations polled. Researchers point out that the number of Americans who are uncertain about the theory's validity has increased over the past 20 years. 51% of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15% say humans evolved, and that God was not involved. Americans most likely to believe in only evolution are liberals (36%), those who rarely or never attend religious services (25%), and those with a college degree or higher (24%). White evangelicals (77%), weekly churchgoers (74%) and conservatives (64%), are most likely to say God created humans in their present form.

Rachel Carson

"It is the public that is being asked to assume the risks... the public must decide whether it wishes to continue on the present road and it can only do so when in full possession of the facts..." "We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The roads we have long been travelling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road/ the one less traveled/ offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth."

A Palestinian woman, who according to local medics was wounded during Israel's offensive, flees her house in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah A relative of Palestinian medic Esah Saleh mourns during his funeral in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 13, 2009. Palestinian medics said Saleh was killed by an Israeli air strike on Monday. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave their house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem An explosion is seen after an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Delusion

(Artwork by Laurie Lipton from surrealismnow.com) We have names for people who have many beliefs for which there is no rational justification. When their beliefs are extremely common we call them 'religious'; otherwise, they are likely to be called 'mad', 'psychotic' or 'delusional'... Clearly there is sanity in numbers. And yet, it is merely an accident of history that it is considered normal in our society to believe that the Creator of the universe can hear your thoughts, while it is demonstrative of mental illness to believe that he is communicating with you by having the rain tap in Morse code on your bedroom window. And so, while religious people are not generally mad, their core beliefs absolutely are. -Sam Harris, The End of Faith You say you have experienced God directly? Well, some people have experienced a pink elephant, but that probably doesn't impress you. Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, distinctly heard the voice of Jesus telling him to kill women, and he was locked up for life. George W. Bush says that God told him to invade Iraq (a pity God didn't vouchsafe him a revelation that there were no weapons of mass destruction). Individuals in asylums think they are Napoleon or Charlie Chaplin, or that the entire world is conspiring against them, or that they can broadcast their thoughts into other people's heads. We humour them but don't take their internally revealed beliefs seriously, mostly because not many people share them. Religious experiences are different only in that the people who claim them are numerous. -Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Pain

Has anyone actually taken the time to read the 9-11 Reports? Has anyone actually taken the time to ask the question "What motivated these terrorists to fly jets into buildings?" The answer is surprisingly simple. They do not attack us because we are a land of freedom and democracy. They do not attack us because we are a "Christian nation". They attack us because of our absurd foreign policy which sides with the Israeli terrorits. You can build up a bureaucracy called "Homeland Security" and try to fight the "axis of evil." The rulers of this nation will do whatever it takes to look out for their own interests and not give a damn about the safety of the people. The Washington Post summarized earlier, 1990-2006, data and concluded that "Pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group and soft money donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990." In contrast, Arab-Americans and Muslim PACs contributed slightly less than $800,000 during the same (1990-2006) period. "The many controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations - but not in the United States. For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticise any policies of the Israli government is because of the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices. What is even more difficult to comprehend is why the editorial pages of the major newspapers and magazines in the United States exercise similar self-restraint, quite contrary to private assessments expressed quite forcefully by their correspondents in the Holy Land." -Jimmy Carter According to Morris Amitay, former AIPAC director "It's almost politically suicidal... for a member of Congress who wants to seek reelection to take any stand that might be interpreted as anti-policy of the conservative Israel government." Michale Massing reports that a staffer sympathetic to Israel told him "We can count on well over half the House - 250 to 300 members - to do reflexively whatever AIPAC wants." AIPAC official Steven Rosen in an illustration of AIPAC's power to journalist Jeffery Goldberg put a napkin in front of him and said, "In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin."

US Israel terrorism

Thank you for supporting Israel, ignorant Americans. Let's continue to buy into the media... surely Israel is "protecting itself."

God

You are beautiful beyond description Too marvelous for words Too wonderful for comprehension Like nothing ever seen or heard Who can grasp your infinite wisdom Who can fathom the depth of your love You are beautiful beyond description Majesty enthroned above And I stand, I stand in awe of you I stand, I stand in awe of you Holy God to whom all praise is due I stand in awe of you -Christian worship used for the non-supernatural god, LeBron James All hail the king!!

The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism. From a barbaric Bronze Age text known as the Old Testament, three anti-human religions have evolved - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These are sky-god religions. They are, literally, patriarchal - God is the Omnipotent Father - hence the loathing of women 2,000 years in those countries afflicted by the sky-god and his earthly male delegates. -Gore Vidal

In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -George Orwell

Good Night

by Nell 세상 모든게 전부 다 그런건 아니지만 때론 영원한 것도 있는 법이라 했죠 배신의 칼날이 남긴 그 외로움의 향연 그리고 이를 따듯하게 감싸 줄 당신이 그렇다고 일어나지도 않은 일 미리 걱정말라고 모두 진심이라면 걱정할 게 없다고 깨져버린 양심의 거울 그위에 당당하게 수북하게 쌓인 가책의 먼지는 언제쯤 털어낼 생각인가요 지금 어디 있나요 대체 어디서 뭘 하나요 모두 뿌리쳐버릴 지라도 내 손 꼭 잡아주겠다더니 지금 어디 있나요 대체 어디서 뭘 하고 있나요 내가 지쳐 소리쳐 버릴지라도 날 믿어주겠다더니 어디에 있나요 아무리 찾아봐도 소리쳐 불러봐도 그 어떤 모습도 그 어떤 대답도 내겐 보이지가 않는걸 들리지가 않는걸 또 떠나갔나요 어디에 있나요

Far Behind

Couldn't share the pain, they watch you suffer Now maybe I could have made my own mistakes But I live with what I've known And then maybe we might share in something rare But won't you look at where we've grown Won't you look at where we've gone But then someday comes Tomorrow holds a sense of what I feel for you in my mind As you trip the final line And that cold day when you lost control Shame you left my life so soon you should have told me But you left me far behind

How to create an Angry American

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." -Bertrand Russell "Against logic there is no armor like ignorance." -Laurence J. Peter Ten Commandments

A New Year's Hope

And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classified with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors. -Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823