A Universe from nothing Lawrence Krauss Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne Morality from the Heavens of from Nature by Dr Andy Thompson The Evolution of Confusion - Dan Dennett There is Grandeur in this View of life - Richard Dawkins. Design Vs Chance by P Z Myers Science in Hollywood by Carolyn Porco.
Below in order as listed the speakers at the 2009 Atheist Alliance. Darwinism because of the anniversary obviously featured strongly and the next 7 talks are recorded live at the 2 day event. Hope you enjoy the talks as much as we did.
A belief is a lever that, once pulled, moves almost everything else in a person’s life. Are you a scientist? A liberal? A racist? These are merely species of belief in action. Your beliefs define your vision of the world; they dictate your behavior; they determine your emotional responses to other human beings. If you doubt this, consider how your experience would suddenly change if you came to believe one of the following propositions:
You have only two weeks to live.
You’ve just won a lottery prize of one hundred million dollars.
Aliens have implanted a receiver in your skull and are manipulating your thoughts.
These are mere words—until you believe them. Once believed, they become part of the very apparatus of your mind, determining your desires, fears, expectations, and subsequent behavior. There seems, however, to be a problem with some of our most cherished beliefs about the world: they are leading us, inexorably, to kill one another. A glance at history, or at the pages of any newspaper, reveals that ideas which divide one group of human beings from another, only to unite them in slaughter, generally have their roots in religion. It seems that if our species ever eradicates itself through war, it will not be because it was written in the stars but because it was written in our books; it is what we do with words like “God” and “paradise” and “sin” in the present that will determine our future.
Steven Emerson speaks with katie Couric about his book American Jihad, the Terrorists Living Among Us.
I was still working for CNN in 1993 when the first World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26th. As the story unfolded it became obvious that the whole plot had been hatched among small terror cells in this country. I had heard an excess of explosive rhetoric in Oklahoma City and other places where I had investigated militant organizations. I was sure there must be some connection.
But I was faced with a difficult moral dilemma. I hadn’t started investigating anyone to any great degree. All I had at that point was a collection of books and pamphlets and promotional material by which these groups advertised themselves to a very select audience. I didn’t know whether it was all rhetoric or whether there was really substance to all this. I had a few videos showing that Hamas had definitely established itself in this country, but that was about it. Would I be risking my career by following up this story, in what might prove to be a wild goose chase?
I decided to take a proposal to Richard Carlson of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Already I was thinking in terms of a video. I’m a print journalist by background but here was a story that would be much easier to tell as a TV program. The most dramatic material I was collecting was already in video form anyway. The training and recruitment videos, the fiery speeches at mosques and conventions — it would be hard to convey the bloodcurdling nature of this material except by letting it speak for itself.
Carlson liked the idea and passed it up the line. Before long I was passed over to the Public Broadcasting System, the network subsidiary of CPB. I ended up dealing with Bob Coonrod and Ervin Duggan, who was then president of PBS. They were very enthusiastic but couldn’t generate much interest within the bureaucracy of PBS. Finally, Dugin took matters into his own hands and provided me with some research and development money.
And so in 1993 I left CNN to work full-time as an investigator of terrorist networks in the United States. I founded The Investigative Project, which has employed a shifting staff of from two to fifteen people. What we discovered is that, indeed, international terrorist organizations of all sorts had set up shop here in America. They often took advantage of religious, civic, or charitable organizations. - end.
Antitheists have a live and let attitude. One person's right to practice their faith ends where another person's right to not be encroached upon begins. Join us please over at http://www.facebook.com/antitheists where you'll be made very welcome.
Obviously it's impossible to hate a fictional character but just for fun and a play on words. "Fags Hate God." A Facebook group opposed to the demonstrations of the Westboro Baptist Church
Antitheist Playlist Westboro Baptist Church on The Jeremy Kyle Show
Not normally a fan of Jeremy Kyle's show because it amounts to a watered down Jerry Springer show. He does here though via satellite deal very well with Shirley Phelps with the help of the Minister he has on to correct Shirley on her perverted interpretations and other guests.
I wonder exactly what the motives of the Westboro Baptist Church are. As I understand they do very well financially taking legal action against any state failing to protect them under the first amendment. If this is a main factor in their drive to demonstrate ever increasingly sensitive ceremonies such as funerals, they are succeeding in whipping up hatred towards them provoking the kind of action they may desire to enable a legal action.
All mums are great (well most) and deserve respect, single mums more so. It seems completely hypocritical of Shirley Phelps to take this false moral high ground having had a child outside of wedlock, her rules not ours. You would think she would at least practice and live her own life by the same ridiculous standards(sic) she promotes in such a vitriolic way.
If taking legal action is a main driving force behind the WBC's demonstrations it is the best argument to ignore these clowns. They are after all a church made up of largely two families and less than 100 people and the founding elders are ageing rapidly and it's unlikely the younger up and coming members of the WBC will be quite so vitriolic in their promotion of the hate they glean from what they claim to be taking the bible literally.
As much as it grieves me to applaud Jeremy Kyle, a great show which is aired to a massive audience in the UK and without sounding judgemental, an audience I'd say most needing to hear this hate counteracted.
The right of any person to practice their faith ends where the right of another to not be encroached upon begins. Antitheists live and let live until others are affected. Consider joining us please over at http://www.facebook.com/antitheists We have a professional site in the making.
Antitheist playlist Julia Sweeney - Letting Go of God
Superb one woman show. Ars Nova Theatre New York Nov 19th 2005. Julia Sweeney covers searching for and letting go of god. Candid and funny personal journey touching on many aspects of faith. It was joining bible classes which led Julia to start seeking something nearer to a truth than that which the classes presented. Yet again the bible proves to be the greatest promoter of atheism there is.
The playlist put together from Bowman and worth 90mins of anyone's time.
__________________________________________________ Release date: April 2, 2013 “I took so long to assemble my lovely family. If only they would disappear.” While Julia Sweeney is known as a talented comedienne and writer and performer of her one-woman shows, she is also a talented essayist. Happily for us, the past few years have provided her with some rich material. Julia adopted a Chinese girl named Mulan (“After the movie?”) and then, a few years later, married and moved from Los Angeles to Chicago. She writes about deciding to adopt her child, strollers, nannies (including the Chinese Pat), knitting, being adopted by a dog, The Food Network, and meeting Mr. Right through an email from a complete stranger who wrote, “Desperately Seeking Sweeney-in-Law.” She recounts how she explained the facts of life to nine-year-old Mulan, a story that became a wildly popular TED talk and YouTube video. Some of the essays reveal Julia’s ability to find that essential thread of human connection, whether it’s with her mother-in-law, who candidly reveals a story that most people would keep a secret, or with an anonymous customer service rep during a late-night phone call. But no matter what the topic, Julia always writes with elegant precision, pinning her jokes with razor-sharp observations while articulating feelings that we all share. Poignant, provocative, and wise, this is a funny, and at times powerful, memoir by a woman living her life with originality and intelligence.
For Julia's book, please click the image below. Thanks.
