In The News…
Note – April Fools Day was yesterday. These are real stories, at real news sites.
Over at CNN you will find: Karzai blames foreigners for election fraud.
So, the President of Afghanistan says that his re-election was the result of a fraudulent election, but the fraud was committed by the UN, not his supporters. He doesn’t really explain why the UN wanted him re-elected enough to game the system, but he knows they did it.
This doesn’t bother him enough to call for a new election.
The CBC has a nice “good news” story: Microsoft’s i4i patent appeal denied.
M$ ripped off a tiny Canadian software company, i4i, and their premier product, an XML-based document system. M$ has been using the pirated software in Word since version 2003.
I don’t doubt that M$ is seriously considering appealing to the Supreme Court, but it would have been less expensive to have just licensed the i4i software in the beginning. M$ has been pulling this garbage for years. i4i is one of the few companies that has had the resources to fight back and haul them into court.
The ABC says that Christian leaders use Easter to attack atheism.
Excuse me, but making Easter, the most important Christian holy day, a launching pad for attacks on atheism is rather brain dead. The day is about the foundation of the Christian faith, so why divert attention from that to talk about people who don’t believe.
I think these “Christian” leaders might want to spend some time with the parable of the good Samaritan found in the Gospel of Luke, and then deal with the real importance of the day.
6 comments
…I don’t really care to go too far out on a limb regarding that third story, but – were I a man of the cloth – I would be hard pressed to work up very much emotion about a “global conference on atheism” that only drew 2500 attendants and was held in Melbourne, Australia…
Especially on the one day that rightfully should be focused on The Passion…
In the first place, the “global conference” only attracted 2500 attendees, which seems pretty meager when talk turns to global philosophical movements. In the second place, holding that “global conference” in a place as difficult for representatives of the world’s atheist movement (or anybody else, for that matter) to get to as Melbourne sounds an awful lot like the sort of thing the RNC might think of. I may well be wrong; there may be a swelling population of atheists across the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia who thought that this would be the perfect venue. That’s why I won’t be venturing far out onto that limb…
Atheism isn’t really much of movement. It’s not as if they have any doctrine, institutions, infrastructure, or much of anything else that is normally associated with a philosophical movement.
You can’t force people to believe, so I don’t see the point of expending any effort, especially not during the most important event on the Christian calendar.
Most of the problems that various religions experience are self-inflicted. If the leadership acted in accordance with their own stated beliefs and standards there wouldn’t be any problems.
The solution is simple, stop talking and start doing. Live your beliefs.
Bingo!
I tried posting this a couple days ago but couldn’t. I’ve been too busy to worry about it.
That suit against M$ has been a long time coming. and there are several others. All M$ evil chickens are coming home to roost.
The moronic Christian leaders just did a great job of giving the Atheists the limelight and proved their point. Some people should really learn to STFU, but they never will. Fools rush in… etc. 🙂
Funny how the “Religious Leaders” and the sheeple followers are very quick to forget that most of the Wolds worst atrocities over the past millennia were done in the name of some Religion or other, and especially Christianity. Even Hitler was given the blessing of Rome initially, until Rome realised it was bad PR. Hitler wrote: “I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord..” As a boy, Hitler attended to the Catholic church and experienced the anti-Semitic attitude of his culture. In his book, Mein Kampf, Hitler reveals himself as a fanatical believer in God and country. (Sounds rather familiar from recent US leaders). Hitler was not only a confessed Christian, but his intolerance and atrocities were consistent with Biblical scripture and he acted as other Christians of the past and present. The Catholic Church has spent a lot of time and money trying to obscure the early backing of Catholic Bishops for Hitlers cause.
I can’t stand hypocrites, no matter what club they belong to.
If I were ever again to join a club… I’d probably join the Atheists. If for no other reason that at least I can be free to believe what I like and not someone else’s narrow idea about what I should believe, especially without providing any proof. Every time I hear anyone say they know what’s best for anyone else, I just hear an ego way bigger than their head, or someone who thinks they are above {whatever god they may (or may not actually) believe in} . Whenever I hear someone say “God spoke to me and said…” I want to bash their head in and run screaming. I was tempted to attend the conference here out of simple curiosity, and the chance that I might actually hear someone sane for a change.
*shrug* Whatever… and so what’s new?
PS. They probably decided to have the conference here because it’s pretty good place for it, and they don’t have to worry about some lunatics trying to blow the place up. 😈
The RNC sum up Christianity in the USA for pretty much for everyone sane *out here*, the main difference as far as I can see is that the RNC are either too stupid, or simply don’t care (or both) who can see that they are total hypocrites when it comes to Christianity. The Rethugs are after all the flag bearers of Christianity in the USA. (And you are welcome to them, nobody else wants them.) 🙂 Apparently, in the uSA, only Republicans can be *true* Christians, according to the *true* God-fearing Christian gun-toting, rootin, tootin, shootin masses. It surprises me not at all to discover that the largest Christian sect in the USA are Prebeterian (over 51% according to the latest CIA World Factbook). They have been a beacon of Christianity in the UK also the past few decades or so. The 2nd largest sect are the Roman Catholics (at about 27%) followed by the Mormons. Here in Aus, or largest sect are Roman Catholics (followed by Anglican). Curiously, in the USA, the number of Christian adherents has been stedily declining, whilst Aetheism has been increasing at roughly the same rate, with most other groups staying about the same since 1998, and especially after 2001. You know… here’s an idea. If you want to actually *increase* the number of followers… maybe Christians in the USA might want to try something like… oh… practicing what they preach? 🙂 BTW, it is now official. The USA has the most people per capita in prison of any Nation! Yayyyy for the U.S. of A. (According to the Christian Science Monitor) 😀 😉
Yayyyy… way ta go Christian Nation! Ahhh yes… “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” 😈
A-mazing… or maybe not. But hey… talk is always cheap. 🙂 *shrug*
Separation of Church and State is really for the protection of Church, because every time the two get together, religion is the loser. It has always been that way, and I see no reason to expect that reality to change in any meaningful way.
Kryten, I don’t really understand how anyone can consider atheism as anything other than an individual choice. Attempting to alter belief from the outside is a fool’s errand. People have to decide what they believe as individuals, and core beliefs are the toughest things to change.
If you look at all the flux in the various types of Christianity, the only rational conclusion you can draw is that those changing, don’t really believe. This is a big change from earlier times.
Regarding M$, it is always nice to see them exposed as the pirates they are.
Ohhh… There are still a LOT of fight and underhanded dirty tricks left in the old M$ dog! Like this for eg:
Microsoft Acquires Novell
Ummm… I shouldn’t have to mention… but just in case… check the release date. I was planning to post that a few days ago… but life intervened as usual. 😉 😆
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in racketeering, extortion services and collusions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Well… enough fun! 😛 Here’s some real news:
Microsoft Hijacks “Open Source” From GNU/Linux Just Like It Hijacked “Standards”
Gee… What a surprise. 🙄
M$ never changes. Anytime it claims to support standards, it immediately moves to undermine them. How often do they need to do this before people catch on and just ignore them. M$ doesn’t do anything that doesn’t make money for M$.
The problem is their belief that the only way to make money is by pushing Windows, is costing their applications group big bucks. If the apps people were allowed to sell Office for Linux, they would be rolling in cash, but the ops system group would take a major hit. They need to look to the future, but they spend most of their resources on defense.
Who cares, they have been passed and will fade away.