Annual end-of-the world post 2009

by Feòrag

2009 looks like a quiet year in terms of the end of the world, with many of the predictions merely being the usual suspects revising their dates yet again.

Arise Sir Pterry.

by Feòrag

Ankh-MorporkUnited Kingdom: Terry Pratchett has been knighted in the New Year's Honours.

Pratchett leads showbiz honours—BBC News, 31st December 2008.

Nearly a third of science teachers incompetent

by Feòrag

United Kingdom: Today's Grauniad is quite a terrifying read. As well as the Pope's anti-LGBT hate speech, we also learn that over a quarter of science teachers would teach creationism as if it were science:

The Ipsos/Mori poll of 923 primary and secondary teachers found that 29% of science specialists agreed with the statement: Alongside the theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory, creationism should be TAUGHT in science lessons

And they clearly don't mean discussing it as a way of demonstrating that it's superstitious bollocks, not science:

The Ipsos/Mori poll also canvassed support for the more hardline position of only mentioning creationism in the context of dismissing it. It found that only 26% of all teachers and 46% of science specialists agree with Professor Chris Higgins, vice-chancellor of the University of Durham, who is quoted as saying the only reason to mention creationism in schools is to enable teachers to demonstrate why the idea is scientific nonsense.

The poll did not ask if astrology should be taught at the same time as children learn about the planets, nor if alchemy should be given equal time in chemistry lessons.

Would you Adam and Eve it? Quarter of science teachers would teach creationism—The Guardian, 23rd December 2008 (note The Guardian making its own contribution to the misunderstanding of the word theory) .

Tags: creationism, religion, United Kingdom

A sense of proportion

by Feòrag

Vatican City: Someone's clearly been spiking the communion wine over at the Vatican, for the Pope has decreed that opposing pooves is as important as saving the rainforests. Dressed in an exquisitely tailored white dress and red Prada slippers, he also declared that it was vital that people stuck rigidly to the gender stereotypes his church promotes, whilst dismissing all variation from that as mere theories (like all religious bampots, he doesn't know what that word actually means) which lead towards the definitive emancipation of man from creation and the creator (Surely getting rid of our imaginary friends is a good thing?)

No doubt he and his representatives will also cry hate speech and discrimination the moment anyone calls him a bigot or, gasp, takes the piss out of him and his antediluvian cult.

Pope urges defence of heterosexuality—The Guardian, 23rd December 2008. More detailed coverage: Pope Engenders Controversy, at Bartholemew's Notes on Religion.

Tags: bigotry, Christianity, drag, effectiveness of Hitler Youth teaching, homophobia, religion, Roman Catholic Church

The schadenfreude is strong in this one

by Feòrag

United Kingdom: Perhaps if Woolies had not bowed to fundie pressure, and refused to sell things people want to buy, they might not have been in this mess now.

Waaah! It's against my religion to do my job!

by Feòrag

England: Yet another religious bigot has gone running to the courts after he was sacked for refusing to do his job.

A Christian counsellor from Bristol is to take a charity to a tribunal after he was allegedly sacked for refusing to work with same-sex couples.

Gary McFarlane, a solicitor and former church elder, will allege the Bristol branch of counselling service Relate refused to accommodate his religious beliefs.

Mr McFarlane will claim discrimination on the grounds of religion, unfair dismissal and harassment at Bristol Employment Tribunal Centre.

Counsellor 'sacked for refusing to work with gay couples'—The Independent, 1st December 2008.

Bargain of the Day: well-priced T-shirts

by Feòrag

This amuses me:

via Failblog

Bargain of the Day: a cookbook

by Feòrag

Another non-religious bargain, I'm afraid, but one that deserves to be mentioned. Natural Harvest is a most unusual cookery book, subtitled A Collection of Semen-Based Recipes.

Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that. Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to learn how wonderful semen is in the kitchen. Semen is an exciting ingredient that can give every dish you make an interesting twist. If you are a passionate cook and are not afraid to experiment with new ingredients - you will love this cook book!

Semen is considered to be suitable for vegans, so long as the donor is willing.

Tags: cookery, semen

Patriotism in action (or, Biggotts iz fick, pt. $BIGNUM)

by Feòrag

United Kingdom: SF author Liz Williams also runs a brace of occult shops in Glastonbury and, like many people, is interested in the recent leak of a British National Party (most of whom would have been more comfortable on the other side during WWII) membership list.

Following the leaked BNP list, I acquired a virtual pair of tongs and a face mask and took a look at the BNP's website. It is, not surprisingly, the usual vacuous presentation of some fairly sensible (in theory) policies with, as far as I could see, very little said about actual implementation....

One of these issues was that of buying British. Now, even anticipating the beat of jackboots down Glastonbury High St, this is something I can get behind - we support a lot of local craft people in the shops, but we can't exclusively buy British goods because of cost effectiveness. But there is already quite a lot of very good stuff out there, being made by woodworkers and metalworkers in the UK, and so I perused Excalibur, which is the BNP's online shop....

And lo! A lot of the stuff they sell, especially the Celtic things, is not just like the stuff we sell - it *is* the stuff we sell.

It's made in China.

And more dumb—Liz Willams' Journal, 20th November 2008.

Tags: bampots, British National Party, racism, United Kingdom

Darwin Award nominee of the day

by Feòrag

England: A Portsmouth man has died after his imaginary friend told him not to seek treatment for a minor injury to his foot.

Russell Jenkins injured his left foot treading on an electrical plug at his home.

The wound later became infected, but the 52-year-old shunned conventional treatment, saying his 'inner being' told him not to go to hospital.

Instead he tried treating it with honey, an ancient remedy for the treatment of infected wounds.

He refused treatment even when an enormous ulcer developed.

Healer dies after failing to treat a foot wound—The News, 17th November 2009.

Tags: darwin

Expensive police investigation turns up nothing

by Feòrag

Jersey: To those familiar with the "satanic panic" of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the investigation into allegations of child murder at the Haut de la Garenne children's home on Jersey bore a stark familiarity. Today, police released a statement that there were no murders committed at the home, and that evidence they had previously released was inaccurate.

They said there was no evidence that any children had been murdered or bodies destroyed at the former home. ...

The Deputy Chief Officer, David Warcup, expressed much regret at misleading information released by his predecessor on items found at the property.

Detectives said only three of the bone fragments found could be human, and two of these were hundreds of years old.

'No child murders' in Jersey home—BBC News, 12th November 2009.

Tags: child abuse, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey

Bargain of the Day: Kitty-chan died for your sins

by Feòrag

The amount of Hello Kitty religious tat on the market is not limited to the unofficial, it seems. For example, here is a Hello Kitty Cross Rosary pendant for sale on a Japanese Sanrio web site. The cross is about 3.0 x 3.2 cm in size and is made of sterling silver with a rhodium finish. Four cubic zirconia stones are placed in the centre of the flowers. It comes with a 50cm chain, and costs a mere ¥9,800 (approximately £45).

But that's not all. Look what Hello Kitty Hell found: a blinged out Hello Kitty cross, with diamante everywhere and a Kitty head that swings in front. No news on whether it sings Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, but it ought to.

But Kitty's for everyone, not just Christians. Again, unlikely to be official product is this Hello Kitty yarmulke:

Tags: Christianity, Hello Kitty, Judaism, religion

What passes for sane in some parts of the world

by Feòrag

United States: A 20-year-old male student has been expelled from an adult education college after he poured liquid over his English Literature teacher and threatened her with a lighter and a cigarette. He accused her of being a witch.

Darin Najor of Ferndale is charged with assault and battery, a 93-day misdemeanor in the Sept. 11 incident at Taft Educational Center where he attends adult education classes, Ferndale Police Lt. William Wilson said today. The students had been reading Arthur Miller's The Crucible regarding the Salem witch trials.

This apparently occurred after a class discussion on witchcraft, and what people used to do with witches, said Wilson. After one class, he asked his teacher if she believed in witchcraft and what was done, and she said no. The next thing she knew, he came up behind her and poured some liquid on her out of a bottle and ignited a cigarette lighter, as if he was going to light her on fire.

According to another report, Najor allegedly told police that he was trying to kill her by pouring holy water over her. More detail about the incident is given, suggesting that Najor was inspired by his Christian faith:

Najor asked the teacher if she believed in witchcraft, police said. The teacher told him she did not believe in witchcraft and explained that the events in the play were a metaphor for unjust persecution, police said.

The suspect threw his homework papers on the floor and declared it was all blasphemy, Denmark said. The next day he came up behind her chanting what sounded like religious verses while she was working at her desk.

Najor was briefly detained in a psychiatric hospital, but has now been charged with assault and battery.

Student accuses Ferndale teacher of being a witch and tries to set her on fire—The Detroit News, 8th October 2008; Man accused of assaulting 'witch' at Taft—Daily Tribune, 8th October 2008.

Tags: bampots, Christianity, religion, United States