left biblioblography: March 2012

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wednesday Twofer: Jeffrey And God

Comedy for atheists: Jeffrey the angel discusses serious issues with the ‘big guy’:

In this segment, Jeffrey points out the ludicrousness of logistics with the ‘big guy’:

Enjoy.

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Madness Of Muslim: Guns A-Blazing, Another Maniac Mohammed

Cross posted @ the Atheist OasisMyth of Violent Islam_gif

The body count keeps mounting, despite what all the Islamic apologists say:

Jewish school slayings suspect dead after France cops storm apartment, officials say

Updated at 10:58 a.m. ET: TOULOUSE, France -- An Islamist extremist who is believed to have killed seven people in France died Thursday after a shootout with police, officials said.

Interior Minister Claude Gueant said that Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin who had allegedly confessed to killing three Jewish children and four adults, was hiding in a bathroom when special forces officers raided his ground-floor apartment.

Merah leapt out a window with a weapon in his hand after "shooting madly" at police who were attempting to end the 32-hour standoff, Gueant added.

The Paris prosecutor in charge of investigation told NBC News police found the video camera he used to film all three attacks and described the footage they found as "very graphic."

Merah was found dead outside his home, Gueant said. Police union sources also confirmed Merah's death, with local prosecutors also saying he had been shot in the head.

Gueant said that two officers were injured during the operation.

Merah told negotiators he killed three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children and because of French army involvement in Afghanistan.

Authorities said Merah, who claimed to have received training from al-Qaida, was believed to have a weapons cache in the apartment including an Uzi and a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

I find this sort of thing frightening, inasmuch as it occurs all too frequently over the last decade. There has been a constant barrage of bad press – and it’s far too easy to say, “Oh, but the press only shows the bad shit”, because it’s reached a saturation point where only the most deluded of delusionists would mouth the empty platitude that “it’s only a few crazies making the religion look bad”. Especially since the religion is mostly composed of crazies (as most of them are).

Another ominous foreshadowing, is the Wiki entry on this lunatic:

He was known to French authorities because he had traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was unemployed at the time of the shootings, after having worked as a coachbuilder. Merah had a long record as a juvenile delinquent with 15 convictions, according to a regional French prosecutor. First arrested in 2005, he served two short prison terms in 2007 and 2009. His convictions reportedly included thefts and driving offences.

The major inference here, is that he couldn’t really afford an Uzi and a Kalashnikov, let alone the bullets. There will be no doubt that there will be a great deal of analysis (how many hours is anyone’s guess, but it’ll be too much) as to the whys and wherefores and how-comes – it’ll likely be attributed to terrorists, oh, them poor Muslims getting blamed for a lone nut, etc, etc, et al.

The underlying problem is that there are too many savages in all our societies, Western or otherwise, and religion is just another excuse, another umbrella for the wackjobs to hide under. Until the numbers get too huge to ignore.

Till the next post, then.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wednesday Twofer–Modern Family

Much in the vein of The Office TV series, Modern Family is actually funnier, and incredibly well written and well acted.

The following is Sophie Vergara as the consistently funny (and tremendously gorgeous) ‘child-bride’ of Jay, the patriarch of the family, and her hysterical mispronunciations:

And in the next clip, Jay’s gay son Mitchell and his boyfriend reveal that they’ve adopted a baby:

Enjoy.

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Allegories Gone Wild: The Ugandan Warlord

Cross posted @ the Atheist Oasis
konyinfantryNo doubt many of you are familiar with the Kony 2012 campaign on Youtube. Joseph Kony is a Ugandan warlord who is guilty of horrendous crimes against humanity. Likelihood is good that the source of this campaign (who was scarring his own child teaching him about Kony) is somewhat out of his mind. Uganda is understandably upset about this bad press, and has released a counter-video claiming that Kony is no longer in the country, and that they are making every effort to apprehend this monster.

Regardless of the political upheaval, the background noise of finger-pointing, and any of the other obligatory nonsenses, the fact remains: Kony is a crazy-ass fairy beggar armed with a machete that he’s willing to use freely.

One of the more irritating subterfuges (as I see it), is how everyone seems to be downplaying his religious inclinations. From the Wiki link:

Joseph Kony (pronounced IPA: [koɲ]; born c. 1961) is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerrilla group. While initially enjoying strong public support, the LRA turned on its own supporters, supposedly to "purify" the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy. Kony proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the Holy Spirit, which the group believes can represent itself in many manifestations. Ideologically, the group is a syncretic mix of of mysticism, Acholi nationalism, and Christian fundamentalism, and claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments and local Acholi tradition.

A nutshell version of this as follows: he’s batshit crazy.

How did the madness develop? Like most nutcases, he started early:

Kony was born in 1961 in Odek, a village east of Gulu in northern Uganda, to father Luizi Obol and mother Nora, both farmers. He is a member of the Acholi people. Kony enjoyed a good relationship with his siblings, but was quick to retaliate in a dispute and when confronted he would often resort to physical violence. His father was a lay catechist of the Catholic Church and his mother was an Anglican. Kony was an altar boy for several years but stopped attending church around the age of 15 and also dropped out of school.

As a teenager, Kony was apprenticed as the village witch doctor under Jamie Brow, his older brother, and when Jamie died, Kony took over the position.

So superstition and crazy ran in the family? No surprise there. Let’s skip to the meat of the entry:

Kony's group was originally called the United Holy Salvation Army (UHSA), and was not perceived as a threat by the NRA. By 1988 it had become a major player in Ugandan affairs: an agreement between the NRA and the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) left members of the UPDA unsatisfied, and many joined the UHSA as a form of rebellion. One such person was Commander Odong Latek, who convinced Kony to use standard military tactics instead of attacking in cross-shaped formations and sprinkling holy water. The new tactics proved successful, and the UHSA completed several small victories against the NRA.

WOW. He was so religious, he attacked in cross-shaped formations? Misted people with ineffectual water? The crazy is strong with this one.

The NRA responded by significantly weakening Kony's group through political actions and a military campaign named Operation North. The operation was devastating to the UHSA and, with their numbers reduced from thousands to hundreds, they engaged in retaliatory attacks on civilians and NRA collaborators. The LRA say that spirits were sent to communicate this mission directly to Kony.

Since there’s no such thing as ‘spirits’, it was the voices in his head.

The bulk of Kony's foot soldiers were children. While estimates of the number of children conscripted since 1986 vary, some put the figure as high as 104,000. When abducting the children, Kony and his army often killed their family and neighbors, thus leaving the children with little choice but to fight for him. In 1992 Kony renamed the group the United Democratic Christian Army, and it was at this time that they kidnapped 139 girls from the Sacred Heart Secondary and St. Mary's girls schools.

It is strange, is it not, that for an allegedly peaceful religion, bloodthirsty ogres seem to surge forth from it on a consistent basis?

Let’s plumb the depths of this crazy a little more:

Betty Bigombe remembered that the first time she met Kony, his followers used oil to ward off bullets and evil spirits. In a letter regarding future talks, Kony stated that he must consult his self-styled holy spirit. When the talks did occur, they insisted on the participation of religious leaders and opened the proceedings with prayers, led by LRA's Director of Religious Affairs Jenaro Bongomi. During the 1994 peace talks, Kony was preceded by men in robes sprinkling holy water.

Kony was thought among followers and detractors alike to have been possessed by spirits; he has been portrayed as either the Messiah or the Devil. He reportedly made annual trips to the Ato Hills in Uganda. He would allegedly ascend to the highest of the hills and lie down in the hot sun for days. He would be covered by a blanket of red termites that bit deeply into his skin. Oil from the Yao plant was spread over his body. Then he would enter a cave and stay in seclusion for weeks. Kony believes in the literal protection provided by a cross symbol and tells his child soldiers a cross on their chest drawn in oil will protect them from bullets.

Kony believes in polygamy, and as of 2007 he was thought to have 88 wives, along with 42 children.

Kony insists that he and the Lord's Resistance Army are fighting for the Ten Commandments. He defends his actions: "Is it bad? It is not against human rights. And that commandment was not given by Joseph. It was not given by LRA. No, those commandments were given by God."

The mind boggles. Centuries ago this behavior would be considered holy. Now, it is symptomatic of severe mental illness. I would say that insane is too kind a word.

Did religion cause this profound disconnect with reality? Hard to say. Obviously his environment had a severe impact on his psyche. To the point somewhere along the line he thought he was justified in lopping the limbs off people, and stealing their children.

Every day, the evidence against keeping religion just gets another story deeper. Expanding on that metaphor, there should be enough skyscrapers to blot out the sun.

Till the next post, then.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Tuesday Twofer: Better Off Ted

It’s unfortunate that this show got canceled after Season 2 - it’s wonky, the writing was good, and it was extremely funny.

This clip is entitled Freezing Phil:

The show usually starts with the faux company’s latest commercial (Veridian Dynamics):

Enjoy.

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

More Of The Madness Of Muslim: Dress Codes Strictly Enforced

Cross posted @ the Atheist Oasis
shariaAre you getting a little sick of how everyone has to run a flagpole up their asses and fly a flag for Islam these days? From the U.N declaring that no one has a right to offend them to a judge who defends the right to violently assault the insulter of said religion – it’s gut-wrenching obsequiousness based on cowardice.

And it just gets progressively worse.

Dozens of Iraqi teenagers stoned to death for ‘emo’ haircuts: activists

Iraqi activists sounded the bell over the killing of dozens of teenagers by religious police for having “emo” haircuts.
Activists told the Cairo-based al-Akhbar daily that at least 90 Iraqi teenagers with “emo” appearances have been stoned to death by the Moral Police in the country in the past month. The violent crackdown against “emo” Iraqi teenagers came after the Iraqi interior ministry declared them as “devil worshippers.”

“The ‘Emo phenomenon’ or devil worshiping is being probed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate it as soon as possible since it’s detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger,” according to a statement by the interior ministry.
“They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationery that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities,” the statement added.
The statement said that Iraq’s Moral Police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter Baghdad schools and pinpoint students with Western appearances.
The activists told the newspaper that a group of armed men dressed in civilian clothing led the teenagers to secluded areas a few days ago, stoned them to death, and then disposed their bodies in garbage dumpsters across the capital, Baghdad.
“First they throw concrete blocks at the boy’s arms, then at his legs, then the final blow is to his head, and if he is not dead by then, they start all over again,” one person who managed to escape told the daily.
The exact death toll remains unclear, but Hana al-Bayaty of Brussels Tribunal, an NGO dealing with Iraqi issues, said the current figure ranges “between 90 and 100.”
Activists said that leaflets were distributed in Baghdad warning teenagers from donning the “emo” style, and in some regions, teenage homosexuals were killed by battering their heads also by concrete blocks.

So the ‘Moral Police’ dispose of these…non-conformists…by torturing them to death? Who is more ‘moral’ then? Bands of religious vigilantes scouring the land, cruelly murdering anyone who violates their beloved ‘laws’? Some religion of peace.

There are many ways of dealing with teenage rebelliousness – but this nonsense is barbaric savagery, only worthy of being dealt with in the same way they dole out ‘punishment’.

You cannot cure a rabid dog – you cannot rationalize with the creature, you cannot apply any sort of cure to the disease.

Religion – letting mad dogs run rampant amongst us for centuries without apology or effort.

Till the next post, then.

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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Wednesday Twofer–HISHE (How It Should Have Ended)

I gotta say, these guys are brilliant. My absolute favorites are the coffee klatch conversations in the Super Café:

How Iron Man Should’ve Ended:

Enjoy.

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Sunday, March 04, 2012

Kook Cameron On Homosexuality

Cross posted @ the Atheist Oasis
rayandkurtOh, oops, I meant Kirk Cameron.

So this bit of news comes as no surprise to those of us familiar with this talentless hack’s ‘resume’:

'80s sitcom star turned religious activist Kirk Cameron is not a fan of homosexuality and he isn't shy about sharing his feelings on the subject.

Yeah, because 32 years later, people are still hanging on his every word. Sheesh!

During a new interview with Piers Morgan the "Growing Pains" heartthrob who transitioned from a "teen-idol-atheist in Hollywood and became a devoted follower of Jesus Christ in the middle of [his] career" explained that he believes homosexuality is "unnatural... I think that it's detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

So…the creator of the Crocoduck was a…an atheist? No, he was just a lazy thinker. As for the idea that ‘homosexuality is unnatural’, the latest tally is that 1500 species indulge in this behavior on a regular basis, so the sobriquet of ‘unnatural’ means that old Kook is still living in Imagination Land.

On the issue of marriage equality Cameron remarked, "Marriage was defined by God a long time ago. Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve -- one man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don't think anyone else should either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don't."

The old sorry-ass argument that ‘gawd said otherwise’ is as old and as tired as Camer-maroon. Imaginary sky daddies don’t define marriage – people do.

When asked what he would do if one of his six kids told him, "Dad, bad news, I'm gay," Cameron responded, "I'd sit down and I'd have a heart to heart with them, just like you'd do with your kids."

Christlation: “I am gonna PRAY the homosex-U-al day-mons outta you, boy! Get on your knees ay-and PRAY! Gawd’s gonna be wrathful, so you jist stop yore sinful ways!”

Morgan shot back, "I'd say, 'That's great, son! As long as you're happy.' What would you say?"

Cameron offered, "I wouldn't say 'That's great, son, as long as you're happy.' There are all sorts of issues we need to wrestle through in our life... Just because you feel one way doesn't mean we should act on everything we feel."

That’s advice you should’ve taken back when you became asshole buddies with Ray Comfort and started carting out incredibly stupid caricatures in your ‘spiritual battle’ with REAL science.

Really – why does this mook get any press at all? He was a child sitcom actor. He should get his own reality TV show…that is, when he actually comes into contact with it.

Either way, nobody’s seen him give up whatever ill-gotten gains he’s accreted over the decades to the poor.

This is just more proof that Hollywood and its denizens are the last place anyone should look for rationality. They specialize in fantasy, after all: small wonder so many of them retreat into a socially acceptable imaginary world.

Till the next post, then.

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