My Favortie Show EP:11- Caffeinated Colonics and Vigilante Justice

Craig Ferguson- Why Everything Sucks

My Favorite Show EP02: Poor Little Doodle

My Favorite Show EP01: Cyborgs and Beauty Queens

Atheism BLECH

The Voice, No, Not The Crappy Karaoke Show, The Crappy Bible With Stage Directions

The Fine Art of Pentecostal Snake Fondling

Godless Geek Blog Year one, A shiny new Domain Name, and things to Come...

Pope's Butler Arrested in Vatican Leak Scandal. In Other News: Pope's Got a Butler!?

Creationism/Intelligent Design and The Tennessee Monkey Bill

Something From Nothing- A conversation W/Richard Dawkins & Lawrence Krauss

A two hour long discussion of science, education, atheism, freethought and the nature of reality itself, by two of my favorite living minds. I found this a week or two ago, and I've watched it straight through twice now. So obviously, I quite like it, and I think you will too.

Enjoy.

-CAINE-

The Cult of The Celestial Teapot (Not a Real Thing)

"Is There a God?", Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)

"Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time."

vania heymann, doesn't actually mention Russell's writing or his teacup, often referred to as the Celestial or Cosmic Teapot, as the inspiration for his video. But intended or not, it seems an accurate depiction of Russell's idea.

-CAINE-

YouTube Banning Videos From ThunderFoot’s For Being, “Religiously Offensive”

For those of you unfamiliar, Thunderfoot’s is a popular Atheist/science/freethought/Free Speech channel on Youtube. Obviously, that means the views expressed within his videos are typically offensive to the average believer’s sensibilities, when it comes to the level of respect they feel their precious ideals deserve; that level being absolute and unyielding, of course.

But fragile sensibilities of the credulous aside, the reality is that Thunbderfoot is one of the more thoughtful and deliberate critics of religion you’ll find on the net. Who, at worst, one could fairly complain occasionally allows his language to stray towards the PG-13 end of the spectrum. He’s certainly nowhere near as disrespectful towards others as say, oh, I don’t know… ME. So the idea that his videos are now being removed by YouTube moderators for “Religious HATE SPEECH” is so absurd, it would be comical, if it wasn’t so infuriating or so ominous a sign of things to come, where the future of free speech on YT and the net in general is concerned. But that’s exactly what happened.

And it’s going to start happening more and more. Not just on YT but all over the net, if we don’t start making noise about this sort of thing right now.

So I’ll delve deeper into my own opinions on all this later. For now, go watch, like, favorite, and share the video above. Subscribe to Thunderfoot’s Channel if you’re not already, and if you really care, you can download copies of the blocked videos in the details section of the video above, and then mirror them to your own channel. Which I have just started doing myself, HERE.

-CAINE-

And Then, I started Blogging Again...

Upon arrival at the store, I was first annoyed to discover that, once again, the science section had apparently migrated. After making several laps around the floor in search of it's new hiding place; pausing briefly to glare at the MASSIVE religious/spirituality section that had swelled to gargantuan proportions since my last visit, I decided to ask for help in my search.

More than slightly annoyed, and a little bewildered by the idea that the science section might actually be gone altogether, I approached an employee and asked,

" Um, do you not even have a science section anymore?".
"Yes, we still have a science section", the clerk replied, "it's right over here."

He then proceeded to lead me to the back of the store, where, crammed onto a few shelves facing the back wall -safely shielded from view of the casual browser, and centrally located next to the bathroom and encyclopedias- sat the tiny, sad little selection of science books seen above.To put things into perspective; remember the obscenely large religious and spirituality section I mentioned? Well, here's a photo of just the floor space this particular store has dedicated to bibles alone.

Including the section labeled, "Religious Fiction" (Ill spare you the obvious observation here), the books seen in that photo represent about 25% of the total collection of books on religion and spirituality available at this particular store. Now, take a moment to consider the rest of the credulous, pseudo-scientific, nonsensical, and superstition filled publications that we all know dominate the shelves of this, and every other bookstore in the country, and you'll start to see why this trip managed to set off something in my brain. Because, these days more than ever, brick and mortar stores like B&N have to make the most of their inventory in order to compete with online retailers like Amazon -less they suffer the same fate as Borders. Which means, the content of this, and any other store's inventory, is a direct reflection of what people actually have an interest in buying, and clearly -it ain't science.

Now, I know that this may not sound like much of a catalyst for an Epiphany. But for me, watching the selection of science books -which actually used to be fairly large at this particular location BTW- slowly shrink, and disappear from view, was a stark, and frankly depressing, reminder of just how unpopular science and critical thinking are -and just how prominent irrational thought, and supernatural belief, continue to be in the mind of the average person. so while I still harbor no delusions of grandeur where my place in the world is concerned, it did manage to remind me of why any effort to promote science and critical thinking, however small, was well worth it.

-CAINE-

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)

As you have no doubt heard by now, Christopher Hitchens, who had been receiving treatment for esophageal cancer since the middle of last year, died of pneumonia Thursday night at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he was 62.

While I am, as always, days late in hearing the news, and I can't even pretend to have any great insight to add to the meaning of his life or the impact of his death. As someone whose taken great inspiration from his work for many years now, I can't help but at least try to express who he was and what his work meant, to me.

Hitchens was best known to most of mainstream culture, at least here in America anyway, as one of the most vocal, and aggressive, members of the modern atheist movement. He was a polarizing figure, even amongst those of us who shared his values, and was often characterized as a loud-mouthed intellectual. One who could always be found -drink in one hand, cigarette in the other- happily dismantling the most sacred ideals, icons, and beliefs, of much of modern society. All while displaying little to no regard for whose feelings he might hurt or whose sensibilities he might offend along the way. Which, all in all, is a fair enough characterization of his public face I suppose, and to me, a description of a man I would have loved to have met.

Christopher Hitchens, as I saw him, was a man who believed that intellectualism was not a dirty word. That being a so-called intellectual, was not a pursuit beyond the means of the average mind. He was a man who believed that acquiring a true higher understanding of our world was something that we should all aspire to, and he correctly identified religion as one of the primary enemies of that pursuit, and treated it accordingly.

It was this unapologetic promotion of free thought, and his effort to promote and reinvigorate interest in the values of the enlightenment movement -the philosophical and intellectual phenomena that was, not only the true parent of America, but of the modern scientific era in which we live today- that meant the most, and had the greatest affect and influence on me personally. Because I believe that what the world needs most is to learn not to tolerate ignorance, injustice, or hatred; or to settle for mediocrity for the sake of tradition, superstition, or fear of offense. And that, to me, was the overwhelming theme of Hitchens' work, and the reason that I will most miss having his voice in the world.

Goodbye Hitch.

-CAINE-

Great Minds as Band Logos

I can not accurately describe for you how badly I want the Darwin (Danzig) and Sagan (Slayer) shirt. Two of my favorite minds, masquerading as two of my favorite bands, MUST HAVE NOW.

-CAINE-

These, and many more designs, available at:Monsters of Grok

VIA: GGB on Tumblr

Stephen Fry on Life, Desire, 42, and The Philosophy of Star Trek

I admit to using this phrase a lot, probably too much in fact, but, Stephen Fry is without question one my favorite living humans. I would gladly listen to him talk about just about anything for hours. In this video, recorded in October of 2010 at the Sydney Opera House, host Jennifer Byrne talks with him about his life, desire, manic depression, the philosophy of Star Trek, and she even gets him to reveal the true meaning of 42.

-CAINE-

The West Memphis 3

Obviously, I have been away from the computer for a while again. And while I'm not about to bore you with two week's of news you've already heard, there were at least a few stories which tool place over my absence, that I think are worth adding to the archives. Most notably, the release of the West Memphis three.

In 1993 three teenagers, Damien Echols(18), Jason Baldwin(16) and Jessie Misskelley(17)- one of whom, Damien Echols, was rumored to be a satanist- now known as the West Memphis 3, were arrested for the sexual assault and murder of three 8 year old boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byer. Despite NO substantiated physical evidence linking them to the crimes, by 1994, the trio was convicted of the murders based on a confession given by Misskelly -which the defense would later charge was obtained via coercion- and a statement made by a woman named Vicki Hutcheson; in which she claimed that Jessie Misskelly and Damien Echols had taken her to view a "Satanic esbat", a coven or witch's meeting associated with Wicca and Neopaganism. As a result of their conviction in the case, Misskelly and Baldwin would received multiple life sentences, while Damien was sentenced to death.

Following their convictions the boys maintained their innocence, not a particularly unique position for an inmate to maintain. But soon, they begin to draw public support. Over the years this group of supporters would eventually grow to include a variety of celebrities and musicians, as well as the parents of two of three victims, and ultimately resulted in the creation of a defense fund. A fund which allowed the Young men the ability to properly challenge the charges against them, which many believed were driven by the religiously driven hysteria dubbed the "Satanic Panic".

An examination of the evidence conducted by Echol's defense team between 2005 and 2007, not only failed to produce ANY evidence linking the Boys to the case, but actually yielded DNA evidence in the form of two hairs found at the scene which were determined to be consistent with the DNA of two other individuals sampled by the defense: Terry Hobbs, victim Steve Branch's step father, and a known associate of Hobbs, David Jacoby. Defense investigators also determined that marks on the victims body's, alleged to have been inflicted with a large knife recovered from a lake near Baldwin's home, were most likely the result of animal activity, and not the weapon in question. Finally, the team showed that Misskelly's confession, obtained after multiple hours of police interrogation of the the then 17 year old, border line mentally challenged suspect, was initially factually incorrect in every significant way -from the time of the murders, to the methods used in the killings- until police lead Misskelly into giving the "correct" answers to their questions.

As for the claim made by Vicki Hutcheson that Echols and Misskelly had taken her to witness a satanic ritual, a claim which helped to bolster the prosecution's assertion that the killings had been part of a satanic rite. In 2004, Hutcheson claimed that her testimony in the trial had been a complete fabrication, one which she claims to have told after West Memphis Police detectives threatened to take her child away and implicate her in the slayings, if she refused to testify as instructed. Hutcheson's claims of police intimidation have never been substantiated.

Armed with their new findings findings, and Hutcheson's recant, the defense made an appeal for a new trial. In 2010, that appeal was granted by the state supreme court, and a new trial was set for later this year. Seemingly convinced that the men, now all in their thirties, would likely win that trial, the state decided to make a deal. On august 19th, the West Memphis three were set free after serving 18 years in prison. They were not, however, cleared of the charges against them.

In order to gain their freedom, Echols and Baldwin were forced to enter something known as a " Alford plea", in which a defendant asserts their innocence of the charges in question, but acknowledges that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; Misskelly entered a similar plea for his charges. This special plea to the charges also just happens to come with the happy side-effect, where the state is concerned anyway, of shielding the prosecution from any criminal liability, including financial damages.

Though there seemed to be little doubt from anyone that all three men would most likely have won their freedom in the new trial granted to them by the Arkansas Supreme Court, Jason and Jessie ultimately decided to agree to the plea -which also came with a 10 year suspended sentence for each defendant- in order to save the life of their friend Damien, who was awaiting execution on death row.

Given my own affinity for the music and sub-culture that was the target of the satanic-panic phenomena, not to mention my own personal dealings with it throughout my childhood, the plight of the WM3 is something I have followed for a long time. In my view, it seems clear that these men were wrongly convicted of the crimes in question, and given the lack of evidence against them; the prosecutions seeming refusal to even consider other subjects -despite even new DNA evidence implicating others in the crime- and all of the attempts that were made during the trial to tie the murders to satanic rituals, it seems equally obvious that religiously-fueled hysteria was ultimately the primary motivator behind the boys arrests and convictions. And while I'm pleased that the men were finally able to at least earn they're freedom, the idea that all of the authorities and institutions involved in their convictions are being allowed to get away with -in my opinion- deliberately ruining the lives of three innocent people in the name of their personal religious convictions, or simple incompetence- angers and disgusts me to no end. But whatever your personal opinion of their guilt or innocence may be, we should all agree that the handling of this case and the result it produced, were anything but justice for anyone, including the victims.

-CAINE-

Sources: CNN Justice, WM3blackboard ( Vicki Hutcheson's recant), The WM3 "Time for Truth" Documentary- posted by: globalgriot on Youtube.

Pastor Joe Nelms Thanks god for All His Beloved Sponsors, and his Hot Wife

Posted by Youtube user: Paulk9pg

What sporting event (and I use the term EXTREMELY loosely in this case) would be complete without someone first asking the all mighty dictator in the sky, to take few moments out of it’s busy schedule of permitting believers to commit genocide in it’s name, and watching poor children starve to death; to turn it’s attention to the outcome of a meaningless contest being played by a few dozen bored millionaires?

Well, pastor Joe Nelms went above and beyond at a recent Nascar event, making sure to ask, not only for the lord to grant protection to all the drivers in the race, but to thank his deity for providing each and every sponsor of the event, as well as his own “hot wife”.

“In Jesus name, Boogity, Boogity, Boogity,…Amen!”

No really, that’s how the prayer ended. I don’t know what that means, but I would like to sponsor a law requiring all believers to identify themselves from this point on, by throwing their hands up and yelling “In (INSERT DEITY HERE)’s Name, boogity, boogity, boogity, AMEN!”, whenever they enter a public space. Not only would this make it much easier for me to identify people to avoid in social situations, but it becomes a whole lot harder to sell anyone your mindless bullshit, after they’ve seen you throw up your hands and shout gibberish at a crowded room full of strangers; I realize that seems sort of redundant, but this form of gibberish is much more obvious to a wider spectrum of people.

At the very least, we can always hope that this whole product placement thing will catch on, prompting the mighty-one to move on to a new business model, and instead of begging money from poor people in churches, it can go straight for corporate sponsorship. After all, look how well that same model is working for America!

Git R Done!

-CAINE-

VIA: GGB on Tumblr

Behemoth Frontman Facing Blasphemy Charges in Poland

I first wrote here about Adam Darski, AKA "Nergal", frontman and guitarist for my favorite band Behemoth, about a year ago. At the time, he had just released a statement refuting claims by the religious that he had found god as a result of his leukemia diagnosis; for which he was then awaiting a bone marrow transplant. I also mentioned that earlier that same year blasphemy charges brought against him in Gdynia, Poland, had recently been dismissed. While there's since been plenty of good news where Adam's cancer is concerned, it would unfortunately appear that I was wrong about those blasphemy charges.

The good news is that after a years worth of treatment and recovery, undergoing chemo therapy and a bone marrow transplant Nergal ( sorry, I just can't call him Adam again) , has made a near complete recovery and is reported to be doing well. Just last month the group released some new rehearsal footage on their Youtube channel with Nergal back on the guitar, and though still understandably looking a bit thin, he otherwise appears to be in good shape and says that the band plans to start playing shows again in Poland in October before moving on to other parts of the world. All of which, makes me very happy to say.

The bad news of course, is now that his battle with leukemia is thankfully nearly over, he still has to face the polish legal system for charges of having committed an "offense against religious feelings" (sec. 196 of polish Criminal Code). The charges themselves stem from a performance by the band 14 years ago in Gydnia, in which he (quite fairly in my opinion) referred to the catholic church as, "the most murderous cult on the planet", before destroying a bible on stage. If found guilty of the clearly unforgivable crime of having hurt NAMBLA's, I mean, the catholic church's feelings, he could potentially face up to two years in prison for his "crime". Nergal himself briefly commented on his most recent court appearance last month saying;

"I spent 5 hours In the court in Gdynia today, the case is back on track and there's still [a] few witnesses to be interviewed. It's way too early to give any further comment. I just hope the final verdict is gonna be positive for me. I have a feeling that I'm in this situation for right reasons and I'm not giving up. Cross fingers! The battle ain't over yet..."

As for the actions which earned him the charges in the first place, as today's video from a 2008 show in Tilburg, as well as a variety of other examples on Youtube clearly illustrate; Nergal obviously regrets what he's done in the past, and promises he'll never do it again. No really, swear to god.

Best of luck Nergal.

-CAINE-

Source: noisecreep.com