I have compiled some of the images that were published on Twitter during yesterday’s rallies in Ireland and the UK:
DAT SIGN RT @chewerson #savita Protest. The main message: twitter.com/chewerson/stat…
— Amanda Palmer (@amandapalmer) November 14, 2012
On several occasions I have been asked to explain my views on the intersection of atheism and reproductive freedom. Well here it is, isn’t it? From BBC News, the story of 31 year-old Savita Halappanavar, who died in Ireland on Sunday due to complications of pregnancy:
“On the Saturday night everything changed, she started experiencing back pain so we called into the hospital, the university hospital.”
He said she continued to experience pain and asked a consultant if she could be induced.
“They said unfortunately she can’t because it’s a Catholic country,” Mr Halappanavar said.
“Savita said to her she is not Catholic, she is Hindu, and why impose the law on her.
“But she said ‘I’m sorry, unfortunately it’s a Catholic country’ and it’s the law that they can’t abort when the foetus is live.”
This was a woman, and a family, and medical professionals who knew that aborting the pregnancy was the safest, sanest medical decision. This hospital stood by as Savita Halappanavar died slowly and painfully of septicemia. They refused to treat Savita as her her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, watched helplessly as her organs shut down one after another.
Because it’s a Catholic country.
According to the article, several investigations by different groups are underway.
UPDATE: There are several hashtags on Twitter that are following activism around Savita’s case: #Savita #RIPSavita. Here is a legislative action website. A protest is taking place tonight. A Candlelight Vigil is being held in Galway this weekend.
On several occasions I have been asked to explain my views on the intersection of atheism and reproductive freedom. Well here it is, isn’t it? From BBC News, the story of 31 year-old Savita Halappanavar, who died in Ireland on Sunday due to complications of pregnancy:
“On the Saturday night everything changed, she started experiencing back pain so we called into the hospital, the university hospital.”
He said she continued to experience pain and asked a consultant if she could be induced.
“They said unfortunately she can’t because it’s a Catholic country,” Mr Halappanavar said.
“Savita said to her she is not Catholic, she is Hindu, and why impose the law on her.
“But she said ‘I’m sorry, unfortunately it’s a Catholic country’ and it’s the law that they can’t abort when the foetus is live.”
This was a woman, and a family, and medical professionals who knew that aborting the pregnancy was the safest, sanest medical decision. This hospital stood by as Savita Halappanavar died slowly and painfully of septicemia. They refused to treat Savita as her her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, watched helplessly as her organs shut down one after another.
Because it’s a Catholic country.
According to the article, several investigations by different groups are underway.
UPDATE: There are several hashtags on Twitter that are following activism around Savita’s case: #Savita #RIPSavita. Here is a legislative action website. A protest is taking place tonight. A Candlelight Vigil is being held in Galway this weekend.
From AsiaOne.com:
Malaysia – Hundreds of Catholics have gathered in prayer and worship outside a Malaysian hospital after seeing an image said to resemble the Virgin Mary on one of the windows.
…
Those assembled Sunday maintained they can now also see an image of an adult Jesus Christ just two windows away from His mother.
Nearly 100 Catholics were still at the hospital Sunday, lighting candles, singing hymns and saying prayers. Several tourist buses added to the congestion.
Some have come from as far as Singapore, over 300 kilometers (187 miles) away, to see the image on a seventh-floor window, which they describe as a miracle.
“We believe Mary, mother of God, has a message for us, as she is looking down on us and then at a Malaysian flag. We can also see Jesus and He is also moving, they are not static,” Eunice Fernandez, who lives nearby, told AFP.
The 54-year-old housewife dismissed claims the image could be a hoax.
Ellen brought this phenomenon to our attention and we’d both like to say a few words.
Me first:
So…people in Malaysia are seeing the Virgin Mary. Even though we all know this is a water stain or something similar, I thought you might want to have a look at the miraculous revelation for yourselves. I can’t find any photos that aren’t copyright-protected so I drew one for you. If you think my version isn’t awesome enough, you can click on the image below to be taken to an original source.
My rendition of the water stain…errr…Virgin Mary apparition in Malaysia.
I don’t have too much to say about this. The Virgin Mary doesn’t show up on walls. This is a case of pareidolia, plain and simple. Since I don’t tend to think of Mother Mary very much, she wasn’t even the first thing I saw when I laid eyes on the image. My first thought was vulva. But then that’s me.
From Ellen:
This is just it, isn’t it, what I was talking about regarding Mary being gagged? The poor woman is reduced to communicating in code, in mildew and condensation. It’s like one of those coma victims in a horror movie who manifests a dire warnings spelled out in sans serif prickly heat on their torsos.
I guess I can squint and sort of see a figure and even a halo kind of thing. It isn’t exactly in proportion, but then neither is a lot of religious art. I fear I also see nipples and, what’s worse, it looks like the unhappy soul has bladder control issues. Perhaps she’s angling to become the spokes-apparition for a line of incontinence products. It may be the only way she gets a voice.
It’s easy to laugh. It is ridiculous to see magic in a stain. But think how desperate you have to be to find this wonderful. Certainly some of these people are desperate. They want something uplifting. They really want that miracle. You don’t convince folks to drop absurd belief systems by sneering, you do it by offering a better option. I’m thinking if they thought somebody gave a damn, they’d be more interested in looking through the glass to see what is really there, than looking at the grime on it.
Well…that was a crappy way to start the morning. Thanks, Jessica at Friendly Atheist!
By the end of 2012, Uganda’s internationally contentious “Kill the Gays” bill will become law.
The highly religious, highly Christian country has been trying to get this bill passed since 2009, and it faced a great deal of criticism on an international level along the way: several European countries threatened to reduce aid to the country if the bill was passed.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga described the bill’s passing as a “Christmas gift” for the Ugandan people.
Passing a bill that would kill or imprison for life homosexuals in Uganda – just in time for Christmas! Dead gay Ugandans – the perfect Christmas gift to celebrate Christian love and compassion!
The bill can be seen in it’s entirety at Box Turtle Bulletin. It’s some scary stuff. And boy oh boy have they spent a lot of time thinking about all the ways one can do teh gay. Aside from all of the usual fun involving penetration or sexual stimulation of the anus, mouth, or sexual organs via penis, sexual contraptions or “objects”, according to the bill one can “commit the offense of homosexuality” if “he or she touches another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.”
Nope, no way that could go wrong.
Joe.My.God picks out more idiocracy from the bill (bold is mine):
Box Turtle Bulletin notes that according to Clause One of the act, a “serial offender” is defined as a someone who has “previous convictions of the offence of homosexuality or related offences.” In other words, a second conviction brings the death penalty. And those “related offenses” include renting a room to a gay person or failing to inform the government that someone they know is gay, meaning that a straight person could also suffer the “gay death penalty.”
I hope the international outcry deafens us all. Again, from Joe.My.God:
In 2009 the European Parliament threatened to end aid to Uganda should the bill pass. Last year (soon to be former) Rep. Barney Frank said that the United States should do the same: “If the bill before the Ugandan parliament becomes law, it must be the policy of the United States government to oppose any aid to Uganda from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, or any other international financial institution of which we are a member.”
Jason Thibeault from Lousy Canuck has an article up with information on how to contact your local MP (if you’re in Canada) to ask for an end to Ugandan aid from Canada.
Guest blogger Ellen Bulger found this lovely, charming, invective-laced musical piece. It’s a few months old, so do pardon us if you’ve seen it make the rounds, but it just tickled us too much not to pass on!
Walking into the family home.
It’s warm with light and laughter and decoration.
Different faces than expected,
but familiar nonetheless.
No awkwardness from the core group.
Old patterns immediately, comfortably assumed.
The dogs greet each other –
a flurry of clanging tags whipping tails breathless panting.
I reacquaint with the leather-bound library and tattered children’s books.
In the kitchen my heart swells as I glimpse
the eternal boy holding his metal and wire, orange and yellow kite –
suspended in the air, magic as ever.
This is my family.
I am overjoyed to reconnect but leery of small talk.
I wander into the sitting room,
wonder when it will be polite to break into the olive tapenade.
I am drawn to the photos over the fireplace.
The same faces of my grandmother’s children look out at me
as have always looked out:
All at the height of teenhood, teetering on independence.
Among the bright smiles and dated hairstyles I catch
my uncle’s eye.
strong jaw.
smooth, unlined skin.
perfect curls.
He’s so young in this photo.
We never see him anymore.
He lives in California.
I’m not intimate with the details,
only that he met a woman – a servant of God.
I remember the strength he showed at Grandpa’s funeral:
Hugging my Grandma, breaking the mood
when he gestures to the casket, asks her
if she thinks Dad might be too warm in that sweater.
A half-hidden smile breaking into a wide grin,
his inappropriateness lightening the sorrow for a brief moment.
It’s my only story that I have left of him.
Except this:
He wasn’t there when my dad was dying,
when his sister was suffering.
When my mother was grieving.
He and I – we found ourselves at opposite ends of belief.
I realize with a jolt that if he met me now
he would think me damned to hell for eternity.
He lives in California.
With her.
With Him.
Without us.
Now the room fills – constant family mingling with family friends.
I turn away from his photo,
not allowing myself to wonder how he’s doing,
not quite able to stop myself from cursing him
for not being here.
Cross-Country Connections is a Biodork weekly blog entry dedicated to telling stories in pictures of three family members – me, my sister and Mom – living in very different locations across the country. Every week we choose a different theme and then take or contribute a personal photo that fits the theme. This week’s theme is Lucky.
From Erin in Takoma Park, Maryland:
Another great moment during my first week in DC. Herons were flying around everywhere at the Tidal Basin to north of the mall. As I don’t consider myself a good photographer, I consider myself lucky to have even gotten this shot!
From Mom in Carbondale, Illinois:
I was truly lucky.
From me in Minneapolis, Minnesota:
Mmmm…Lucky Charms.
This is a post by guest blogger Ellen Bulger.
I’ve never been a big Disney fan. Growing up, my exposure was minimal. The cartoons weren’t broadcast on TV and my parents took me to maybe two movies in my entire childhood. The only one I remember was Mary Poppins. And when I was in junior high, for some reason my dad took me to see the French Connection, which I remember being a pretty great film.
But the cartoons on TV were Fleischer (wonderful) and Warner Brothers (a mixed bag ranging from wonderful to meh) and Hanna Barbera (utter crap, all of it) with hardly a Disney cartoon in sight. But still I constantly heard about how Mickey Mouse was the most beloved cartoon character of all time and how everyone loved him. Most of this fawning press, I later came to realize, was generated by Disney’s own publicity machine. However masturbatory it was, it was effective. People will believe most anything if you simply say it loud enough and often enough. I don’t like to think about that during election season, but there you go…
I saw maybe half a dozen Mickey Mouse cartoons and they all utterly disappointed me. They were never nearly as inventive the Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons I adored. And while Disney animation was more meticulous than Warner Brothers, the cartoons were flat because the personalities of the characters were boring, really boring. And more than that, Disney never challenged the status quo, more like the studio enforced every bit of tedious and toxic middle American midcentury thinking. And while the other studios were likewise part of this culture, they were, at least, iconoclastic thinkers. No matter, I didn’t like Disney, I didn’t see much Disney, I didn’t think about Disney.
Skepticon is off to a great start!
Thursday night consisted of a few of the early arrivers having a relaxed pre-convention hangout in the University Plaza hotel lobby. I ran into old friends, made new friends and sipped some pretty tasty scotch.
The first workshop I attended on Friday morning was led by Stephanie Zvan and James Croft. They presented Ethics of Rationality…or perhaps it was the ethics of irrationality. The workshop was very much a workshop; it was based on audience participation and discussion. Stephanie and James opened with the premise that irrationality can be unethical. They then invited all of us to give examples of arguments or issues that we believe use irrationality unethically. Suggestions included arguments for religion/belief in a god, war, pro-life campaigns and marketing, to name a few. We then spent some time ripping apart whether any of those topics in fact engaged in unethical uses of irrationality, and if so, how often or too what degree.
