Author Archives: Jacob Fortin

Witch trial in Saudi Arabia

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You know that argument you’re always having with religionists over whether or not religion is a force for good in the world? It seems like no matter how much misery, pain and suffering is caused in the name of religion, someone is always on hand to tell you that if it wasn’t for Bronze Age tribalism, the world would collapse into chaos (I’m so worried about that, you should see how nervous I am about that possibility…).

Tell that to Ali Sibat, a Lebanese man who made the “mistake” of appearing on television to give general life advice and make predictions about the future. The Saudi government has arrested him on charges of witchcraft, and plan to execute him shortly. Yeah, you read me correctly, and this isn’t the first person to be convicted of the “crime of witchcraft”. Others have also suffered similar fates; one guy brought in a phone book in a different language and was sentenced to 20 months and 300 lashes.

What else can we expect from 6th century platitudes? If you happen to be religious in this modern area, realize your civility and morality is a product of our modern values, not your religious texts. In fact, people who take a literal approach to religion usually act in completely barbaric and stunningly cruel fashion. It’s further proof no human being has a privileged line to the divine. The fact that people are still being prosecuted for witchcraft in the 21st century makes me want to shut myself off from the rest of humanity. When will we stop being so stupid and ignorant?

(Update: As of 2012, there were reports that he was allowed to return to Lebanon, but this has yet to be confirmed as of 2023)

Stephen C. Meyer is a moron

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Man, am I sick of creationists making shit up. Unlike real scientists, who have to back up everything they say, ID fanboys like Stephen C. Meyer (head of the ironically named Discovery Institute, an organization dedicated to the ignorance of mankind) can arbitrarily claim something that has no basis in fact. Take his latest article in “CNN Opinion”, a kind of amateur journalism site for anyone desperate enough to give something to the failing news network for free (provided you do all the work, of course). Here’s a bunch of quotes that show what little care he has for intellectual integrity:

Contrary to Darwinian orthodoxy, the fossil record actually challenges the idea that all organisms have evolved from a single common ancestor. [bare assertion fallacy]

DNA functions like a software program. We know that software comes from programmers. [false analogy fallacy]

Despite the consensus view that Darwin showed that “design could arise without a designer” there is now compelling scientific evidence of actual intelligent design in even the simplest living cells. [bare assertion fallacy]

Increasingly, there are reasons to doubt the Darwinian idea that living things merely “appear” to be designed. [bare assertion fallacy]

I’ll cover just these, since the rest is essentially the same bullshit drivel you’ve come to expect from these morons. Nothing about what Meyer said is true, except for perhaps there is increased “doubt” about evolution, although Meyer fails to mention the doubters are not scientists, but rather terribly ignorant and scientifically illiterate people. The problem here is Meyer is not being questioned on any of his assertions. He just boldly states them, and has no real worries about proving their validity (despite the fact they are all fallacies). In his mind, there is a God, and he made everything with his love magic.

A high school biology student could bury this guy’s argument, which essentially boil down to “science is really hard and it can’t explain everything, so I’m going to fill in every gap in our knowledge with magic man done it“. Why don’t you let the adults do their science Meyer, and you can go play with your friends in traffic.

God wants you to be rich

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I think I may have found the most obnoxious book in the whole world: Paul Zane Pilzer’s God Wants You to be Rich. Pilzer is convinced there is no such thing as scarcity, and everyone, given enough gumption and hard work, can achieve great financial success.

Pilzer exposes the key error–the belief in scarcity–that leads to a misunderstanding of the process of creating wealth.  Countering this zero-sum view of economics, Pilzer shows how a society’s wealth is determined not by the supply of physical resources, which are supposedly limited, but by human ingenuity, which constantly redefines what counts as a resource in the first place.

Say what? Never mind the fact that if the rest of the world lived like we did, we would need the resources of three Earths to sustain ourselves; the answer lies in human ingenuity! Don’t worry about the future, or about wasteful consumerism; human cleverness will save the day! Did I mention how much I hate lying douchebags who claim there’s no such thing as scarcity?

The book was written in the 90′s, and if you are old enough to remember this decade, you’ll recall “network marketing” (another word for a pyramid scheme) was the latest money making trend. A bunch of very naive people (myself included) fell for the allure of easy money. What we ended up with was an empty bank account and a stupefied look on our faces. When you think about it, it’s sounds much like going to church.

Why do atheists care about religion?

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Here’s a pretty comprehensive video about why atheists care about religion. No, it’s not just because we’re a bunch of crusty fucks (although I fully admit I might sometimes fall into that category). I also kind of dig the techno song playing in the background (in a cheesy electronic music kind of way).

Hitchens, Harris & Dennett Vs Boteach, D’Souza, Wright & Taleb

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I personally find it pretty painful and embarrassing to listen to D’Souza talk. At least Wright takes the stance it could be some mysterious force out there in the Universe that directs evolution (it’s stupid, but lots of really smart people believe in this bullshit). D’Souza, on the other hand, tries to make the claim that Christianity is the most scientific of all faiths, despite the obvious fact his system of belief discourages skepticism and relies on a rigid and nonsensical dogma. I guess he’s got to defend what he believes, but it doesn’t stop his ramblings from being painful to hear. Luckily, he gets spanked by the Horsemen.

Daniel Dennett is awesome

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I was lucky enough to go to one of Dan’s lectures when he came to Montreal a few years ago. Dan is one of the “Four Horsemen”, but he doesn’t really get the respect he rightly deserves. Dan is funny, provocative, and looks like a cross between Santa Claus and Charles Darwin. What’s not to love? I know it’s long, but WATCH THIS!

Happy Friday the 13th

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Today is Friday the 13th, and considering the fact there are still lots of people out there who seem to think a number can be unlucky, I thought it would be fun to try and discover the story behind this superstition (you know, to seem all smart and shit). While there are lots of theories as to its origins, the truth is no one knows exactly why it persists. I suppose it may not even really matter; so long as people are told that they have something to fear, typically they will respond in kind. Statistically, fear of this day actually causes people to act more cautiously, and car accidents have been reported in many countries as actually being lower than most other Fridays of the year.

2009 was a bit unique, as it has three Friday the 13th’s (that’s the most you can have in a given year). The next year when this occurs is 2012. You know how disdainful I am of the crackpot theory that the earth is supposed to end on Dec 21, 2012, and I have to wonder if any of these idiots will try to make a correlation between all those “Black Fridays” and the stupid belief that an invisible planet will collide with Earth. Here’s hoping I didn’t give them another talking point!

I say spend the time walking under ladders, breaking mirrors, and stepping on every crack in the sidewalk.

Washington charity threatens services over gay rights

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Remember the Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens debate about whether or not the Catholic Church is a force for good? In one part of the video, a well meaning woman stood up and commented on the fact that she was a Catholic and didn’t really have any issue with Fry’s homosexuality. Stephen responded by saying that the position of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality is clear, and even though individual Catholics might differ in their opinion, it didn’t change the fact they support a bigoted institution.

In Washington, a Catholic Charity has threatened to cut its services if it’s forced to comply with new same sex laws making it illegal to discriminate against gays. The opposition from the church comes from the fact they won’t be able to actively promote their bigotry and hatred for homosexuals. Their arguments are, as usual, very unconvincing.

“Let’s say an individual caterer is a staunch Christian and someone wants him to do a cake with two grooms on top,” said council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 6), the sponsor of the amendment. “Why can’t they say, based on their religious beliefs, ‘I can’t do something like that’?

Pretend instead of having two grooms on the cake, it’s an interracial marriage, and the baker refused to bake a wedding cake because mixed marriages are against his “religious convictions”. We wouldn’t stand for that shit for a second. True, I dislike the idea of anyone being forced to do the right thing, but we cannot allow people to be treated like second class citizens, and we have to do our best to stamp out bigotry in the same way we’ve tried so hard to stamp racism (it’s a long process, obviously).

“The issue here is they are using public funds, and to allow people to discriminate with public money is unacceptable,” Rosenstein said.

The city is taking a pretty hard stance on the issue, and won’t allow itself to be bullied by the Archbishop, who wants to dangle their charitable services as a free license to practice open bigotry. I say fuck ‘em. Sure, it’s harsh and it sucks for the people who were benefiting from their services, but human beings are a charitable bunch, and I’m positive that other organizations will be more than happy to pick where the church left off. We cannot ignore the evils of an institution simply because it hides behind a façade of charity, especially when this same institution tries to use its position to blackmail secular governments.

Journalist Blames School Shooting on Darwinism

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How many killers have proudly flaunted the fact that their crimes were the result of their religious convictions? It’s honestly too numerous to count, but every time such a tragedy occurs, you don’t see anyone blaming Martin Luther, Joseph Smith, or other religious leaders. That doesn’t stop ignorant writers like Dennis Sewell, who have a clear interest in attacking evolution, from blaming everything they can on Charles Darwin:

In America, where Darwin’s writings on morality and race have come under particularly intense critical scrutiny because of the enduring creationist debate, he has been accused of fostering moral nihilism and scientific racism, and even of promoting an ethic that found its ultimate expression in the Holocaust. Most startling of all, a connection has now been drawn between Darwin’s theories and a rash of school shootings.

Actually, the only one making this connection is the author of the piece, who seems convinced, like all creationist morons, that Darwin was somehow responsible for the Holocaust, racism, and just about every terrible atrocity you can think of. You would think humans had never committed mass genocide before Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

The religious right is very good at building straw men and then tearing them down mercilessly. Darwin is one of their favorite scapegoats, and it’s not too difficult to imagine why; they fear science, and most of all the implications of natural selection. We are still the only species on this planet that refuses to accept its place in the tree of life (admittedly, we are also the only ones capable of doing so). We are apes, and no amount of kicking and screaming will change that fact. Deal with it.

The basics of evolution are much more accessible and are taught in every high school, so it should not be surprising that Darwin seems to be emerging as the inspiration for the more dim-witted schoolboy sociopath.

It seems as though the author is trying to make the conclusion teaching evolution is bad, because a few disturbed people have twisted the theory to fit their own psychopathic beliefs. Well, if we have to get rid of “dangerous” ideas, why are we allowing texts like the Bible, which condones, slavery, genocide, rape, infanticide, and the murder of adulterers and homosexuals, to exist?

This entire article tries to paint Darwin as a crusty racist who wanted the extermination of other humans. In actual fact, had this fucking scumbag bothered to read The Origin of Species, he would have remarked that Darwin himself did not advocate Natural Selection for human beings. He saw the laws of nature as entirely savage and inhuman, and he was a staunch abolitionist. Of course, there’s no reason to believe the author cares about the truth, let alone journalistic integrity, although it’s nothing compared to his flawed understanding of history:

…Truths that the founders of the United States had held to be self-evident — that all men are created equal and had certain inalienable rights — were being denied by the promoters of Darwinian science. By the end of the first World War, it was not only blacks who were deemed genetically inferior by many of America’s top geneticists and biologists, but Italian, Greek and Jewish immigrants too.

Has this fucking guy ever read a history book? Was he not aware the Founding Fathers had black slaves? Does he really think the inequity of race relations is entirely the product of Darwinian theory? It’s quite obvious these prejudices existed long before we knew all life shared a common ancestor. Natural Selection means we are all related, and anyone who twists this idea is not a true scientist, but rather, like the author, someone interested in furthering their own agenda.

This shitty writer leaves us with this closing thought:

The more sinister implications of the world-view that has come to be called “Darwinism” — and the interpretation the teenage nihilists put on it — are as much part of the Darwin story as the theory of evolution

So, he’s assuming a few teenagers who kill indiscriminately is as much a story about one of the most fundamental scientific theories in mankind’s history? Is he fucking serious? Look buddy, there will always be disturbed people who hijack an idea or ideology without properly understanding it. You’re proof that there is still a lot of learning that needs to be done from the general population concerning not only Natural Selection, but also the man behind the idea, Darwin. No, he did not “invent” the Holocaust, eugenics (that was actually his cousin, Francis Galton), slavery or racism. Stop trying to paint this brilliant (and like all humans, flawed) human being as some kind of monster. Why don’t you address the relative truth of his arguments rather than making outlandish accusations that aren’t based on any facts. For anyone interested in punishing themselves, check out this author’s latest book, which is like this article, except 320 pages long. Enjoy your torture!

Are you cooler than this kid?

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Will Phillips is officially the coolest kid in the world. A few weeks ago, he refused to take the Pledge of Allegiance at his school so long as gays are treated as second class citizens. At first he got in big trouble (prompting the principle to take disciplinary action), but since no one can be forced to recite it (yet), Will isn’t in any trouble, although school officials have refused to apologize to him (man, how embarrassing is it when an 11 year old is the most mature person in the room?).

Poor Will has been at the butt end of anti-gay slurs, but he appears undeterred in his quest for justice. Man, when I was a kid all I cared about was candy and video games; I wish I had bothered to take a bit more of an active interest in the world. You know, so long as there are good people like Will around, there’s definitely lots of hope for the future.

So what did you fucking accomplish today?

Alternative Medicine Persists despite Evidence

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Our love affair with alternative “medicines” still demonstrates that as a species, we still have a lot of growing up to do. The persistence of reiki, acupuncture, crystals, homeopathy, and just about every other bullshit “medicine” is due mainly to the mysterious placebo effect, which seems to suggest our bodies respond positively to treatments, even when they do nothing at all.

I think we can easily dissect this phenomenon if we accept human beings are social animals who require just as much comforting as real medicine. A person who visits a homeopath is often given a great deal of time and attention, much more than they would going to the doctors. This simple act alone has a profound effect on the health of the “patient”, and it’s what makes fighting this flim-flam so difficult.

I think it’s sad the gap between medicine and well being is being filled with nonsense. I would be lying if I claimed it didn’t at least help some people heal faster, but I also can’t forget about all the people who have died because they chose alternative medicines rather than the real thing. I’ve often been asked “is it ok to believe in a lie if it’s comforting, or is it always better to tell the truth?”. On an individual level it’s hard to argue that the truth is better, but that’s only if you discount the external effect of one’s belief. Think about all the people who have died because they refused to listen to the truth about their diseases (Andy Kaufman, why did you fall for such a simple scam as psychic surgery?). Do you really believe that ignorance is a virtue, people?

Rapture Pets!

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Remember a few months back when I was toying around with the idea of “Rap-Sure”, a kind of insurance for loved ones “in case” the special few get raptured? Well, looks like someone already beat me to the punch. Bart Centre (is that even a name?) is the co-owner of Eternal Earthbound Pets, and he promises to look after your animals after the Rapture for the budget price of $110.

Bart’s insurance policy lasts about 10 years, so if there’s no Rapture in that time, your policy expires. Sounds like an awesome way to make a bunch of money from silly Christians who think Jesus is coming back “any day now”. It’s been 2000 years and the guy is a fucking no show. When will his followers finally accept that it’s all just fairy tale bullshit? Well, at least some people are cashing in on the scam…

NOTE: check out some of the hilarious comments in the article.

Funny thing is, if/when he’s wrong, do you really think he’s going to take care of the pets. Uh, no. Just another con man looking to make money. And the fact he’s atheist is typical.

Yeah, he really has to worry about taking care of all those pets, cuz Jesus will be here any minute. Have none of these people seen “Waiting of Godot“?

Witch doctors tell population to slaughter albinos

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Ever knock on wood, or refuse to walk under a ladder? How many of you would never rent an apartment on the 13th floor, or own a black cat? Most of us think superstitions are fairly harmless, but only because we don’t take them too seriously. In countries like Tanzania and Burundi, however, crazy superstition (when will the world learn, Stevie Wonder?) is on the loose.

It seems as though witch doctors have been encouraging the local population to find and slaughter albinos, whose organs they believe have magical properties. That’s right, dozens of people have already been killed in this nightmare, and these sick witch doctors are profiteering from their slaughter.

So next time some douchebag tries to tell you superstitions are harmless, send them over to this website. Does anyone else feel entirely distressed at how stupid and backwards we all are?

More child abuse from Catholic priests

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I don’t know about you, but I’m scared to death of religious cops. I get the feeling these devotees will put their faith before their duty. Take the case of Father Bernard Cloutier: back in 1983, he was being charged with the sexual assault of 5 boys. During the police investigation, his superior, Bishop Dionne, barged in and privately met with each boy while the police meekly waited for these “interviews” to be over. They seemed completely oblivious to the fact something fishy was going on when the charges were suddenly dropped, and the lead detective didn’t think any of this was unusual (he actually claims “it’s just the way things happen sometimes.”).

A little while later, Father Cloutier was quietly moved to another parish, and it wasn’t until 2007 that his victims again decided to seek justice for their abuse. A judge recently found Bishop Dionne had thwarted the investigation back in 1983, but considering this corrupt and evil old man is now 90 years old, it’s unlikely he’ll be facing much prison time.

I find it incredible no one is commenting on the fact this is not at all an isolated incident. How many times have these familiar events taken place? Hundreds of times, at the very least. How many lives ruined, how many families destroyed by these sick predators and the institution that endlessly protects them from justice? To you Catholics out there, can I ask you honestly how many raped kids it takes before you tell these religious scumbags to go fuck themselves? Is a few thousand not enough?

Another victory for science

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Remember the story of Daniel Hauser? His parents refused to give him chemotherapy because of their New Age beliefs, and the courts had to step in and force them to finish giving him his treatments. At first, they tried running away from the law, but they were caught shortly after (it’s harder than you think to go on the lamb!).

I’m happy to report that Daniel now appears to be cancer free. It’s a miracle! Well, actually it’s entirely because of modern medical science, but I digress. Thanks to the judgement of far more rational people than his dumbass parents, Daniel has a new lease on life. Now, whether or not he chooses to believe in the same bullshit they do when he’s 18 is his choice, but at least he’ll live long enough to be able to make that decision himself.