Some people make me want to scream out loud. A case in point is Anne Atkins. Fortunately there are folks such as Tom Hamilton on hand to point out exactly why Mrs. Atkins makes me want to scream long and loud. Thank you, Mr. Hamilton.
Category: Society
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James Nachtwey: Witness
I linked to a picture taken by James Nachtwey in a recent posting of mine. Nachtwey was recently awarded a prize at this year’s TED. Here is his acceptance speech, in which he illustrates his ability to be a witness. It’s worth watching. -
Scarred For Life
Sometimes, I really despair for people’s ability to grasp a sense of proportion.The latest example comes from a world that I know little about – American basketball. Still, when did that ever stop me… Yes, I grant you that the comment, that a female basketball team were "nappy-headed hos" by a radio host, Don Imus, was completely crass and insensitive. But for one of the team, Matee Avajon, to state that his comment has "scarred me for life" is so ridiculous as to make me despair.Oh, yes, Matee Avajon, scarred for life? Like this, you mean? Think again. -
Global Strategic Trends
One of the things that Shell has done for over 30 years is craft long term scenarios, looking at possible developments in societies and the world. Twenty years ago, I became involved in helping to set up similar exercises in Shell focusing on possible futures of Information Technology.I am reminded of that with the news that the UK Ministry of Defence has just published its own long term study of Global Strategic Trends, which attempts to forecast trends in the context of Defence out to 30 years. A summary is here, and the full study can be downloaded from here.As has already been noted, the report has definite Ballardian overtones, mixed, I would say, with a soupçon of Brunner… -
One Woman’s Story
I’ve been lucky, I know. I’ve never been in a relationship such as this; either as the victim or the transgressor. Natasha managed to come through. Not everyone is so lucky. And sometimes, it is the victim who snaps. -
Love Your Family
Louis Theroux ventures where most of us would be afraid to go. Say hello to the Phelps. -
Damning Evidence
If this is a data point, I would have to say that Americans have lost their capability to think. Please say it isn’t so. -
Yet Another Debate
It’s just like waiting for the proverbial London bus – you stand around for ages and ages, and then three of them come along at once. Here’s another debate about religion… This time between Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and AC Grayling versus Rabbi Julia Neuberger, Professor Roger Scruton and Nigel Spivey. The podcasts can be downloaded here.The trouble is that every speaker is like a blind man confronted with the elephant – they all define it in their own way, so they mostly talk past each other. There are some good riffs – Hitchens’ introduction is excellent, and Spivey’s in its own way is pretty good, but he did seem (to me) to confuse religion with creativity, and religion with patronage. Thankfully, Dawkins pointed out the latter confusion. I’m still listening so haven’t heard all the arguments, but it’s good stuff thus far…Update: I was not impressed at all by Neuberger or Scruton. If this is the best that those who believe that religion is a good thing, then the result that the motion that "we’d all be better off without religion" was carried does not surprise me one bit.For: 1,205Against: 778The motion is carried. -
Another Debate
This time it’s Dawkins and McGrath. I haven’t heard it yet – just downloading it now. I’m curious to hear whether McGrath comes up with anything better than hand-waving this time around.Update: Nope – he didn’t. He’s a prime example of an "Imperial Courtier" who dances round every utterance without voicing anything whatsoever of substance so far as I could discern. -
Life Imitates Art – Part II
Sometimes I think my head will explode. It’s likely to be triggered by an overdose of incongruity. Such as this: the video of Nigerian email scammers acting out the Monty Python "Dead Parrot" sketch in the mistaken belief that this will earn them a scholarship to come to the US to study film. -
Life Imitates Art
In a fine piece over at Ballardian, Simon Sellars muses on the parallels between a film made in 1974, modern suburbia in Australia, and the uncanny prescience of J. G. Ballard in describing it all. Worth reading. -
A Debate
I see that a video of the recent debate between Alister McGrath and Peter Atkins is now available here. The topic of the debate is: Darwin and Humanity: should we rid the mind of God?The sound quality is somewhat suspect for Peter Atkins, but stick with it. Clearly God is on McGrath’s side – or at least the sound engineer is.I have to say that I was very unimpressed by McGrath – he sounded just like a trendy vicar giving a sermon, with the amount of his handwaving counterbalanced by the shallowness of his arguments. And I marvelled when he said:"When I was young I used to be an amateur astronomer, I used to look at the night sky and I knew just enough astronomy to know that the light from some of those stars wouldn’t hit earth for hundreds of years and to me, that simply said to me, you will be dead by then and so the night sky was a symbol of melancholy, a reminder of the brevity of life."It sounded to me as though he needs God so that he has meaning to his life. I don’t. When I look at the night sky, I too realise the same fact about stellar distances, but that to me is amazing, not melancholic, and, I might add, that knowledge has come through scientific advance and not through theology. -
Rights For Filth
I would like to think that this gentleman is being ironical, but I fear that he is being absolutely serious… Clearly, care in the community is going too far…However, good to know where he stands. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry after listening to this codswallop. However, I know that he just can’t help it. Oh, and he’s an ex-policeman apparently. Makes you feel proud, doesn’t it? -
Poland’s Dark Age
Further to my comment the other day that Poland seems intent on marching forward into a new Dark Age, Doug Ireland has an excellent in-depth piece covering the background to the new anti-gay bill. -
Interview With Adam Curtis
Via Not Saussure, here’s a pointer to an interview with Adam Curtis about his latest work, The Trap. Worth reading. -
A Birthday Wish
Reginald Dwight, better known as Elton John, turns 60 this weekend. While that’s a sobering thought in itself, he uses the occasion to bring our attention to something far more sobering – the continuing abuses of the human rights of gay people around the world. Go and read the article – it’s a good one – and then read some of the comments left on it. It is clear from them, as Elton says, that homophobia is far from dead. -
They Hate Women Too
Another reason why I feel that Poland appears to have a lot of growing up to do. -
Baghdad Life
I’m a bit late in noticing it, but yesterday the Baghdad Blogger – Salam Pax – had an article published in The Guardian. Go and read it. -
What’s Wrong With Gay Sex?
An excellent question, to which Stephen Law, over at his eponymous blog, provides some excellent answers. The pay-off merely confirms one of my long-standing assumptions about God – that deep down, he always was an exceedingly nasty piece of work.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 