We interview science journalist Simon Singh, co-author (with Dr. Edzard Ernst) of Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine (which both John and David highly recommend). For more about Simon visit SimonSingh.net. Please also visit LibelReform.org, a website devoted to changing the United Kingdom’s disgraceful libel laws (Simon is currently in the midst of a court battle with the British Chiropractic Association over his reporting on chiropractic treatment of children in the UK’s Guardian newspaper.)
Continuing this episodes alternative medicine theme, we take a look at aromatherapy. Can smells trigger the body’s healing ability, or do they offer only a temporary placebo?
The new Charles Darwin bio-pic “Creation” (starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly) opens in Atlanta on February 19th. The guys from the American Freethought Podcast (John C. Snider and David Driscoll) would like to invite you to join us on Saturday, February 20th, to see this film, with dinner and drinks at Royal Orchid Thai Cuisine (literally right next door to the theatre) immediately following. Dutch treat.
It’s disappointing that President Obama would attend the National Prayer Breakfast at all. The NPB is organized, you may already know, by “the Family”–a secretive and power-hungry cult that attracts congressmen (as well as international totalitarians and fascists) with their bizarre ideology that justifies any action as long as it’s committed by one of God’s chosen.
Earthquake-devastated Haiti has become a magnet for kooky, misguided (but perhaps well-intentioned) religious groups. Scientologist John Travolta (disguised, apparently, as L. Ron Hubbard–see photo at right) has personally flown his private 707 to Haiti, delivering food, medical supplies, and “volunteer ministers” who claim the ability to heal through therapeutic touch. Meanwhile, a Christian group called Faith Comes By Hearing has sent 600 solar-powered audiobook Bibles. Finally, a group of Idaho Baptists were arrested trying to transport Haitian orphans (some of whom weren’t actually orphans) across the border into the Dominican Republic.
I’m about to start an Islam/Middle East themed reading project, and if anyone wants to join me, you are welcome. My selection process is complex and meticulous: I’ve scanned my bookshelves and made a list of books on the topic that I own but have not yet read.
The first three out of the gate are all written by immigrants who now live and work in the United States:
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan
A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam by Wafa Sultan
The first two look to be more or less sympathetic toward Islam, but since I haven’t read them yet, it’s hard to tell. The third pretty much telegraphs its intention right there in the title. (Wafa Sultan, you may recall, is the firebrand who shouted down a couple of Muslim men during an Al Jazeera exchange in 2006.)
If there’s enough interest, I might blog the first book chapter-by-chapter, like I did with Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth. Let me know!
Or at least so says Christopher Hitchens, responding to Robertson’s claim that the devastating Haitian earthquake (which may have killed upwards of 200,000 innocent people) was the result of “a deal with the devil” made during the Haitian Revolution in 1791. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called Robertson’s remarks “utterly stupid.” Barry Lynn of Americans United said they were callous and grotesquely insensitive. And Keith Olbermann says Robertson is full of “senile crap.”
Man, just when I thought I’d seen it all, the fundamentalists come through with something new. Trijicon, provider of combat rifle sights to the US military, has been encoding Bible verses in the serial numbers of their product! For example, “JN8:12″ at the end of a serial number refers to John 8:12. May we recommend Exodus 20:13? Or better yet, 2 Corinthians 4:2 (”But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”)?
University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was sidelined with a shoulder injury early-on at college football’s 2010 Rose Bowl. McCoy had to watch from the bench as Texas lost the National Championship to Alabama. But that’s okay, ’cause it’s all part of God’s Plan.
Tiger Woods’ rumored infidelities have been all the rage with the tabloids, but who’da thunk Fox News pundit Brit Hume (not exactly an outspoken evangelical zealot) would make us forget all about it with his shoot-from-the-hip comparison of Buddhism and Christianity.
North Georgia parents Patty Jo Marsh and Jacob Bartels decided it was a good idea to give tattoos to six of their seven children. Themselves. With a homemade tattoo machine. Now they’re charged with illegal tattooing, reckless conduct, and more. Oh, did we mention the tattoos were of Christian crosses?
As you’ve probably heard, a massive earthquake has devastated Haiti. While Haitian authorities and international agencies are still trying to come to grips with the size of the calamity, Pat Robertson is already assigning blame:
Way to shoot from the hip, Robertson. Here’s an idea: the next time you think of saying something…don’t.
Happy New Year! We kick off 2010 by interviewing Stuart Bechman, president of Atheist Alliance International (AtheistAlliance.org). AAI is planning its first-ever Australian convention in Melbourne on March 12-14, 2010. For details visit AtheistConvention.org.au–tickets are going fast!
We interview science journalist Simon Singh, co-author (with Dr. Edzard Ernst) of Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine (which both John and David highly recommend). For more about Simon visit SimonSingh.net. Please also visit LibelReform.org, a website devoted to changing the United Kingdom’s disgraceful libel laws (Simon is currently in the midst of a court battle with the British Chiropractic Association over his reporting on chiropractic treatment of children in the UK’s Guardian newspaper.)
The new Charles Darwin bio-pic “Creation” (starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly) opens in Atlanta on February 19th. The guys from the American Freethought Podcast (John C. Snider and David Driscoll) would like to invite you to join us on Saturday, February 20th, to see this film, with dinner and drinks at Royal Orchid Thai Cuisine (literally right next door to the theatre) immediately following. Dutch treat.
Earthquake-devastated Haiti has become a magnet for kooky, misguided (but perhaps well-intentioned) religious groups. Scientologist John Travolta (disguised, apparently, as L. Ron Hubbard–see photo at right) 
Or at least so says 
University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was sidelined with a shoulder injury early-on at college football’s 2010 Rose Bowl. McCoy had to watch from the bench as Texas lost the National Championship to Alabama. But that’s okay, ’cause it’s all 
Happy New Year! We kick off 2010 by interviewing Stuart Bechman, president of Atheist Alliance International (
Obama disappoints at NPB
February 4th, 2010It’s disappointing that President Obama would attend the National Prayer Breakfast at all. The NPB is organized, you may already know, by “the Family”–a secretive and power-hungry cult that attracts congressmen (as well as international totalitarians and fascists) with their bizarre ideology that justifies any action as long as it’s committed by one of God’s chosen.
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Tags: barack obama, national prayer breakfast, the family
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