Category Archives: Rationalism

Featured The struggle to punish the killers of Pansare, Kalburgi and Dabholkaris linked to the struggle to preserve democracy in India, says Pansaresdaughter.

From the left: Narendra Dabholkar, M.M. Kalburgi and Govind Pansare. Credits: PTI

The veteran rationalist thinker, writer and communist leader Govind Pansare was brutally assassinated in Kolhapur on February 20, 2015. More than two years have passed, but justice remains elusive. The same is true for Narendra Dabholkar and M.M. Kalburgi, whose second death anniversary is three months away. All three men were also killed by right-wing fundamentalists.

The investigations into the assassinations have been very slow and have moved only because theDabholkar and Pansare families have petitionedthe high court to monitor the investigation. The police have managed to arrest only two suspects so far and two have been absconding. All the accused are associated with the radical Hindutva organisations Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagriti Samiti, with their totally unconstitutional agenda of establishing a Hindu Rashtra in the country.

The chargesheets filed by the police in the Dabholkar and Pansare cases clearly mention that the accused are absconding since the Margao bomb explosion case in Goa in 2009. In spite of objections on the pressure tactics used by the lawyers of the accused and the spokespersons of Sanatan Sanstha, no action has been taken against them. The state government has not yet declared the absconding suspects as wanted in the Pansare case. The investigation officer is changed at every interval and the activists demand to hand over the case to a dedicated team for investigation is also pending with the government.

Fundamentalism has no religion

It is really painful to define justice in cases where people are killed because their ideology and expression of thought are not acceptable to some. Regardless of political affiliation, the government seems to be insensitive in solving these crimes and punishing the guilty. Not even a single arrest has been made in Kalburgis case yet.

Fundamentalism and fanaticism is not a characteristic feature of any specific religion. Farook Hameed, a young activist of theDravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK), was killed by Muslim fundamentalists onMarch 17, 2017 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The DVK is an offshoot of the Dravidar Kazhagam founded by Periyar in the 1940s and propagates atheism and rationalism. Being an atheist in individual life is something accepted by the society, but it seems one cannot propagate atheism the way others propagate a religious faith without risking ones life. Farook openly expressed his ideology. He had posted comments about atheism, criticising religion and caste on his Facebook page. He was the administrator of a WhatsApp group called Allah Murdad, meaning There is no God. The result: he was killed, reports say, by his own friends. Farooks murderis infact a threat to allMuslim youths who embrace atheism or even rationalism.

The Coimbatore incident is, in essence, no different from those where the victimsbelonged to the Hindu religion and were killed by Hindu fanatics.

Shrinking freedoms

The situation in India is growing more complex by the day. The space for free expression and freedom is shrinking rapidly. The fascist forces are trying to shut voices of freedom and we are compelled to fight the battle in the available space.

The campaign of returning awards by the writers and scientists brought the anxiety of intellectuals before society. They were concerned about everything that is going against the principle of equality, freedom of expression, cultural diversity and secular values in our nation. There have been three yatras, or journeys, of writers and poets to express solidarity with the families of Pansare, Dabholkar and Kalburgi so far. The first was a part of the Dakshinayan campaign in which 14 eminent writers from Gujarat visited Pune, Kolhapur and Dharwad, where the three rationalists were killed. Then a team of Marathi writers and activists followed the same route during their journey to Goa for a national conference in defence of freedom of expression held in November, 2016. In February 2017, 11 members of the Progressive Writers Association, Madhya Pradesh travelled to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. They condemned the respective governments for failing to arrestthe killers. Based on their dialogue with local people in these regions and their experiences, they will write books, plays and hold discussions to spread their thoughts across the Hindi speaking belt.

As the atmosphere of fear and intimidation grows, hundreds of writers and artists visited the historical place of Dandi, Gujarat to hold a silent protest march on January 30, 2016 to commemorate the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. A platform of collective voices of the left and Dalit movement was created in Mumbai Collective, while Delhi observed Pratirodh I and II with a clear stand to enjoy the right to dissent and free expression. The progressive forces in many towns, small and big, in the country have started organising programs like seminars, book publications and poetry recitations to protestagainst the attacks on women, minorities, progressive people and Dalit communities.

Criminalising rights

The atmosphere of fear exists, not only because of fundamentalist violence, but also because ofthe criminalisation of peaceful expression. Many have been attacked by the self-appointed nationalists and so-called religious people, while many from the minority communities, especially youth, have been arrested, held in pre-trial detention, and subjected to extensive criminal trials by the government machinery.

Fear of such repression, combined with uncertainty as to how the statutes will be applied, leads others to engage in self-censorship. Stategovernments areusing draconian laws such as the sedition provisions of the penal code, the criminal defamation law and laws dealing with hate speech to silence dissent. These laws have been repeatedly used for political purposes against critics.

There have been major attacks on free speech in the country from the government itself. The information and broadcasting ministry under the BJP government has become an image manager for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The governments advisory to news channels not to telecast the Nirbhaya documentary and serving a legal notice to the BBC for airing the Nirbhaya film Indias Daughter, issuing show cause notices to channels on Yakub Memons execution coverage, banning a documentary on beef all of this tell their own story. The BJP government has crushed the resistance of the students from the Film and Television Institute of India against the appointment of a pro-BJP director and has charged JNU students with sedition. It has appointed RSS affiliated people in various academic institutes. There have been cases of deaths of journalists, intellectuals, attacks, arrests, threats, sedition, defamation and censorship of films, broadcast media, print media, music, cyber media and hate speech. The attempt to imposea one-day ban on NDTV India, the filing of a complaint against an Outlook investigation on child trafficking in Assam, the trumped up casesagainsthuman rights activists in Bastar, are all attempts to silence the media and the voices of democratic dissent. Reporters covering the courts have been assaulted by lawyers, taken into police custody and their access to the courts restricted.

The bigger picture

The time has come for thinkers, writers, poets, artists, scientists to overcome this feeling of intimidation and regenerate the society. Thinkers can become an explosive, powerful force. We have seen some examples in our freedom struggle, in Revolutionary Russia, Latin America and Africa. We have seen recently in India that the individual writers chose their timing of dissent in tandem with other fellow writers. Their act wasnt solitary, but in solidarity with others.

At such a crucial time it will be unfortunate, if the real thinkers stop writing or speaking or expressing their views. The active thinkers can awaken society, create standards of morality, humanism and honesty and preserve them. The absence of thinkers causes civilisations to collapse. We have been observing thisdecay with our own eyes. The process of decaying has taken alarming speed. Make the people think aptly at individual, collective level and at the level of small groups is the first step. To create a live internal debate is the second and going to the people and thinking together, is the third.

We have seen Russel taking a stand against war, we have seen Sartre taking a stand against the US in Vietnam, and we have seen Chomsky and many others taking a stand against the aggressive foreign policy of America. Many writers opposed Francos dictatorship. We have seen and heard Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi doing this during many social campaigns. We have seen them expressing their views fearlessly throughout their lives. The strategy to fight the battle with right-wing forces, in Pansares words, is shatru-mitra vivek (atru-bandhu bibka). Theregressive forces arein power not because they have support from the majority of people, but because the progressive forces are scattered and not united. The union of the left and Dalit movement can challenge the communal forces in power, he used to say.

So, if now the government at the Centre says that people should sacrifice their desire for justice and truth in the national interest, in the name of nationalism and patriotism, it should be opposed. If there are forces, which declare that Indiawill be a Hindu Rashtra by 2023 or 2025, they should be opposed. For this is a secular nation and will remain secular. This is a democratic nation and will remain so.

Megha Pansare is an assistant professor at Shivaji University, Kolhapur, where she teaches Russian. She is the daughter of Govind Pansare.

Categories: Featured, Freedom of Expression, Politics, Rights

Tagged as: BJP, BJP dominance, Govind Pansare, Hindu rashtra, Hindutva, MM Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar, RSS, sangh parivar

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Injustice, Intolerance and Intimidation in the Making of a 'Hindu ... - The Wire

By Rishita Deshmukh:

On a fine Sunday evening, teenagers, or what we call the youth of our nation, assembled over the vanity of a cup of tea to have a contested discussion about feminism. The advocacy of womens rights on the grounds of the equality of the sexes, is how Google defines feminism. But is feminism only about a discrete gender? How does the concept of feminism, one of the firstinstances of which occurred in France in the 14th century, differ from the knowledge of feminism in the 21st century? Is feminism only about the equality of two genders or is there more underneath it? All of these questions were reinvigorated at the caf discussion that took place at Bees Caf, Aundh on May 21, 2017.

A collective of students, who are organising a Model UN conference, came up with an initiative to bring about a change with the influence of speech. This resulted in an informal discussion about concerned topics, where everyone could voice out their opinions and solutions, which could then be worked upon.

The event started with an address by the co-founders of Omega MUN, followed by a word from the moderator of the event, who acted non-partisan in the entire event, harmonising the atmosphere. To ease up the ambience, everyone got acquainted with one another. After a few rules were explained regarding the conduct of the talk, the discussion kicked in.

While setting up the foundation of the tower named feminism, it was compared to how feminism was in the early ages. Over a period of time, the definition of feminism has expanded. In the 21st century, feminism isnt restrictive to a particular gender. The idea of feminism has differed with time. It has become more of a movement and less of a concept about women and men having an equal stance. The basic impression is equality and hence the need to have a definition that seals both empowerment, as well as the equality of women, was looked upon.

One amongst the audience gave an example of the brand Kinderjoy, a candy selling company who have different toys for boys and girls. This brought up the fact how business industries use stereotypes in their own lucrative way.

For a really long time, the world has been patriarchal, which has given rise to aggressive rationalism stated a young teen, from the audience. While some people believed there was no negative side to feminism, part of them believed feminism, being an ideology, has an extreme stance which can be undesirable. Supporting this argument, it was said that the idea of feminism has become distorted and that aspects of feminism have become about hating men.

To make a non-aligned argument, the moderator pointed out that, Feminism is not wrong as a concept, but when implemented it can be perceived in a wrong way. To validate this point, an incident in the Indian Parliament was brought up. One of the members of Parliament was breastfeeding her child while attending to the ministers. This particular incident was interpreted differently. Some said she wanted to prove a point, that she could be amother as well as a worker at the same time.

Contrary to this, it was said that maternity leave should be given in order to avoid such clashes. Feminism was said to be a subjective ideology which was perceived differently in diverse places. It was argued in the audience that when feminism was first initiated, it was about getting women their rightful position in society and other various rights. However, now it has become an aggressive movement where women want to manifest themselves as greater than men.

In the modern day world, people who need feminism dont even know about it. In rural areas, most women are unaware of their rights, commented a 16-year old participant. A lot of times, society cringes at the visual of a male working in the kitchen and a female working in the office. Why do we need such social norms? Right from the grassroots level, we have such stereotypes which are influencing young psyches. These orthodox thoughts are embedded deep in our values, right from the very start. One of the boys in the room stated that 21% of schools in India are convent schools which separate girls and boys into different sets. From the very beginning, they have been estranged and this stereotype is rooted in our culture. Challenging the status quo is what the moderator quotes. Further adding to it, a mutual point is made by everyone saying, Law views everyone as equal, its society who sees it differently.

As the discussion shifted to the norms of society, the audience talked about certain topics which are considered taboo in our society. For example, sex education, which is not highly recognised in any of the schools but is of utmost importance. Usually, it includes escorting girls into different rooms and explaining the various prospects of their body. Everyone in the room agreed to the fact that whatever happens to our body is completely natural and that one must not be reluctant to talk about it. Hence, they urged schools to prioritise sex education and openly discuss it in the assembly of both boys and girls.

As people voiced out their opinions about the same, there was a shift in the atmosphere and the argument lead to a very controversial aspect of feminism: Religion. The audience perked up and a mutual consent towards Islam was observed. The question was asked whether women, when given a choice, would refuse to wear a hijab. Someone pointed out that women who wear the hijab had been brought up to follow the conduct no matter what. This point was countered by stating that according to the Quran, women are not supposed to go out of the house without their head covered. And even men wear a white cap over their heads all the time. Summing up one side of the argument, a speaker said, Islam is the safest religion for women. Countering the declaration, a boy from the crowd shared his experience of the time he used to live in Saudi Arabia. He said, It was mandatory for my mother, who isnt a Muslim, to wear a hijab. Women there arent allowed to drive a car alone. Whenever a woman wants to buy groceries, a minimum of 10 other women must be ather side.

Were drawn back to the era when feminism started. In Europe France, to be precise. In those days, women werent considered to be tough enough to cut wood which led to themdoing all the household chores while men did the physically hard labour. Hence it turned out to be, what the speaker quotes as, generic nature, for a man to earn money and a woman to spend the same currency. A typical understanding of people is that girls are soft, they like pink and boys are tough, they like blue. This entire argument leads the audience to one conclusion, People are confused between feminism and womens rights. Rights are human and are meant for both men and women.

Further, everyone agreed that no matter what, there are going to be natural inequalities between men and women which will make them different from each other. Before men and female, we are humans, quoted one of the participants from the audience. As the discussion shifted, our question, Is feminism only about two genders? was attended. Men are oppressing women and but this oppression intersects with the oppression faced by LGBTQ people. Feminism preaches equality and hence it should cover all genders. Subsidiaries should be given to trans people.

Here we came to a substantive part of the conversation. What part can we play in making a change? How can we give a new perspective to people? Education all of these values must be taught from a very young age. Awareness let the implementation begin from our families and friends. A participant from the discussion talks about the situation of her maid who wants to marry off her daughter of 13 years. The participant says, My maid doesnt listen to me, neither does she take advice from my mother. What should I do? This situation is provided with solutions like counselling, therapies, reporting to the authorities, spreading awareness.

Another major aspect is introduced in the talk: Reservation. There is a separate coach for women in the Delhi metro and yet they demand seats in the other compartment as well. A woman says, I am not weak but still claims special treatment. While stating statistics, someone pointed out that women have 5% reservation in educational institutes. To this, another candidate says, The reason why they have reservations is because their parents consider them as a liability. Reservation should be given to only them who require it. However, this point is countered by another, who says, India is a diverse country, there cannot be particular criteria for reservation. Women of upper classes live the life of rural people due to certain stereotypes and social norms. Therefore, we must attend to them who are benefiting from the laws rather than the ones misusing it

It is believed that change has started, and gradually in the years to come, well see the results. The government has taken initiatives regarding these issues. Another issue discussed was the conversion of buses into restrooms for women to use. These buses would be parked on the roadside for the benefit of women. There are NGOs who are working for the betterment of women. A lot of celebrities, who have their tours in west Asia and Latin America, boost the idea of feminism through their concerts.

Change is a gradual process and will not happen overnight. As we evolve, we take one step towards making a difference. Omega MUN strives to do the same through small talks, which would help make a bigger change. It isnt just a conference, it is a step towards giving a meaning to the MUN circuit of Pune. It is a way of building credibility through discussion. With an effective team of organisers, Omega Club is set to make this world a better place. A simple e-mail about your ideas and your contribution for developing a greater society will be appreciated. Omega MUN intends to create a chain reaction, connecting thousands of people in the process. They say, The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Our main motive behind this caf discussion is to revolutionise Punes MUN circuit. These caf discussions will help people develop their oratory skills and be confident while they speak. We seek to enrich public speaking skills, says Sarthak Vij, co-founder of Omega MUN, a 17-year old commerce student.

I think the main motive being Omega TeaTalks is to give people an opportunity to discuss issues of global as well as local significance. Often, there are certain things society negates as taboo, and with Omega TeaTalks, were hoping to give people a chance to discuss unconventional issues, and also to interact with different people with different opinions,says Ashwath Narayana, founder of Omega MUN, another 17-year-old literature freak.

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'In The Modern Day World, People Who Need Feminism Don't Even Know About It' - Youth Ki Awaaz

Naufus Ramrez-Figueroa Linnaeus in Tenebris May 18September 24, 2017

Oscar Murillo Estructuras resonantes May 18August 27, 2017

CAPC Contemporary Art Museum Bordeaux 7, rue Ferrre 33000 Bordeaux France

http://www.capc-bordeaux.fr Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

This spring, CAPC is proud to present in Bordeaux, Naufus Ramrez-Figueroa's first solo show in France with a large-scale site-specific installation for the Nave of the museum, and Oscar Murillo's Estructuras resonantes, the second installment of the exhibition cycle The Economy of Living Things, curated by Osei Bonsu for the tenth anniversary edition of the Satellite Programme.

Naufus Rmirez-Figueroa: Linnaeus in Tenebris For his first solo show in France, Naufus Ramrez-Figueroa (born in Guatemala City, lives and works in Berlin) taps into science fiction and biotechnology to address a recurrent subject in his sculptures and performances, namely, the suffering of the land and of the people who farm it.

Linnus in Tenebris, a site-specific installation and performance* in the Nave of CAPC, is set in the historic context of the eighteenth century, an era that still dominates Bordeauxs architectural landscape. The work focuses on an emblematic figure of rationalism, Carl von Linn (170778), the Swedish botanist who created the nomenclature for the classification of most living species known in his time. More broadly, Ramrez-Figueroa examines the taxonomical practices that were developed during the scientific (notably botanical) expeditions undertaken in the wake of western colonization at the time of the Enlightenment. By linking their inherent conceptual bias to the logic of ethnic hierarchization underpinning the division of labor and the spread of industrialization specifically in the realm of agriculture in Central America, and Guatemala in particular, under the impulse of multinational companies employing migrant laborers he underlines their alienating potential.

At CAPC, the artist thrusts visitors into the cold and bleak atmosphere of a breeding farm where strange hybrid creatures are grown on an industrial scale. The half-human, half-plant-like sculptures populating the Nave bunches of bananas with protruding arms and legs, a cocoa-tree-hangman, Monstera deliciosa or other species of suspiciously lush plants, an androgynous-yucca-plant and a plant-pod-midget are simultaneously fascinating and puzzling. Made of polystyrene covered in resin, they affirm their artificiality and question the moral foundations of enlightened culture by exposing the crimes committed in the shadow of Linnaeus.

*Linnus in Tenebris (text: Wingston Gonzlez) is part of a series of performances by Naufus Ramrez-Figueroa commissioned and produced by Corpus, European network for performance practice. Corpus is Bulegoa z/b (Bilbao), CAC (Vilnius), KW (Berlin), If I Cant Dance (Amsterdam), Playground (STUK & M, Louvain) and Tate Modern (London). Corpus is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

Curator: Alice Motard This exhibition receives the exceptional support of our honorary patron, Chteau Haut-Bailly

Oscar Murillo: Estructuras resonantes Oscar Murillo works across a variety of media, combining painting, sculpture and video to form immersive installations composed of a variety of materials. As opposed to working within a specific spatial environment, his work evolves from a far ranging practice that includes public interventions, community-based collaborations and performance.

Filmed in Marrakech, Morocco, Untitled (2017), shows North African Bedouin Arabs absorbed in the improvisation of sounds, music and dancing. The work captures the immediate impact of live music as a form of civic engagement transcending cultural boundaries.Aesthetic absorption and rupture operate a mode of connection in which the spectatoris alsocaught. This video forms part of an interconnected display of works entitled Estructuras resonantes, a meditation on the artists family background and history.

The Economy of Living Things is an exhibition cycle concerned with the constant movement of bodies, plants, animals, artefacts and other cultural products across real and imagined borders. Moving beyond the notion of mapping history, new commissions of Ali Cherri, Oscar Murillo, Steffani Jemison and Jumana Manna will travel through unknown and familiar spaces to render visible the undocumented journeys undertaken by living things.

Curator: Osei Bonsu The Satellite programme is co-produced by Jeu de Paume, Paris, FNAGP and CAPC muse dart contemporain de Bordeaux. Exhibition organized as part of The Year France-Colombia 2017.

Also on view BEAU GESTE PRESS Curator: Alice Motard Until May 28, 2017

[sic] works from the CAPC Collection Curator: Jos Luis Blondet Permanent exhibition

Upcoming 4.543 billion. The matter of matter Curated by Latitudes June 29, 2017January 7, 2018 As part of the cultural season Paysages Bordeaux 2017

Our Visual Identities. Bordeaux-Paris, Paris-Bordeaux Curator: Martine Pan June 29September 24, 2017 As part of 40 ans-40 lieux, Centre Pompidou 40th anniversary programme

Beatriz Gonzlez Curator: Mara Ins Rodrguez Retrospective exhibition organized by CAPC muse d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofa, Madrid and KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin. November 23, 2017February 25, 2018 Exhibition organized as part of The Year France-Colombia 2017.

The CAPC muse dart contemporain is a museum of the City of Bordeaux.

Museum patrons Honorary patron:Chteau Haut-Bailly Founding patron: Les Amis du CAPC Leading patrons: Fondation Daniel & Nina Carasso, Lacoste Traiteur Patrons: SUEZ, Mercure Bordeaux Cit Mondiale, Chteau Chasse-Spleen, SLTE, Chteau Le Bonnat, Le Petit Commerce

Press Pedro Jimnez Morrs T +33 (0)5 56 00 81 70 / p.jimenezmorras [at] mairie-bordeaux.fr

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May 27, 2017 - CAPC Contemporary Art Museum Bordeaux - Naufus Ramrez-Figueroa: Linnaeus in Tenebris / Oscar ... - E-Flux

Bangladesh News 24 hours

Blogger Ananta Bijoy murder trial set to begin Bangladesh News 24 hours Das, 31, used to write for a popular website, Mukto Mona, mostly about rationalism and opposing fundamentalism started by writer-blogger Avijit Roy, who was killed in the same year in Dhaka. Police said then four men attacked him with sharp weapons ...

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Blogger Ananta Bijoy murder trial set to begin - Bangladesh News 24 hours

A new religious program led by Satanists is pushing to expand into the Bible Belt this Fall.

It's called the After School Satan Club and instead of worship, it teaches activism.

Instead of God, it teaches evolution, rationalism and free inquiry.

But residents in Shreveport call it evil.

Arturo Alderete said, "I think kids at that age shouldn't be involved with that kind of stuff you know. It doesn't sound too good to me."

Stacy McDonald agreed calling the after school program, "terrible."

Jaqeline Jackson added, "Some kids will take it too far and do different things that is not nice to other people."

KTBS-3 checked with school districts in Caddo, Bossier and Texarkana, Texas. District spokesperson's

confirm no application has been made with its respective school districts. But do confirm after school satan club's won't be banned.

A huge concern for parents, who are watching the program gain traction.

"Well we should learn about Satan, but we should learn about the truth. The fact is he's a liar and he can't tell the truth and he's all out for killing, stealing, and distruction. There's nothing good about anything he does and he's not any good for anybody unless they want to be like him." said Kelly McCabe.

Created by the Satanic Temple, the organizaton is seeking school district approval at public grade schools in Atlanta, Detroit, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Tacoma, Washington, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles and the Lone Star State. Cities in Texas inclulde San Carcos, San Antonio and Austin.

Satanic Temple member Jeremy Galloway, says the clubs have nothing to do with the devil or religion at all.

"There's no red guy with horns and a pitchfork," said Jeremy Galloway, an Austin Satanic Temple member

Despite the logo of the group, a cartoonish devil with horns holding a crayon, Galloway said parents should look past the name before making any irrational judgment.

"Satan's involved because it's coming from our temple, the Temple of Satan, and we identify as Satanists," he said. "We don't feel any particular shame for the name that we use. Some people find the name a bit jarring, but when you actually look into the tenants of the Satanic Temple, there's nothing scary at all."

San Marcos chapter leader Lanzifer Longinus said Satan is just a metaphor.

"Satan, to start with, is a fictional character. He really represents, to us, the spirit of independent, critical thinking, free thought. The spirit against arbitrary authority," he said.

Galloway said the Satanic Temple is targeting schools with Good News Clubs first. There are seven schools in the Austin area being targeted, but to protect the schools from any backlash, the names are not released.

The purpose of targeting schools with Good News Clubs is to make sure both kids and parents have more than one viewpoint represented.

"Children are sponges. They're really open-minded and they're still learning about the world," he said. "We want to give them the opportunity to not give them the answers, but give them the opportunity to ask more questions and discern for themselves, rather than being told, 'Oh, this is what you believe and here's why'."

USA Ministries vice president Moises Esteves with the Child Evangelical Fellowship, organizer of the Good News Club says, "The people behind the After School Satan Clubs are Atheists dressed up in scary costumes," Esteves said. "This isn't a Satanist club. This isn't a devil worshipping club. These are Atheists trying to scare parents with pitchforks and devil horns. It's a parody. It's a publicity stunt."

But Galloway said he's got it all wrong.

This is not a joke," he said. "We are a true religion but we don't believe in anything supernatural. We believe in science, rational thinking and scientific realism."

Galloway added, "The fear of hell fire is put into these kids, which is a really scary thing for a kid, and I feel it robs kids of their childhood a bit. So we're trying to have a counter voice to that."

To be clear, schools who offer the program are not necessarily affiliated. School officials offer a portion of their facility as required by the law.

After School Satan chapter leaders say the monthly meetings include a healthy snack, literature lesson, creative learning activities, science lesson, puzzle solving and an art project. Galloway adds, "If a child asks, 'Why is the sky blue? Where do rainbows come from?' Our response would have nothing to do with religion. We have really great scientific explanations for these things."

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After school Satan club spreading to the Bible Belt - KTBS

In 2013, Yann LeCun became Facebooks first Director of Artificial Intelligence Research, which wasnt a surprise given his stellar credentials.

He gets a lot of requests from around the world to give lectures, but he recently turned down an offer from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia for a sensible reason: Hes an atheist.

As an avowed atheist, I could be considered a terrorist, according to a 2014 public declaration by the Saudi Interior Ministry. The declaration defines terrorism as calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based.

Im sure that there are plenty of closet atheists in Saudi Arabia, and they are probably doing just fine. But as a vocal advocate of atheism and rationalism, and as a humanist and a proponent of human rights (including the rights of women), I cannot accept an invitation from a country that sees me as the enemy.

Hes absolutely right that Saudi Arabia is no place for atheists. In 2014, the government introduced regulations that criminalized Calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based. Advocates for godlessness, then, were in the same camp, facing the same punishments, as terrorists.

Even if LeCun wasnt speaking about atheism at the school, why accept an invitation from a place where other people like him face the death penalty? He was under no illusion his lecture would have any effect on the nations draconian rules. But a public refusal is a stronger way to make a stand against atheist discrimination.

Incidentally, LeCun said the invite came from a non-Saudi researcher and not a government official. So its not like the government was softening its anti-atheist stance.

(Remember: Raif Badawi, a man charged with blasphemy and sentenced to ten years in jail plus 1,000 lashes, remains in a Saudi prison to this day.)

LeCun also pointed out that he wouldnt say no to all countries with policies he disagreed with, but this was different.

Many of my lectures are available on the Web to everyone in Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps Im nave, but not enough to believe that my giving a lecture there would make any difference.

If I refused to visit all countries whose policies include things I disagree with, I would not go to many places.

I have lectured in countries whose governments are not democratic, or whose policies I dislike. I do think that dialog, education and science can help move these countries in the right direction. And I will certainly not refuse to talk to someone simply because I dont like the government of the country they come from.

But there are countries whose very structure is contrary to principles I hold dear, and whose practices and mores I find profoundly repulsive. I will not visit them, even if they dont have policies that classify me as some sort of intellectual terrorist.

Im glad hes taking this stand. There may be an argument that more voices of reason in a place like Saudi Arabia are a good thing, but theres no reason to visit a country that actively criminalizes unpopular thought.

(Image via Facebook. Thanks to Brian for the link)

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Facebook's Director of AI Research Rejects Speaking Gig in Anti-Atheist Saudi Arabia - Patheos (blog)

Updated May 22, 2017 15:17:59

One Thursday evening in 1990, 13-year-old Andy Hazel sat down to watch Twin Peaks as it was broadcast on Tasmanian television.

He had seen advertisements for the show promoting it as a detective series, and he thought it might be a bit like Murder, She Wrote.

Instead, he said, there was "sexual abuse, grief, incest, and small town people being nasty to each other".

"It sideswipes you with these really long scenes of people crying, there's drug taking, there's all this debauchery going on," he said.

"Right in the middle of it you've got Agent Dale Cooper, who is one of the most inspiring and amazing characters in television history, I think."

Mr Hazel said Agent Cooper's balancing of reductive rationalism and spiritual intuition made him "the epitome of the perfect human being".

"For the rest of my adolescence I would ask, 'what would Dale Cooper do' as a way of solving problems."

Mr Hazel estimates he has since watched the show's first two seasons 20 to 30 times, first on VHS and then DVD.

While working in Edinburgh as an entertainment coordinator, he filled downtime in his venue's calendar with Twin Peaks marathons.

In 2016 Mr Hazel travelled to North Bend, Washington where much of the series was filmed for the annual three-day Twin Peaks Festival.

The event, which usually sells out in less than an hour, allows 300 fans to visit locations from the series and meet some of the stars of the show.

He said some fans had attended the festival for 10 years running, and a few people had moved to the area because of their love of the show.

"Some people were really obsessed with the female characters, others were obsessed with the style of the time, some people came to it through being obsessed with [director] David Lynch's other projects," Mr Hazel said.

For the long-awaited third season Mr Hazel has begun a podcast where he will analyse each episode alongside guest experts from fields such as film noir, feminism, music and sound design.

He will be joined for the series by Twin Peaks newcomer Hayley Inch, who has just finished watching the first two seasons.

"There's been lots of tweeting from her being constantly surprised, as I remember being in 1990," Mr Hazel said.

He said he was looking forward to seeing the reaction of others drawn fresh to the series by the recent hype surrounding the show.

"To see this huge mainstream attention given to something that is going to be so dark and weird, and is going to alienate and annoy a huge amount of people, is fascinating."

Topics: television, carnivals-and-festivals, internet-culture, people, melbourne-3000

First posted May 22, 2017 14:37:34

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Twin Peaks: Is Andy Hazel Australia's biggest fan? - ABC Online

Konstantin Grcic's graphic sofa system, Soft Props, was inspired by the handrails of the Milanese metro.

The annual Milan Furniture Fair is like a big wheel of Parmigiano you can slice it any way you like, but the simplest thing is to cut straight through. This year it was clearly bisected, right down the middle.

On the one hand, light ephemeral gestures, furniture reduced to the merest trace in space, a will to disappear. This mood was epitomised by Japanese design studio nendos elegantly absent Invisible Outlines installation at the Jil Sander showroom, a telling choice since the German fashion brand is renowned for its minimal touch. Blindingly white tables melted into bowls, translucent Jellyfish vases gently quivered, wired outlines framed negative space. Not exactly wares for the home.

On the other hand, there was a pleasant heavy-handedness, a weightiness that implied a certain gravitas. In editing this Best of Milan 2017 selection, Ive erred on the side of heft. This because Australian homes, oriented as they often are towards airy exteriors, benefit from bold interiors. In slicing the cheese this way, an unexpected undercurrent of 1940s rigour emerges. The magic, of course, is in the mix.

by Konstantin Grcic for Cassina

An evolution of last years Props architectural steel shapes with no fixed function this year Grcic developed a graphic sofa system called Soft Props. Inspired by the handrails of the Milanese metro, designed by Bob Noorda and Franco Albini in the early 1960s and considered a perfect example of Italian Rationalism, the metal tubes of the Soft Props are made of interchangeable parts, allowing the user to rearrange the configuration at will. I started with some classics from the Cassina catalogue in mind and ended up stripping them all back to bare or exposed structures, says Grcic. Le Corbusiers LC3 club chair comes to mind. Apparently rigid, the Soft Props is in reality modular, a spongy piece of soft furnishing loosely cradled in a solid frame. Timeless.

by Germans Ermics for Rossana Orlandi

In homage to Shiro Kuramatas iconic Glass Chair of 1976, Amsterdam-based designer Ermics unveiled his Ombr chair and Horizon screen, alluring compositions of translucency produced byprinting coloured ink onto a transparent film which is then sandwiched between two panes of glass. Technically excellent, the series is seductive in its play upon absence and presence, solid and yet hard to grasp. The sculptural pieces change appearance as light shifts, or as people move around them. Beyond creating highly collectible furniture, the designer says his aim is to shape colour. Its perhaps that bigger vision that imbuesthe work with significance beyond its ownphysicality.

by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mattiazzi

Mattiazzi is known for its finely crafted timber seating, rigorous in line although sometimes quite hard on the behind. Increasingly, it is developing upholstered offerings, of which the Bouroullecs Quindici lounge chair is an excellent example.

Slung between two chunky T-shaped arm rests, the slender ash seat itself is a suite of three solid planes working together to create perfect support. Upholstered in a choice of lush Kvadrat fabrics, the Quindici is a gentle giant of a thing industrially tough, but offset by a good dose of luxe.

by Ronan and ErwanBouroullec for Flos

The Bouroullec brothers Verticale is a set of long, thin glass columns encased within fine exoskeletons constructed from anodised aluminium. When illuminated, the metal frames are abstracted by the light source, appearing to merge into a singular column of light.

Modular along the vertical, the lights can be adjusted for height. As a single column theyre totemic, clustered they become talismanic. Great for a stunning lobby statement.

by Fernando Mastrangelo for Rossana Orlandi

Brooklyn artist and designer Mastrangelos Escape series of tables, storage and seating are composed of a mix of silica, hand-dyed sand and powdered glass which, once dry, gives the impression of striated, solid rock. In soft pastel tones of pink, blue and inky black, they are reminiscent of Georgia OKeeffes gentle New Mexico landscape paintings.

Monolithic in their unapologetic heft, they suggest an earnestness underscored by the raw, granular aspect of the touch. If a rock bench feels too harsh, it can always be softened by some of those zigzag knit cushions from Missoni Home.

by Patricia Urquiola for CC-Tapis

Following the success of last years geometric Visioni carpets, Urquiola has devised a new series of tapestries, titled Rotazioni. Softening the right angles with sensuous curves, the superposition of the cylinder motif creates an optical dynamism, the hand-woven wool enhancing the impression of depth.

The nuanced palette is a de facto guide to this years trend colours: soft rusts, faded aubergines and pale, egg-shell blues, colours so subdued as to qualify as hues. So beautiful, youll want to hang these carpets on the wall.

by Michael Anastassiades for Flos

London-based Anastassiades is one of the most influential lighting designers working today. So widely imitated, in fact, that hes released a lamp called Copycat. But its his new Table Composition and Floor Composition that are of real interest. Not only do they establish an entirely new typology the table/light they do it with all the judicious disequilibrium of a Brncusi.

The asymmetry of the uprights, the ballast of the sphere anchoring the structure echoed in the flattened surface disc is a virtuoso balancing act. It has a self-referential quality that keeps the eye constantly on the move, trying to take it all in. In just the right shade of rusty red powder-coated aluminium, it has trend alert written all over it.

by Cristina Celestino for Nilufar

Nina Yashars Nilufar Depot is the premium Milanese dealership in rare 20th-century design. Increasingly, she is also commissioning new work in limited editions by contemporary designers, pieces that segue seamlessly with her historical aesthetic, savvily updated for today.

Celestinos slinky Visiera sofa evokes Hollywood glamour of yore, its rich velvet saddle sitting low to the ground (perfect for come-hither reclining), its bulbous back attached by a broad band of brushed and varnished brass. Finished with two oversized brass studs, its like a perfectly formed fashion accessory for the home. Precious.

by Lucidi Pevere for Gebrder Thonet Vienna

Thonet is renowned firstly for its innovations in Bentwood bistro chairs, secondly for its skills in tubular steel, most famously in the hands of Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe. Nowhere in the Austrian companys catalogue does soft upholstery feature. This fact alone makes the Chignon stand out. Company history aside, the low seat is charming in its pert self-assurance, just slightly quirky.

The way the steam-bent, lacquered frame (note the rust red, on trend) supports the plump seat cushion then wraps around the backrest, squeezing it like a bon-bon, makes me smile. Word on the street is that the boudoir is set to make a comeback, even as a boydoir. When it does, the Chignon will be the perfect seat for hours spent brooding.

by Oki Sato for nendo

Over recent years the designs of Sato and his Tokyo-based nendo studio have been getting lighter and lighter, ethereal to the point where this year they all but dissolve. His series of 30 different Jellyfish vases are pulled back from the brink by two factors: their ghostly blue tint and their gentle fluidity.

Made from ultra-thin transparent silicon that has been dyed twice to create a nuanced dgrad, their surface perimeters are so fine that they gently undulate. To underscore the effect, nendo showed them in a tank of water alongside flowers and fish. Dont try this at home.

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10 best pieces from Milan Furniture Fair 2017 - The Australian Financial Review

I recall once watching an interview by ABCs Diane Sawyer of Stephen Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist and author of several books including, A Brief History of Time and The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe and being intrigued by the philosophically contradictory statements and problematic assertions that Hawking maintained not only in the interview but consistently throughout his various venues as a past professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, best-selling author, and pop-culture icon for rationalism.

In the interview, for instance, Hawking, who prides himself on his atheism, made the statement that there is a fundamental difference between religion which is based on authority, (and) science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.

On the one hand, I thought it significant that Hawking indirectly acknowledged that there is an ongoing conflict between religion and science. I do not want to read too many things into his remarks, but taken at face value, his statement clearly voiced a personal conflict that he himself has with the idea of a personal, loving, and all-knowing God (facts notwithstanding). When he said science will win, he was saying, I will win.

That aside, however, he was simply mistaken in his statement regarding the fundamental difference between religion (by which he may have meant all religions but most certainly meant the Christian religion) and science (by which he seemed to mean a rationalistic perspective which irrationally denies the existence of God, since, rationally speaking, even Hawking cannot disprove it). He said that the difference is that religion is based on authority and science is based on observation and reason.

His fundamental mistake was how he perceived religion (the Christian religion at any rate). It is not based on authority as he claimed, but on something entirely different, something that is actually akin to observation and reason. That something? In a word, it is revelation.

To put it another way, when we profess and are genuinely immersed in the essence of Christianity, we are saying that what is worth knowing and what gives life meaning is derived from what an otherwise unknowable Creator chooses to reveal about Himself.

Some of that revelation is, of course, unveiled in the complexity and sophistication of the world around us. From the sheer immensity of the universe which is still far vaster than our means of observing it can assimilate for us to the incredibly fragile and infinitely intricate facets of life and its life-sustaining environments, we can perceive, should we care to, a mighty (though invisible) hand at work.

But that revelation is fine-tuned so that life here might even more clearly perceive the One Who sent it. Isnt it reasonable to assume that a God Who takes such care to create a perfectly hospitable home here on earth for life would also want also to communicate with it? Doesnt reason also tell us that such communication would be a written record so that through it the one life form that had been given the ability to comprehend it might also preserve it down through the ages? Of course it is!

Hawking said, What could define God (is thinking of God) as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of God. They made a human-like Being with Whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible.

But Hawking, in his statement, tipped his hand. He said, accidental human life. Gods revelation (His Word) tells us that your life here is not accidental. And once we have that established, the rest of Hawkings dilemmas are easily resolved.

For if God created you indeed (which the aforementioned fact of the incredibly complex requirements for the sustaining of human life suggests), then it is perfectly logical to assume that He will also reveal Himself in some manner to His creation. And if He has chosen to reveal Himself so that one can observe what He has chosen to reveal, then we can safely assume that He truly does desire a personal relationship with us in spite of its seemingly impossibility to Hawking.

Honestly, science cannot win because science has not worked. While I am grateful to God that He has provided us faculties to see and appreciate the forces at work around us in physics, genetics, medicine, communication technology, and so on, there have been limits to what these things can do, limits to what can be known (apart from revelation), and limits to what can be done with that knowledge.

Our culture is still reeling from the failed promises of reason and science which, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were assumed to be ready to solve all of humanitys problems (ranging from curing cancer to humanely solving social evils such as crime, hate, and war). What science has really done is show us that we know far, far less than we thought. The ensuing disillusionment has naturally left our world hopeless and ripe for all manners of confusion and conflict.

Hawking shared with Diane Sawyer his attempts to give benevolent advice to his children. Among his three admonitions he says, Never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. I think I understand what he means, but its a delusional remark nonetheless. At best, work can only give you a feeling of purpose, but the moment you stop and reflect on it you realize that if you really are an accidental life form, then nothing you do, say, or contribute means anything at all. Think about it! If Hawking is right, then a day is coming when all youve done, said, and contributed will be forgotten. You are a nobody dwelling in the midst of a throng of nobodies, all about to become nothing except inanimate matter that neither knows anything nor cares that it doesnt know.

But there is a mightier reality at work than can be perceived with our senses or comprehended by our intellects. It is rational after all to not only believe in God, but to seek Him out and trust that as you do so, He will reveal Himself to you. You will find that He has done so through the Person of Jesus Christ. Hawkings problem with the Christian notion of God is what actually ultimately supports it. An infinitely powerful God not only created you, but in an infinitely awesome act of love, gave Himself through Jesus to you so you could have that personal relationship with Him!

Without faith it is impossible to please (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. (and look) to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 11:6, 12:2 ESV).

Mollohan

http://mydailytribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Mollohan-Thom-2.jpgMollohan

Religion and science

Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past 21 years. He is the author of The Fairy Tale Parables, Crimson Harvest, and A Heart at Home with God. He blogs at unfurledsails.wordpress.com. Pastor Thom leads Pathway Community Church and may be reached for comments or questions by email at [emailprotected]

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Religion and science - Gallipolis Daily Tribune - Gallipolis Daily Tribune

While in England for some meetings with various diocesan representatives and the fabulous ecumenical Centre for Theology and Community in East London, our wonderful hosts Carlos and Alessandra (whose son here is an enthusiastic Eagles fan!) gave us a brief tour of the Brompton Oratory, the home to Londons Oratorian community, the congregation of Saint Philip Neri. Although not a religious order, the Oratorians are a community of priests who live together under a Rule of Life, which was instituted by Neri, known sometimes as the Apostle of Rome, in the 16th century. Brompton is one of four Oratories in England, the others being in Oxford, Manchester, and Birmingham.

I chose to remain in the church after the brief tour to stay on by myself for Mass (in Latin) and was able to position my seat near a side altar dedicated to Blessed John Cardinal Henry Newman.

While the mortal remains of the saintly convert have been reclaimed by the earth none were found in his damp tomb when it was opened during his beatification cause the monument was a stirring reminder of the English Catholic Church and its enormous contribution to world Christianity. Newman was a particularly important figure in this narrative, one that was repeatedly extolled explicitly by Pope Benedict XVI and numerous scholars of the Second Vatican Council, who sometimes informally refer to Vatican II as Newmans Council.

His life, like the CTCs work today and so much of British history, is a complex story of Anglican-Catholic relations. As he was so fluent in both traditions and so eloquent in his defense of Christian values, ecclesial history, and developing doctrine in a post-Enlightenment world dominated by rationalism and skepticism, Newman is still revered by both communities. Perhaps most interestingly, Newman was an ardent defender of the important role of laity in the church, arrived at by his historical study of the Arian controversy and explicated more fully in his Consulting the Faithful on Matters of Doctrine.

He famously once wrote: What I desiderate in Catholics is the gift of bringing out what their religion is; it is one of those better gifts, of which the Apostle [Paul] bids you to be zealous. You must not hide your talent in a napkin, or your light under a bushel. I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious but men [sic] who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity In all times the laity have been the measure of the Catholic spirit.

I spent a few minutes reflecting on this hope in the Oratory, while pondering the motto from Newmans coat of arms: Cor ad Cor Loquitur (heart speaks unto heart). How wonderful the People of Gods future can and will be if we cling to the vision that this prayerful aspiration continues to transform the heart of our church in a world where more people are literate than ever before.

Originally from Collingswood, Michael M. Canaris, Ph.D., teaches at Loyola University, Chicago.

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The contributions of Cardinal John Henry Newman - Catholic Star Herald