Hope
An uplifting report on atheism in Pakistan: http://www.thecommentator.com/article/782/the_rise_of_atheism_in_pakistan
Site Recommendation: CivicCamp.org
civiccamp logo
I discovered this site over the holidays: http://www.civiccamp.org/ Wow, what a great site. Lot’s of analysis and discussion of the kinds of issues that should concern every Calgary citizen: sustainability, democracy, quality of life and more.
Christopher Hitchens died last night
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/12/16/hitchens-dies-cancer.html
God is not Great
He was the greatest essayist of our time. He sped up the demise of religion considerably and that is a great contribution to human history.
One of the things I liked most about him is he resisted being pegged as “liberal” or “conservative”. He followed basic principles such as a respect for facts, human decency, and balancing individual freedoms with improving the quality of life of the most number of people and thus defied being binary pigeonholed. Perhaps he has influenced me even more than I think… because i might describe myself as a libertarian, law-and-order, fiscal-conservative, scientific, raving, atheist liberal.
Police on the beat in Calgary? Can it be?
I’ve seen more cars pulled over by Police here in Calgary in the last 2 days than I have seen in the previous 4 years. I am not exaggerating.
It’s about bloody time!
But maybe it is just a gang crackdown? I hope not. I hope it is a driving habits crackdown, and a crackdown on officers being assigned duties other than being on the beat educating the public and enforcing the law.
Let’s get them on the trains too.
Way to go City of Calgary!
Lunar Eclipse
lunar eclipse
Silly me. I was up early yesterday working in my office and saw the full moon from my window followed later by the lunar eclipse, but at the time I thought it was just a cloud. It was only today after seeing pictures on the news sites that I realize, “hey, I saw that!”
For an advocate of science I should perhaps have shown more curiosity (something about it didn’t seem cloud-like). Oh well, at least I did see it and now I know what a lunar eclipse looks like. And lesson re-learned: Curiosity is a good thing!
Christmas Music
At the risk of offending all the catholics, other christians, and mothers I know… this is one of my favourite christmas songs.
The importance of debunking bullshit: “Is There Anybody There?” (BBC – 1987)
Speaking out against the bullshit of the paranormal and spiritual is one of the most valuable contributions a person can make. Here’s a classic debunking of religious miracles and other paranormal phenomena by Nicholas Humphrey. Featuring the apparition at Knock, the Enfield poltergeist, the Woodbridge UFO, the moving virgin of Ballinspittle, and much more. A one and a half hour special for BBC Channel Four, 1987.
Sean Faircloth offers a Ten Point Vision of a Secular America
I hadn’t heard of Sean Faircloth before. I’m not sure why because he offers a smart vision for America in this video:
The Watchmaker Argument
Many of you are probably aware of the “Watchmaker Argument” for the existence of god(s). It is also known as the “Argument from Design”, aka Teleological Argument, aka “All paintings require a painter” argument. It is a very bad argument, so obviously so that I would describe it as self-debunking.
Here are three good videos (not mine) from a playlist on my YouTube channel summarizing the problems with this attempt to create a god from the perfect vacuum of evidence:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL55DA0BE7097E6A6C
There is no substitute for police “on the beat”
A R.I.D.E. check in Mississauga
A lot of talk in Calgary media about the rash of driving accidents and deaths lately where drinking was a factor.
From the CBC.ca website…
Headline: Calgary police frustrated by multiple impaired crashes
Drop head: Police don’t know how to send a stronger message not to drink and drive
Quote in the article: “Everybody knows that drinking and driving is an absolute no-no, but for whatever reason it still occurs.” – Duty Insp. Paul Stacey
And there is much talk in that article and on the Calgary Herald website about toughening up our drinking and driving laws here in Alberta – even the new Premier has thought out loud that it may be necessary.
With respect to the Calgary Police and our new Premier I think I know how to fix the problem, and I am shocked and disappointed that you don’t know: More police on the streets doing R.I.D.E. Checks and enforcing other traffic laws! I think it really is as simple as that. When I moved back to Alberta 9 years ago after many years out of province I was struck at two things:
- The bad driving habits of Calgarians.
- How few police cars there were on the streets issuing warnings/tickets.
What is the point in toughening up a law when the current laws are being so rarely enforced? There is no substitute for police on the streets enforcing the current laws. Get them out there! That is our problem. You can drive for a full 8 hour day in Calgary and not see a single vehicle pulled over getting a ticket – I have driven in no other jurisdiction where that is so. I have seen only one R.I.D.E. check in 9 years of driving in Alberta – but in the previous 10 years out-of-province I saw many dozens of R.I.D.E. checks and had to stop and answer questions as part of one perhaps 10 or more times. As the quotes from the CBC article suggest, our Police have no idea how to reduce drinking and driving in Calgary – well get a clue! Other jurisdictions know exactly how to nab drunk drivers – do what they are doing.