Monthly Archives: October 2006

The pleasures of argument

Posted on October 16, 2006 by acb

I got back from the PZ Myers tour of the Natural History Museum last night with an evil shit-eating grin, saying “It was so nice to be able to argue with people” … and indeed I had been trying to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 3 Comments

600,000 and deNazification

Posted on October 13, 2006 by acb

I like Germans; I like Americans. I’m even quite fond of the English. But when I look at the reactions to the Lancet study on Iraqi deaths. I am reminded of a photograph reproduced in Tony Judt’s Postwar. A small … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | 3 Comments

In his mighty name

Posted on October 13, 2006 by acb

I know I waste a lot of time with computers; but there are some things they’re better at than humans are. For instance, could you count the number of times that the words “Richard Dawkins” appear on the front page … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 3 Comments

Sock Puppet with crozier

Posted on October 12, 2006 by acb

The front page of the Church of Nigeria’s offical website carries a news article an article (thanks) from a Nigerian Newspaper from which I excerpt the following passage: Outside of the hallowed precincts of the Church and his Bishop’s Court, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 4 Comments

Sock Puppet in a dog collar

Posted on October 9, 2006 by acb

This (via) is a completely wonderful story. In brief, the vicar of a very high Anglo-Catholic Church in Reading has been caught posting flattering anonymous reviews of his own sermons, dress sense, and singing voice on the Ship of Fools … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 2 Comments

A small ethical dilemma

Posted on October 9, 2006 by acb

Suppose you are aware of a disreputable story about person x, known to you; you find a version of this story—entirely anonymised—on a blog kept by person y, known to both you and x, but not, so far as you … Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | 9 Comments

An act of God

Posted on October 3, 2006 by acb

There was a sizable thunderstorm here on Sunday which took out both my router and my cable modem. The router has been replaced; the internet connection may be back on Wednesday or may not;. In the mean time, anyone who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Housekeeping | 4 Comments

Is God a teapot?

Posted on October 1, 2006 by acb

It is a standard atheist trope to claim that the existence of God can no more be disproved than the existence of a teapot orbiting Mars. So why worry that he might exist? Well, the obvious difference is that no … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 4 Comments

Torture: an instructional video

Posted on October 1, 2006 by acb

Would it help explain the issues to make a film in a prominent torture supporter is kidnapped and waterboarded, on video, until he agrees to say that he, not Monica Lewinsky, gave Bill Clinton a blow job; also that torture … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | Comments Off on Torture: an instructional video