Archive for March, 2008
BBC NEWS | Education | Call to offer faith class choice
Posted by: | CommentsThe NUT clearly has gone NUTS! This BBC report from the NUT conference explains how they are proposing introducing religious instruction from different faiths into our classrooms.
So let me echo the thoughts from Keith Porteous Wood of the National Secular Society, by saying NO RELIGION IN SCHOOL. I have no problem with children studying comparative religion from a sociological and historical perspective. However religious worship and religious instruction has no place in education.
Church of England Confirmation
For parents who wish their children to be taught about their faith they can take them to a local place of worship. It is not for the British tax payers support the teaching for sky fairies and invisible pink unicorns in school.
Why oh why is this so difficult? Go to a temple for religion, go to a school for education. My son is already withdrawn from religious worship at school, and segregated from his class. It is outrageous in modern British society that we have to put up with this nonsense and it makes my blood boil. There is no rational purpose to this, and it is totally unacceptable.
The proponents of these ideas would argue its not about indoctrination, however that is a clear and obvious falsehood. Religious instruction is entirely about teaching doctrine, and to claim otherwise is misleading.
Thinking back to my previous debate about “Faith in the System” with a representative from the Department of Schools Children and Families I know that any protests I make will only fall on condescending ears.
What about parents who don’t want their children taught these lies of the sky fairy in school? Segregation, the one and only option.
Why is it that government and schools bend over backwards to be politically correct when it comes to faith? Yet humanist families are subjected to this nonsense and told not to complain, or that we are somehow militant atheists because we don’t want our children to be force fed this horse shit.
There used to be a time where I could agree to disagree with the religious viewpoint, but I am fast losing patience and tolerance for those who seek to clearly impose their values on me.
I am grateful to the BBC for highlighting this as it has confirmed my need to keep my subscriptions and donations to the NSS and BHA up to date.
Cyclists battle for road survival
Posted by: | CommentsDavid Cameron was recently filmed by the national press running a red light whilst out cycling. This in direct contraction to the highway code, is clearly not acceptable behaviour from a politician, however his behaviour is sadly not that uncommon.
I like cycling and I have found myself dismayed at how cars treat cyclists, as though they have no right to be on the road. Many times I’ve had cars come so close when passing me that I’ve almost been driven off the road.
Bicycle Racers in MotionMany cyclists are also irresponsible though, and I have seen cyclists who have run red lights at pedestrian crossings, particularly in London. Me and another man walking along the embankment in London were almost hit by a cyclist who ran a red light as we crossed the road.
More recently after dropping my car off for a service I was walking back home only to find my gentle stroll along the path was causing some annoyance to a cyclist using the footpath instead of the road.
I always try my best to follow the rules of the road, however there are occasions where I have found signposts for cycle paths to be confusing, and sometimes pedestrians walk in the cycle paths without looking where they’re going.
I often wonder if there should not be a compulsory basic training course for cyclists who wish to use the road and a license issued when they have completed the course.
The other thing that never ceases to amaze me about cyclists is the parents I see out with young kids who don’t wear helmets. The kids are usually padded up to their ears with safety equipment, but these parents somehow think because they’re older they’re indestructible. I always wear correct safety equipment when cycling and ensure my bike is in good working order.
David Cameron along with many other cyclists, need to wake up and realise that they are putting their own safety along with that other people at risk by doing stupid dumb stuff when out on the roads.
Random Post | Pinky & the Brain
Posted by: | CommentsOk a completely random post, but I just love this cartoon and the intro song.
Disestablishment of the Church
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve just finished watching TBQ from Sunday and the piece on disestablishment of the church made me think. The point that struck me is that it’s about a lot more than just bishops in the house of lords, and doing away with them.
What if we didn’t have an established church? I wonder if we’d slip into an American style secular democracy where every politicians religion is public property?
Ruins of a Church, Whitby Abbey, Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, United KingdomI’m not saying I like the established church, I’m just putting on the secular Britain glasses to see what the world looks like, and that is what I see. Politicians being elected on faith platforms just like America, perhaps the only difference is that our politicians wouldn’t be shy about coming out as atheist.
Then there is the question of our monarchy, and what happens to that establishment. Would we do away with the queen and the royal family? I have to confess I’m not 100% comfortable with that, because the monarchy gives us something culturally unique. The royals may not be respected by the British, but they certainly do carry a lot of weight with foreign leaders.
The question for me is how do we disestablish the church without losing what makes us British? Or is it simply the case that we need to redefine what it means to be British?
Certainly the act of settlement had some interesting ideas. The thought that the monarch should not be swayed by Rome, and therefore prevented a Catholic from being ruler is quite an interesting one. Given the time in which the law was passed it is understandable, but in modern Britain it clearly discriminates against Catholics. Imagine if the monarchy was treated as a job, under the law this would count as discrimination and the employer (the state) could be taken to tribunal on the grounds of religious discrimination.
Jonathan Bartley quite rightly argued that the C of E has too much privilege and I agree with him. However I’m sure had Andrew Copson of the BHA been allowed to finish his comments they’d have been equally as compelling.
America: Business as Usual
Posted by: | CommentsI have just got back from America on business, it was a good trip and the conference I attended was great.
What I found interesting was that America doesn’t change one bit. We had huge Suburban to get us around, and as we drove down the highway to the hotel we saw churches either side of the road all advertising some .com web site. Who knew God needed a website when he is all seeing, all knowing and all powerful. It reminds me of Star Trek V, when Kirk says “What does God need with a starship?”
Clearly there is quite a bit of competition in bible belt America to get people into the churches, but as you’ll see from my picture below my hotel was a safe distance away.
The most notable thing is that wherever I have been in America it all looks the same. Every building looks the same, made from either concrete or timber with some sort of ugly uniform siding.
Despite the boring architecture I did have some fun while I was there, and one of the planned events was a night at a Steak House, with some line dancing thrown in just for a giggle. The meal was a bit of a challenge given that I had to find a vegetarian option at a steak house, in Texas of all places! So I just had a plate of side order veggies which was fine.
The dancing was quite good fun though and even I had a go. Yes it’s true I am not boring at all and will join in for a laugh.
Here you can see me in my Texas line dancing get up (provided by our host), and getting ready to work off that huge meal.
I can only imagine what all the locals thought of us rowdy Brit’s, Aussie’s, European and American folk. One thing is for sure we had great fun.
I know Texans take their dancing seriously because I saw a little kid, probably about 4 years old with his own cowboy boots on. Amazing! The place was perfectly situated between a massage parlor, condom shop, strip joint and hotel, in what was probably not the classiest part of town.
While I did have some Alcohol while I was there, I didn’t over consume. I was cleverly not finishing my drinks by sipping them very very slowly. A perfect strategy, because I woke up without a hang over and was ready for the flight home. I don’t think anyone was really hammered though, we just all had great fun.
Just in case you’re wondering I did actually do some work while I was there. I spent my mornings getting up at 5am catching up on my emails and trying to make sure the work back home was getting done along with all the things I was involved in at the conference. I think I got over my jet lag the day before I was due to head back home.
For the first time ever I was actually able to get some sleep on a plane. Probably because I got bumped up to first class for my return journey. It was quite a relief really because our flight back home was delayed and we had to wait for a while before we could board the plane. However the airport lounge was comfortable, lubricated by free drink vouchers. One thing I will compliment is Texan hospitality. Everywhere I went the Texan people were extremely friendly and hospitable. I didn’t come across anyone grumpy, rude, obnoxious or discourteous. Even the door security guy at the bar we went to in the evening was very welcoming despite the fact we’d all just come from our line dancing at the steak house in our hats and scarves.
As I sit here recovering from my jet lag (which isn’t too bad), I am preparing myself for the onslaught of Disney land that is but a few short days away now.
Lisa Mullen | Weekend to End Breast Cancer 2008
Posted by: | CommentsThis posting is more of a response to an email I got asking for my support, so let me start with a quote from a scientist quite relevant to the topic.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. – Marie Curie
Pink Ribbon – Breast Cancer AwarenessJulie’s cousin Lisa (lives in Canada) has joined a team which is undertaking a 60km walk in Vancouver. Yes that’s right I said 60km not the usual 5km jog that we British do for our charitable works. For those working in the old system 60km is about 37 miles, and I only hope that Lisa is getting expert advice on how not to get blisters on her feet.
For women, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and over 41,000 women are diagnosed each year as well as about 300 men. – Macmillan Cancer Support
Two people in my family have been affected by breast cancer, as well as other cancers. The more knowledge we gain about this disease the sooner we will fine a cure. I am only thankful that I haven’t lost anyone to this disease in my lifetime.
I know it sounds like another tin rattling exercise, but when you know someone how has had their breast removed, or undergone chemotherapy I think you’d change your attitude pretty quickly.
There are many great cancer charities around the world, and I’m supporting Lisa and the Weekend to End Breast cancer because it affects everyone whatever country you live in.
So please visit their TEAM PAGE by following the link and donate some cash to help save a life.
I wet my self laughing!!!!
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the shortest posting in the history of my blog. Just watch this because it so funny! Please be warned adult content viewer discretion advised.
I want a GREEN car
Posted by: | CommentsIn my quest to leave a greener healthier world for my children, I’ve been doing a number of things to ease my conscience about my carbon output.
I’ve already been doing my green commute bit into London starting today, but come June I’ll need to drive, and my job entails a bit of travel to Birmingham as well. So how can I drive and be green? Good question!
I’ve been looking at family cars which utilise greener hybrid technology and there is just one problem. They all look bloody ugly! Most of the ones I’ve looked at seem like some futuristic car from Logan’s run, and I need a practical family car.
A Huge Traffic Jam Backs up the Streets of BangkokIdeally I’d like to have something like a Vauxhall Zafira with a hybrid engine that saves the environment. That would be perfect, but unfortunately I have not found the car for me that combines function, form and reduces my carbon footprint.
So I’m continuing to look, but so far the perfect environmentally friendly car doesn’t seem to exist. Perhaps in a few years there will be something which meets all my needs and those of the planet. For now my Seat Leon 1.4 is reasonably kind to the environment at 158g/km*
So if you know of a car that I can get which isn’t pig ugly but will help me save the planet, drop me a line.
Commuter London
Posted by: | CommentsToday I started a commute into London, which I will need to do most days for the next three months, and my experience was quite interesting.
I decided to catch the train direct from a mainline station, so drove the 5 miles down the road to the station. My first big shocker was the fact that I had to pay £5.00 to park for the day. When I commuted back in 2003 it was 3.50 which was far easier on my pocket.
View from Nelson’s Column Showing London Eye, Whitehall, Big BenI was pleased that getting a ticket involved minimal queuing due to the automated machines outside the station. However a return ticket set me back over £20 and with no guarantee of a seat. Fortunately things hadn’t changed that much and I waited at the platform adjacent to where the last carriage door would pull up, so managed to get a seat.
I got into London around 8am and had already decided not to take the tube to my destination at Bond Street. I’d previously used the Jubilee line and hated being crammed into the carriage pressed up against the door. This was a far from pleasant return and once committed there is no escape. So I decided to walk.
I had got my directions from a web site all about walking, and to be honest the map it printed out didn’t some many landmarks by which I could navigate, and I struggled with the written directions.
After going all around the houses, I found my way to my destination, without too much hassle.
After my day in the office I took a slightly different route back to Waterloo and decided I’d try going via St James park, which I now realise was probably quite a long way around. Even so the park was lovely at dusk, and as I walked over the bridge I could see Westminster Palace all lit up, I was amazed at how different London looks at night. I had also seen the London eye as I approached the south bank, and it was breathtaking.
So I saved a bit of money by not using the tube, got some exercise and instead of making a huge carbon footprint, just made a size 10 footprint on the pavement.
While walking took me longer, I’d rather be above ground than underground any day of the week, even in the pouring rain.
BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | Police sued over mosque programme
Posted by: | CommentsThe BBC has reported that Channel 4 Dispatches intends to sue West Midlands Police over allegations that it,
heavily edited and distorted preachers’ comments
in an edition of it’s programme looking at what preachers were saying in British mosques.
It is worrying that the programme was attacked for trying to highlight incidents of Imams preaching hatred in British mosques.
