society

Richard Dawkins has posted a video of his October 23 speech at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia. The speech contains excerpts of his latest book “The Good Delusion”, but what makes this video particularly interesting is how Dawkins answers questions from several students from Liberty University, a conservative Christian university that shamelessly teaches young earth creationism (and apparently displays dinosaur fossils dated approx. 3000 years ago…). I haven’t seen the entire video (113GB quicktime), but the following website contains some great excerpts:

Salon.com posted a very good interview with Richard Dawkins (this link goes to the more readable printer friendly page). As usual, Dawkins comes across as sharp and non-compromising on his views. He also defends his confrontational position on religion - after all, he has been characterized as “Darwin’s Rottweiler” and is certainly one of the most famous atheists in the world. One quote I particularly liked (even though I have heard this in similar form before):...

I just came across SkepticWiki - the Encyclopedia of Science and Critical Thinking. This looks like a comprehensive resource for all skeptics out there, and the articles on the Wiki debunk such popular myths as UFOs, alternative medicine, pseudohistory (such as Holocaust Denial), and of course religion. The amount of information on the site (both in terms of breadth and depth) is very impressive!

While working on my taxes, I just came across this little gem in the IRS instructions for itemized deductions: Certain whaling captains may be able to claim a charitable deduction for whale hunting expenses. See Gifts to Charity on page A-6 for more details. WTF???

I promise after this post I’ll shut up with the Atheist posts for a while. But first: The Official God FAQ This is absolutely hilarious! Pay attention to the disclaimer. :) And while we’re on the subject, here’s a partly serious, partly humorous proof that there is no god. A lot of good links on that site, too.