Because of this, and the obvious idiocy that plagues a large base of listeners from infowars.com I am pulling our ad there for good. Initially, I thought some of the conspiracy theory crowd would enjoy a good "religion is bullshit and takes over the world" conspiracy. I do not, however, wish to bring in people who are this crazy...

A very very short and modest touch on an immense topic:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This is the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and one of the most radically debated topics in the history of our country. The right of U.S. citizens to express themselves freely has been controversial danger to our society, while simultaneously the stifling of expression has often reflected the divisive and harmful behavior human beings can display in defense their personal beliefs. To say that a single brush can be used to paint every decision regarding the freedom of expression would be an egregious error of human judgment at the very least. This innate nature of expression has and will continue to stir controversy at the highest judicial level. Indeed the First Amendment has seemed to have affected nearly every fringe of societal development in the United States.

This article written by me originally posted on Sydney Indymedia.

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The New South Wales Coroner has made a paradoxical move. It has found evidence to prosecute parents that treated their child (which subsequently died) with a homeopathic remedy in place of doctor prescribed medicine, but at the same time is recommending that the NSW Department of Health introduce a mandatory register for people wishing to practise homeopathy.

This is a paradoxical because creating a register for homeopaths is a form of legitimisation. Medical Doctors have a register. If homeopaths get official regulation, this says to the public that the state condones the actions of homeopaths and that homeopathy is a legitimate practise.

No. If the Coroner wishes to protect the public from the bogus remedies of homeopathy, they should be recommending that homeopathy be made illegal. There should be a tough penalty for people engaging in the fraudulent activity known as homeopathy.

I provide a copy of the news report here, sourced from the Sydney Morning Herald.


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Baby death: call for homeopath rules

November 19, 2007 - 5:33PM

The NSW Coroner has found there is sufficient evidence for the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider laying charges against the parents of a baby who died after they treated her with homeopathic remedies.

Gloria Thomas died in May 2002 in Sydney Children's Hospital of sepsis, or bacterial infections.

The nine-month-old, who was severely malnourished, had been suffering from such terrible eczema that much of her skin was split.

The inquest at Glebe Coroner's Court has been told the cracks in her skin caused the baby agonising pain and were a potential source of entry for the bacteria that killed her.

Parents Thomas Sam, a homeopath, and IT professional Manju Samuel treated her with homeopathic remedies rather than her prescribed medication.

State Coroner Mary Jerram terminated the inquest today after finding there was a reasonable prospect the evidence presented to the inquiry could convince a jury to convict "a known person or persons of a serious crime".

Ms Jerram said the evidence showed the known person or persons caused Gloria's death and that their negligence warranted criminal punishment.

"In my view there is a prima facie case to consider and there is a reasonable prospect that a jury would convict," Ms Jerram said today.

The coroner also recommended a central body be established for homeopaths in NSW with mandatory membership.

Ms Jerram said such a system would have multiple benefits for the public.

"I therefore recommend the NSW Department of Health consider introducing a mandatory system of registration for persons practising or wishing to practise homeopathy," Ms Jerram said.

The parents of the dead child were not present in court today.

AAP
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For more information on homeopathy please see the wikipedia page and I recommend you watch the video 'James Randi explains homeopathy'.

Kelly O’Connor

The Catholic Church has officially ended their campaign to improve the public image of the Church with the latest papal encyclical, Spe Salvi, which means “saved by hope” for the Latin fans out there. The Catholic Church’s history is littered with crimes against humanity, and Pope Benedict XVI seems to desire the return to pre-Vatican II Catholicism. This was a concern voiced by many at the time that the former Joseph Ratzinger* was canonized to this position. The former pope, John Paul II, had made great strides in the modernization of the Church, and many were reluctant to elect somebody who would reverse that trend. Despite John Paul’s dogmatic adherence to the sexual proscriptions of Catholicism, he at least officially accepted evolution, admitted Protestants into heaven, and eliminated limbo. (Where was that place anyway? I may have been there once&hellip Pope Benedict is turning out exactly as predicted.

It is often the case that people remain unpersuaded by a given set of statements. Observations of multiple debates have led to the following conclusion: Logic is not enough for the average person. Introductory college English courses give some instruction on the techniques of persuasive essay writing, though not enough of the psychology and relationship between each form of persuasion. It is the intent of this essay to present a hypothesis on how decisions are made based on these forms of writing. To reiterate what is taught in the classes I have analyzed, three branches are supposed to produce the most persuasive works. It may be helpful to refer to these three branches by the terms most will understand them by: emotive, ethical, and logical. Hopefully some meaning is already beginning to surface. It is important to explain the mechanics of each branch before relating them to each other. Again, hopefully the reason for this will become clear momentarily.

1500 years ago, in the depths of the dense Central American forest, a scientifically advanced culture thrived, closely monitoring the celestial events on which their society depended. Pyramids tracking the days of the year, spring equinox and summer solstice rose high above the canopies. For 700 years, this great civilization not only thrived, they predicted the fate of the future technologically endangered world, knowing that 1999 - 2012 would be a time of much societal introspection throughout the world. How could they know this? Not only were they great astronomers and mathematicians, they had insight into a world totally unknown to them at that time. They were a unique and valuable people, which is why I was so disgusted and disappointed by Mel Gibson's recent film, "Apocalypto." In in, Gibson portrays the Mayans are savage polytheists, obsessed with violence and most notably, self-sacrifice.

We have had a tendency throughout history to create stories or explanations for those things which allude us - The Mayans are not unique in this, nor are the surviving animists and tribal communities who continue to practice their non-monotheist religions.