Here’s your Canadian Atheist Weekly Update for to .
Always read the fine print.
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[] Leader of Toronto 18 terror group denied release
The article makes particular note of the legal mess that exists for terrorism suspects in Canada. Another article suggests reasons for the denial, including that Ahmad still didn’t seem to grok the seriousness of his intended crimes, and was indulging in
minimization, equivocation and continued attempts to deceive and manipulate
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[] Three schools ditch Lord’s Prayer to avoid human-rights case
They made the right choice, but they were hardly graceful about it, with their press release basically asserting “we think we could win, but don’t want to waste money trying”.
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[] Pathway to extremism: what neo-Nazis and jihadis have in common
There is a growing realization that extremism doesn’t have any particular affinity for particular religions (read: Islam), but rather that people who are inclined to be radical “shop around” for ideologies that promise to give their lives meaning. Here’s a quote from the expert in the article:
It’s like when your immune system is down. You can guess you’ll get sick, but what sickness you contract depends on what you are exposed to.
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[] Despite IS attacks, there is progress on counterterrorism
It’s easy to make bad estimates on the prevalence of extremism and terrorism, because one incident captures more of our attention than a million non-incidents. But the reality is that we are winning, and the fact that we were able to carry on right away after Manchester is a heartening sign.
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[] Vancouver woman says hijab invites racial abuse, harassment
The bigots among us repeatedly express their bewilderment at how the hijab could possibly be seen as a symbol of freedom or feminism; well, here’s the answer, so try fucking listening for a change. So long as the hijab is used as an excuse to harass, demean, or belittle people, or to take away their rights (specifically, the right to wear it), then of-fucking-course the hijab will become a symbol of freedom.
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[] Trudeau says Pope working on request for residential schools apology
Trudeau had promised to pressure the Pope to make an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential schools system, and it looks like he’s made good on his promise. Will an apology actually happen, though? The Vatican’s spokespeople seem noncommittal.
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[] Andrew Scheer says he won’t impose his religious beliefs on Canadians. We’ll see: Neil Macdonald
“We’ll see” just about sums up everyone’s attitude toward Scheer. It looks like Canada is sending the message that they won’t tolerate any social conservative bullshit from him, and it sounds like Scheer is receiving it. But will he actually keep his socon urges in check? We’ll see.
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[] Senate committee rejects motion to narrow trans bill’s scope
C-16 is very close to passage, despite efforts to gut it or block it, and despite long, unnecessary debates on the groundless FUD peddled by the right. But with only four weeks left, time is running out.
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[] Scheer’s social conservatism is code for bigotry
No punches pulled here, nor should there be. Perhaps we should even stop using the term “social conservative” as a genteel label for what is, ultimately, straight-up bigotry, science denialism, and injustice.
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•[27-May-2017] Pathway to extremism: what neo-Nazis and jihadis have in common
The comparison with a defective immune system is right on the money. Enormous systems of similar beliefs like religions or nation states are really just about us and them and ultimately OUR power and wealth being bigger than THEIR power and wealth. All the players are fundamentally the same it’s just that they’ve been coming from different places. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that 100 years from now the world will be a much more homogeneous place than it is today and that this will be the trend into the foreseeable future. The reality certainly seems to be that acts of extremism on both sides are an inevitable part of this process.
“Ahmad still didn’t seem to grok the seriousness of his intended crimes”
Surely you mean was a fucking piece of shit asshole… Or do you only reserve those words for people who aren’t connected to terrorism?
“There is a growing realization that extremism doesn’t have any particular affinity for particular religions”
Sure, you can find fundamentalists in any religion. But I think you’ll find that fundamentalist Jains are not a terrorist threat, whereas fundamentalist Muslims are a global threat to everyone, primarily other Muslims.
Wikipedia. Use it. (It even has a lefty bias — you’ll love it!)
“the reality is that we are winning”
No, we aren’t. First, the Islamic State’s prophecy requires them to “lose” big before they win. And secondly, they seem to have now spread to the Philippines in a big way.
“So long as the hijab is used as an excuse to harass, demean, or belittle people, or to take away their rights (specifically, the right to wear it), then of-fucking-course the hijab will become a symbol of freedom.”
Wow! Just like the white hood of the KKK!
(Sorry, bud, there’s no wiggling out of this one… if the hood fits, you’re going to wear it)
“groundless FUD”
Absolutely not. If you actually watched the hearings (I did, you clearly didn’t) you would know that in particular Peterson’s and Saad’s concerns were based on fact, and what is actually going on in academia, on this continent.
The fact that the Senate failed to do its duty to “sober second thought” and instead rammed the bill through unamended, or indeed even without Plett’s observational note (compare against M-103) shows how vulnerable science is to today’s postmodernist loons who are running the show.
I will use he, or she, or even they. But if someone asks me to use one of those made up nonsense words, I absolutely will refuse. A handful of people do NOT get to dictate the English language to an entire country.