I saw Cem USLU's post about being an atheist in a muslim community and cannot help but feel sorry for those of you which find yourself in such a situation. I'm not making light of it, nor am I trying to steal thunder, but I happen to live in an atheist country (sort of), and I thought it might be informative to see how it is in this "heaven". I think it can probably be…

I've found that the concept of post-modernism tend to illicit strong emotions, either in full favor or in heated disagreement. I feel somewhat on a see-saw between the two disciplines as I've mostly studied economics and finance, which are considered the hardest of the soft sciences, and occasionally as the softest of the hard sciences. These fields rely heavily on both psychology and sociology, and calculus and…

From The River War:

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life…

Another week, another thread about abortion, another few pages of shallow analysis. In this great echo chamber of the streamlining of opinion and metaphorical burning of heretics, I rarely see anything original being added to this discussion and I feel the need to say my piece.

As an atheist I do not afford a voice in the debate to priests and others on moral crusades. As a rationalist I neither afford it to judges, politicians, special interest groups, celebrities, or, indeed, even…

First off all, I am not warmongering, I am just clarifying the beast we are dealing with. I don't know what is the best strategy, I am "agnostic" about the best solution: I am not opposed to war, but I fear I must realize I will require proof in blood. As in that Iran will have to actually attack another country in something qualifying as "militarily". I'm not sure exactly what qualifies as the associated blood count.. But in any event I feel the attacks in …

Today in Europe the Big Thing on TV was the Germany vs. Greece game. Check out the front pages of some European news, bild.de, BBC, lemonde.fr, and you will see it being on top of the sports headlines - and thus people's minds. Admittedly I am no fan of football/soccer, but I do like to watch those games I know is going to be part of…

I've been there too many times to count - a discussion with a religious person which seems absolutely impervious to Facts. Actually, it doesn't even have to be a religious person, it can be people holding very strong opinions on everything from political to economical to social to aesthetic to any type of issue. I know that I am correct, I can present plenty of evidence for my position and why the opponent's argument doesn't hold, but they are impervious to it. Why is it that my Facts don't…

There is quite a brilliant debate between Thuderf00t and Eric Hovind on YT (quite lengthy, but well worth it)

I think Thunderf0ot should have taken it one step further backwards, and said that mathematics is the thing underpinning the fundamental basic assumption that reality exists. If you can prove something mathematically, it can with certainty be said…

There is one argument regarding free will which seems to come up time and time again, and it deserves a response. There was the week before last Sunday School linked blog making it, and the blog in the title. The basic argument is that since our brains are made of physical…

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First of all, one has to realize that international politics are purely Machiavellian - might does make right. Since the only enforcer of international law is the chronically fragmented UN there is precious little recourse if it is violated.

I sincerely doubt Iran has any plans to slow down their nuclear weapons capabilities program. There is no upside for the leadership of Iran in doing this - Gadhafi gave his up and was killed, Jong-Il didn't and could extort whatever he wished.…

First of all, no, it's not a 'Parting Shot', it is a Parthian Shot. And here is its story:

It all starts with the Romans, which in 55 bce was run by Pompay, Crassus, and Ceasar. The first and latter were heroes of the Republic after their their conquests of Syria and Gaul, respectively, while Crassus is best know for putting down the Spartacus revolt and buying up burning buildings at, well, fire sales, but otherwise had not achieved any significant Triumph (Triumphs were taken very…

It's quite evident that the forefront question in the elections of the past couple of years, and most likely in the next few years, is heavily centered on economics. Since economics isn't quite as easy as many believe, and there are a number of arguments made which run from being somewhat inaccurate to flat out wrong, some researchers made a survey to test the average voter's knowledge. The study came to some quite interesting conclusions, especially in relation to how people answered…

A new book has been published regarding the Nobel Peace Prize winning atheist, humanist, polar explorer, peace activist, national hero, and overall general good guy Fridtjof Nansen. Specifically, the book contains hitherto unpublished romantic communication between the elderly gigolo and his new flame, the 30 year younger American feminist Brenda…

Good news everybody! Staunchly Catholic Poland just had an election and it did not end in a Polish Reichstag, but with an extension of the current PM Tusk's EU friendly government with 39% of the vote. He beat out the one half of the "Law and Order" evil twins Kaczynski in the process (a plane crash in…

Here are a few tips on how to ensure that you will have a fiscally sound future throughout your life. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme (such things don't exist in reality), but rather a slow and arduous journey towards financial security.

First things first, start saving young, preferably while you are in your pre-teens or teens. The goal is to have at enough money for at least 10% down for your first dwelling, typically $20-25k, by the time you hit your mid-twenties. This involves…

From the basement of amusing theories, I would dearly like to present one fun way to play with the economy. Time to spark a wage-price spiral!

The basic idea behind a wage-price spiral is that workers will respond to an expectation of higher prices by demanding increased wages. This in turn drives up prices which again drives up wages,rinse and repeat. It's a bit of an esoteric theory which isn't exactly…

One of my favorite methods of auto-flagellation is to follow the US political system. From this act I'm starting to gather that there appears to be a run-up to an election and one of the themes is that the US government needs to be cut in size and more economic power handed over to the individual states. The ones pushing the hardest for this is the Republican party in general and the Libertarians in particular. Apparently, cutting the size of government is the panacea to all social…

Silly Christians keep reading the wrong book! Here's the full explanation of tides:

"The king called to Thor, and asked him what he thought he could best do to prove himself as mighty as the stories told of him. Thor answered that he would undertake to drink more mead than any one of the king's men. At this proposal the king laughed aloud, as if it were a giant joke. He summoned his cup-bearer to fetch his horn of punishment, out of which the giants were wont to drink in…

Well.. admittedly I've chosen a very controversial title. On my side of the pond we have a joke which goes that American Cultural History is the shortest book ever written. ;)

However, that does not mean that there is no culture from America. I would like to present something great, something which more than anything else signifies America to the world, a musical master piece written by a genius as a gift to the world of what actually makes America great:…