grahambinns.com

From BBC News:

A prayer group in Washington DC is claiming the credit for the recent sharp drop in the US price of petrol.

Rocky Twyman, 59, a veteran community campaigner, started Pray At The Pump meetings at petrol stations in April.

So, market forces anyone? Well...

Mr Twyman is sceptical that market forces might be responsible for the lower prices.

But there is an upside to this silliness:

But he and his prayer warriors have changed their motoring habits.

"We believe not just in prayer - because we believe that faith without works is dead. So we've encouraged people to car-pool more and organise their days more, because it's a combination of faith with these other factors."

I just wish we could get the second part of this without people saying "but we need God to sort things out for us."

Well, it doesn't entirely surprise me that someone lumps us atheists into that category, but still. Birmingham City Council has put in place software that blocks people from looking at atheist websites whilst allowing some other belief systems through (link, via Pharyngula:

The authority's Bluecoat Software computer system allows staff to look at websites relating to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other religions but blocks sites to do with "witchcraft or Satanism" and "occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism".

The irony of atheism being categorised with mysticisms of any kind nonwithstanding, this is plain, old fashioned discrimination, which I hope will be dealt with in due course:

National Secular Society president Terry Sanderson said the city council's rules also discriminated against people who practise witchcraft, which is also classed as a legitimate belief.

He said the society would initially contact the council and ask for the policy to be changed, and otherwise pursue legal action.

Graham Binns posted a photo:

Three hundred and sixty-odd days of 2008, day 208

I'm not dead.

This is Norwich Cathedral, taken on a shockingly sunny Sunday with my new Nikon D300 (woot).

And yes, I will fill in all of days 190-207, once I have the time.

Beautiful quote from Catherine Deveny about religion and National Youth Day (Link, via Pharyngula):

I question some of my progressive, believing mates about if they believe in Noah's ark, the Immaculate Conception, Adam and Eve, the Resurrection, even heaven, and they squirm a little and try to change the subject. They get vague, defensive and then start muttering something about faith and mystery and a power of love that unites us all.

Sure, it would be easy to torture them, but they're adults and it's their life. I just can't see why it's so difficult to have a rigorous discussion about it. I feel no need to convert them. I just want them to know that if you are brave enough to place your hand through the invisible electric fence there's a bigger world beyond.

The whole thing's well worth a read.

Graham Binns posted a photo:

Three hundred and sixty-odd days of 2008, day 187

I may be an atheist, but I love this image; not for the cross, but for what it ought to represent, even though it is misused the world over.