Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

The title pretty much says it all. Richard Dawkins, the well-respected biologist and author of scads of books discussing evolutionary theory -not that he needs any introduction to anyone reading this blog- turned 69 today. Although Dawkins is considered by many to be the de facto leader of the "New Atheists" because of his outspoken questioning of the existence of god, he's also known the world over as an ambassador of science whose popular books about evolution, including the recent opus The Greatest Show on Earth, have awed readers for decades by discussing the beauty and wonder of the natural world.¹

What else is there to say? Happy birthday, Richard!

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1.) For my money, The Greatest Show on Earth is probably the most entertaining and, frankly, moving popular science book out there, with the possible exception of Sagan's Pale Blue Dot.

More Fundie Islamic Brutality

I first heard something to this effect on NPR the other day, and I'm not surprised to see it on CNN's site today. Iraqi police are finding the tortured, beheaded bodies of Iraqi women, especially in the largely Shiite city of Basra. Their crime? Going into public dressed immodestly. That is to say, while wearing makeup and forgoing the head scarves that some Islamic men have decided that "their" women should wear. I don't really think I need to say much more than this. The full article is available here.

Also note the mention of "honor killings". That's the idea that a man, often a relative or spouse, has the right to murder a woman for the violation of any of a number of laws that might bring shame to the men in their lives. There was a cellphone video circulating a few months ago of an Iraqi girl being stoned to death by a mob for dating a man from a (slightly) different religious background. I've seen it but I have no intention of posting it here. It makes my blood run hot and cold at the same time just thinking about it.

Posted below is a video clip from Richard Dawkins' excellent "Root of All Evil" in which he talks to a former Jew turned hardline Muslim. Some of the guy's comments are very telling, such as how he constantly refers to how we westerners let "our" women dress like sluts and whatnot. Just goes to show you the kind of backwards medieval thinking going on over there. I'd say "enjoy", but there's nothing at all enjoyable about psychopaths like this.