My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time. And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get in line and kiss my ass.
“
| — | Christopher Hitchens |
“The capitulation of Yale University Press to threats that hadn’t even been made yet is the latest and perhaps the worst episode in the steady surrender to religious extremism—particularly Muslim religious extremism—that is spreading across our culture. A book called The Cartoons That Shook the World, by Danish-born Jytte Klausen, who is a professor of politics at Brandeis University, tells the story of the lurid and preplanned campaign of “protest” and boycott that was orchestrated in late 2005 after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten ran a competition for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. (The competition was itself a response to the sudden refusal of a Danish publisher to release a book for children about the life of Mohammed, lest it, too, give offense.) By the time the hysteria had been called off by those who incited it, perhaps as many as 200 people around the world had been pointlessly killed…”
I no more believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary than I believe that Krishna was born of the virgin Devaka, Horus was born of the virgin Isis, Mercury was born of the virgin Maia or Romulus was born of the virgin Rhea Sylvia. As the preceding examples help to demonstrate, parthenogenesis would in any case not be proof either of divine paternity or of the truth of any subsequent preachings. The authors of St Matthew whose account cannot be squared with the one offered by Luke in any case seem to have mistranslated the Hebrew word almah, meaning ‘young woman’, from the original legend in the book of Isaiah.
“
| — | Christopher Hitchens |
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
“
| — | Bertrand Russell |
Maranui Cafe - a cafe in Lyall Bay (Wellington, NZ) was recently gutted by fire.
Cafe L’affare, another cafe in Wellington, is donating all of their takings from this coming Sunday to the Maranui cafe and staff (half each). L’affare don’t usually open on Sunday’s.
How cool is that? (that’s a trick question - it’s VERY cool).
