The Humanist Resource Connection is dedicated to organizing resources that foster the understanding, discussion, advocacy and application of the principles of secular Humanism.
What Humanists Need to Know No. 4 - April 28, 2012 Week in Review
Submitted by admin on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 15:06
Posted 3:06 pm Saturday, Apr 28, 2012
So much worthwhile stuff this week -- so much, I just gotta stop adding things and publish this post.
In the News & Noteworthy
- Human Rights: Forty years in solitary: two men mark sombre anniversary in Louisiana prison (The Guardian).
- Religion: A Generation in Transition: Religion, Values, and Politics among College-Age Millennials (Survey) (publicreligion.org). On another note: Return of the Rottweiler: Pope Benedict Cracks Down on Women's Rights (thedailybeast.com).
- Climate Change: Olivier De Schutter writes in his piece "Climate change is a human rights issue – and that's how we can solve it": "Climate change represents an enormous threat to a whole host of human rights: the right to food, the right to water and sanitation, the right to development. There is therefore huge scope for human rights courts and non-judicial human rights bodies to treat climate change as the immediate threat to human rights that it is." (The Guardian). See also, "Climate Change This Week: New Polls, Threatened Energy Facilities and More" (Huffington Post).
- Abortion/Women's Rights: Planned Parenthood Worried It's The Target Of New Undercover Sting (Huffington Post).
- Evolution: Are We Sliding Backward on Teaching Evolution? (Time.com).
- LGBT Rights: Humanists praise employment protections for transgender Americans in EEOC (American Humanist Association).
- Education: The Digital Transformation of Education: A 21st Century Imperative (Huffington Post). See also: The Global Search for Education: In Search of Innovation.
- Atheism: Danger, Will Robinson!: Analytic Thinking Can Promote Atheism (livescience.com).
- Global Health: World Malaria Day 2012: Resources still needed (scienceblogs.com). See also: WHO Sees Gains in Malaria Fight but Concerns Remain. And this: World Immunization Week: The vaccine debate looks different abroad.
A Smattering of Notable Posts from Around the Blogosphere
- Marches and rallies are taking place/took place across the country today in support of women's rights. Was there one in your neck of the woods? Did you participate? (via Daylight Atheism and Atheist Revolution, et. al.)
- J.T. Eberhard shared some early photos from the Freethought Festival in Madison, Wis. As this is going on now, I expect there will be more conference news to post next week.
- Your weekly dose of discrimination comes from (drumroll) ... Mount Pleasant, Mich.: Catholic School Disinvites Graduation Speaker After Finding Out He’s Gay (Friendly Atheist)
- P.Z. Myers takes on "another creationist list of lies".
- In his latest article "A day of prayer, or religious pandering?", American Humanist Association president David Niose takes on the May 3 National Day of Prayer. (BTW, don't forget that's also the National Day of Reason.)
- Rock Beyond Belief's post "Anti-gay marriage legislation directly affects straight couples" targets North Carolina's notorious Amendment One.
- From the Great Idea File: Foundation Beyond Belief put a well-deserved spotlight on a humanist effort in Raleigh, N.C.: Human Beans Together.
- What Beliefs Should Atheists (Not) Teach Their Children? (Friendly Atheist)
- Daylight Atheism brings us this worthwhile-to-read Twitter exchange about Atheism PR.
- Jen Hancock, the Happy Humanist, just published a book on bullying, "The Bully Vaccine".
- Huh. The Islamists' "Camel-centered" Worldview (Secular Perspectives)
- "This slideshow doesn't suck." (Friendly Atheist)
- No free will? This lengthy post over at the James Randi Educational Foundation website supports Sam Harris' latest tome.
- The Catholic Church put a rather public smack-down on those unruly and progressive U.S. nuns.
- Atheist magazine now at 247 Barnes & Nobles, help counter-troll! (Rock Beyond Belief)
New at The Humanist Resource Connection
- Thanks to everyone who helped HRC's twitter feed get its first 100 followers. If you haven't followed yet, it's here: @HmnstResources. Onward!
- New (to HRC) videos
- Knoxville Freethought Forum 4/17/12: Evolution
- Religion for Atheists
- New Atheist Radio - Show #1.2 - Religious Get-Our-Way-dom
- Alan Byers - Humbling Humanity
- Ted Cox - What I Learned At Straight Camp
- Genocide and the flood - God is not good - with William Lane Craig - Part 2
- God: A Reassuring Fable (Carl Sagan)
- E.Tarte--Fr.TJ asks, "What if I'm right and you atheists are wrong?"
- New (to HRC) books
- Science and Ethics: Can Science Help Us Make Wise Moral Judgments? (July 2007) by Paul Kurtz
- 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God (June 2008) by Guy P. Harrison
- The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal (March 1991) by Paul Kurtz
- The Paranormal: Who Believes, Why They Believe, and Why It Matters (December 2011) by Erich Goode
- Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity (August 2008) by John W. Loftus
- God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion (April 2012) by Victor J. Stenger
- New (to HRC) podcasts
- New (to HRC) profiles
- Bart Bok, (1906-1983) Astronomer, Founding Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
As always, you can contact me here and suggest content here. Participation is not only welcome, it's strongly encouraged! Also, check out the HRC Twitter feed (@HmnstResources) if you're Twitter inclined.
Peace, friends.
David Feld is the creator of the Humanist Resource Connection. He is a journalist and Internet programmer.
Recent HRC Blog Posts
- What Humanists Need to Know No. 5 - May 5, 2012 Week in Review
- What Humanists Need to Know No. 4 - April 28, 2012 Week in Review
- What Humanists Need to Know No. 3 - April 21, 2012 Week in Review
- Week in Review No. 2 - April 14, 2012
- Transcript of debate between Richard Dawkins and Cardinal George Pell
- Week in Review - April 7, 2012
- A Little Background on Easter
- Transcript of Congressman Pete Stark's speech at Reason Rally 2012
- Transcript of Jessica Ahlquist's speech at Reason Rally 2012
- Transcript of Richard Dawkins' speech from Reason Rally 2012

