That Islam Problem

Islam, is it a problem?
This blog was influenced by my sister in law in Malaysia that sent me an email about Islam.
Is there an overreaction in the Western World and even the Eastern World to this religion or the believers of this religion. Is the problem, if there is one, only due to a small minority of extremist Muslims. Or is the basic "tenets" of the religion the problem.
I, as a Sceptic and Atheist do not understand the religious, wether it is with Islam, Christianity, in fact all religions and believers of the paranormal and supernatural. To me the lack of critical thinking that believers seem to have when it comes to their area of belief is baffling. Most religions, if not all, have a problem with Atheists. The more fundemental that they are the less tolerant that they seem to be. I have no problems with people believing in all sorts of things but I do not understand it.
Anyway back to the item at hand, Islam.
But with Islam, it may go further.
You hear it all of the time from Muslims that Islam is a religion of peace.
I would tend to disagree. It is a religion that polarises people. A religion that takes no enemies. It is their way or the highway. They discourage friendship with the "infedel". They discourage marriage between their women and non muslims because the children of that union will be traditionally bought up in the fathers religion, which of course would not be Islam.
So what do we do to fight back, if that is what we do.
I think branding all Muslims with the same brush is not the way. I think we need to use logic and a good reasoned debate. We need to "itemise" our grieviences.
We should point out the irrational and maybe illegal parts of their religion. Well, all religions are irrational, so that would not be hard. We need to point out the more's of our society and why a particular belief or action is unacceptable. We need to be respectful, reasoned and definitely not like the racist yobbos at Cronulla a couple of years ago. We need to engage them in reasoned debate. I know for a fact that this will not change a believer no matter what they believe, but it is the only way. We do not bow to their demands, if that is what they are doing. We need an accepting community that can take the non militant Muslim by the hand and encourage them to participate in our society. This is not currently happening. They are being marginalised.
How we do this I do not know. Unfortunately belief has a strong corrupting influence on people and a believer can believe and act in very irrational ways.

Below is a speech made by a Geert Wilders a Dutch member of Parliament. He does seem to lie on the right of the political spectrum.
This was sent to me by one of my sisters in law from Malaysia. Of course there are a lot of tension between Malays (muslim) and other Malaysian ethnic groups particularly the Chinese and Indian in Malaysia. But I don't think the tension is religion in nature but the legal discrimination against all ethnic groups in Malaysia to the benefit of Malays who are in the majority and hold political power.
At the bottom of this post are two YouTube videos of an interview given by Geert Wilders.

Geert Wilders
I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very
difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and
present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West.
The danger I see looming is the scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last bastion of
Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe ? Patriots
from around Europe risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario from becoming a reality.

My short lecture consists of four parts.

First, I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe . Then, I will say a few things about Islam. Thirdly, if you
are still here, I will talk a little bit about the movie you just saw. To close, I will tell you about a meeting in
Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the landmarks. The Eiffel Tower and Trafalgar Square and Rome 's
ancient buildings and maybe the canals of Amsterdam . They are still there. And they still look very much the same as they
did a hundred years ago.

But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world, a world very
few visitors see – and one that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the parallel society created
by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few
indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's
the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their
husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer,walk threesteps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs
you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by
religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe . These are
the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe , street by street, neighbourhood
by neighbourhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe . With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every
European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is:
we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam , Marseille and Malmo in Sweden . In many cities
the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is
the most popular name among boys in many cities. In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned,
because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and
Denmark serve only halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam , gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims.
Non-Muslim women routinely hear "whore, whore." Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the
country of origin. In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and
Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin . The history of the Holocaust can in many cases
no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England , Sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal
system. Many neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after
being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels , because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record
numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of
Tel Aviv and Netanya , Israel . I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe . San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25%
of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the
end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to
assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty
to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France . One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The
British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favour of a worldwide caliphate.
A Dutch study reported that half of Dutch Muslims admit they "understand" the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims demand what they call "respect." And this is how we give them respect. Our elites are willing to give in. To give up.
In my own country we have gone from calls by one cabinet member to turn Muslim holidays into official state holidays, to
statements by another cabinet member that Islam is part of Dutch culture, to an affirmation by the Christian-Democratic
attorney general that he is willing to accept Sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet
members with passports from Morocco and Turkey .

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against
ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus.
Some prefer to see these as isolated incidents, but I call it a Muslim intifada. I call the perpetrators "settlers." Because
that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their
Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave
their neighbourhoods, their cities, their countries.

Politicians shy away from taking a stand against this creeping sharia. They believe in the equality of all cultures.
Moreover, on a mundane level, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

Our many problems with Islam cannot be explained by poverty, repression or the European colonial past, as the Left claims.
Nor does it have anything to do with Palestinians or American troops in Iraq . The problem is Islam itself.

Allow me to give you a brief Islam 101. The first thing you need to know about Islam is the importance of the book of the
Koran. The Koran is Allah's personal word, revealed by an angel to Mohammed, the prophet. This is where the trouble starts.
Every word in the Koran is Allah's word and therefore not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim
and for all times. Therefore, there is no such a thing as moderate Islam. Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a
moderate Islam is non-existent.

The Koran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The Koran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to
terrorize non-Muslims and to fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every Muslim, Islam is to
rule the world – by the sword. The Quran is clearly anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and
cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one,
there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages – at the same
time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war
executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. He advised on matters of slavery, but never advised
to liberate slaves. Islam has no other morality than the advancement of Islam. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is
bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side.

Quran as Allah's own word and Mohammed as the perfect man are the two most important facets of Islam. Let no one fool you
about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political
ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every
aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is
sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian
ideologies.

This is what you need to know about Islam, in order to understand what is going on in Europe . For millions of Muslims the
Quran and the live of Mohammed are not 14 centuries old, but are an everyday reality, an ideal, that guide every aspect of
their lives. Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam "the most retrograde force in the world," and why he compared
Mein Kampf to the Koran.

Which brings me to my movie, Fitna.

I am a lawmaker, and not a movie maker. But I felt I had the moral duty to educate about Islam. The duty to make clear that
the Koran stands at the heart of what some people call terrorism but is in reality jihad. I wanted to show that the problems
of Islam are at the core of Islam, and do not belong to its fringes.

Now, from the day the plan for my movie was made public, it caused quite a stir, in the Netherlands and throughout Europe .
First, there was a political storm, with government leaders, across the continent in sheer panic. The Netherlands was put
under a heightened terror alert, because of possible attacks or a revolt by our Muslim population. The Dutch branch of the
Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir declared that the Netherlands was due for an attack. Internationally, there was a
series of incidents. The Taliban threatened to organize additional attacks against Dutch troops in Afghanistan , and a
website linked to Al Qaeda published the message that I ought to be killed, while various muftis in the Middle East stated
that I would be responsible for all the bloodshed after the screening of the movie. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the Dutch
flag was burned on several occasions. Dolls representing me were also burned. The Indonesian President announced that
I will never be admitted into Indonesia again, while the UN Secretary General and the European Union issued cowardly
statements in the same vein as those made by the Dutch Government. I could go on and on. It was an absolute disgrace, a
sell-out.

A plethora of legal troubles also followed, and have not ended yet. Currently the state of Jordan is litigating against me.
Only last week there were renewed security agency reports about a heightened terror alert for the Netherlands because of
Fitna.

Now, I would like to say a few things about Israel . Because, very soon, we will get together in its capitol. The best way
for a politician in Europe to lose votes is to say something positive about Israel . The public has wholeheartedly accepted
the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel . I see
defending Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel .
First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it
is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: "Islam has bloody borders." Israel is located precisely on that border. This tiny
country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines
of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines , Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan , Lebanon , and Aceh in Indonesia .
Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel . It is a war against the West. It is Jihad. Israel is simply receiving
the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel , Islamic imperialism would have found other
venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army
and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if
Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities
would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous
encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak,
and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the
start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel , they can get everything. Therefore, it is not that
the West has a stake in Israel . It IS Israel .

It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On
all fronts we are losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is even a source of pride within
ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts, the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire political
establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any
and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. The entire establishment has sided with our enemy.
Leftists, liberals and Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.

This is the most painful thing to see: the betrayal by our elites. At this moment in Europe 's history, our elites are
supposed to lead us. To stand up for centuries of civilization. To defend our heritage. To honour our eternal
Judeo-Christian values that made Europe what it is today. But there are very few signs of hope to be seen at the
governmental level. Sarkozy, Merkel, Brown, Berlusconi; in private, they probably know how grave the situation is. But when
the little red light goes on, they stare into the camera and tell us that Islam is a religion of peace, and we should all
try to get along nicely and sing Kumbaya. They willingly participate in what President Reagan so aptly called: "the betrayal
of our past, the squandering of our freedom."

If there is hope in Europe , it comes from the people, not from the elites. Change can come only from a grass-roots level.
It has to come from the citizens themselves. Yet these patriots will have to take on the entire political, legal and media
establishment.

Over the past years there have been some small, but encouraging, signs of a rebirth of the original European spirit. Maybe
the elites turn their backs on freedom, the public does not. In my country, the Netherlands , 60% of the population now sees
the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the
biggest threat to our national identity. I don't think the public opinion in Holland is very different from other European
countries.

Patriotic parties that oppose Jihad are growing, against all odds. My own party debuted two years ago, with 5% of the vote.
Now it stands at 10% in the polls. The same is true of all similarly-minded parties in Europe . They are fighting the
liberal establishment, and are gaining footholds on the political arena, one voter at the time.

Now, for the first time, these patriotic parties will come together and exchange experiences. It may be the start of
something big. Something that might change the map of Europe for decades to come. It might also be Europe 's last chance.

This December a conference will take place in Jerusalem . Thanks to Professor Aryeh Eldad, a member of Knesset, we will be
able to watch Fitna in the Knesset building and discuss the jihad. We are organizing this event in Israel to emphasize the
fact that we are all in the same boat together, and that Israel is part of our common heritage. Those attending will be a
select audience. No racist organizations will be allowed. And we will admit only parties that are solidly democratic.

This conference will be the start of an Alliance of European patriots. This Alliance will serve as the backbone for all
organizations and political parties that oppose jihad and Islamization. For this Alliance I seek your support.

This endeavor may be crucial to America and to the West. America may hold fast to the dream that, thanks to its location,
it is safe from jihad and Sharia. But seven years ago to the day, there was still smoke rising from ground zero, following
the attacks that forever shattered that dream. Yet there is a danger even greater danger than terrorist attacks, the
scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic
Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of
military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe,
it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome , Athens and Jerusalem .

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to
us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe , American cemeteries remind us
of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are
merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe 's children in the same state in which it was
offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot
squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have seen dangers before. We have been betrayed by our
elites before. They have sided with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.

These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation, giving away, giving up or giving in. These are
not times in which to draw lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons from Mr. Churchill and
the words he spoke in 1942:
"Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions
of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."


FSM Editor's note: This is the transcript from a speech given by Mr. Wilders at the Four Seasons, New York.

Geert Wilders interview ist part
Geert Wilders interview 2nd part

Miracles at School, Howard's Legacy

It has been reported that some of the Chaplains that were put into Australian Schools by John Howard when he was Prime Minister are now reporting miracles at their hands at school.
According to these Chaplains, god has cured a student with Attention Deficit Disorder, another with Asthma and stopped it raining during a school assembly.
School Miracles article

Do we need school chaplains in a secular school system? This chaplain system was brought in by a Christian Prime Minister with an obvious agenda to continue pushing his world view in a secular system. I don't think he thought through this very well because I don't think even John Howard would want evangelical healing in our state secular education system.
Will Kevin Rudd scrap this madness. I doubt it, I think he is a bigger religious nutter than Howard.
The last thing we need in a modern secular country is supertitious chaplains running around our schools preaching to young maleable mind.
Over to you bloggers, what do you think.

John Edward, Psychic or Cold Reader.

John Edward, well known American Psychic.
Is he a Psychic? Does he Cold Read?
Well I will attempt to answer this with a analysis of one of John Edward's readings using cold reading.
I did this on a Believers forum called. "Sensing Murder". This forum was set up by the New Zealand Production company Ninox. One of the believers linked this reading by YouTube onto the forum. He was attempting to persuade us "resident" sceptics into believing in John Edward's psychic powers.
The link for the two YouTube videos are below.
John Edward video 1
John Edward video 2
My analysis below.

John Edward: There's a gunshot and a suicide as well
My take: John suddenly went to the other side of the room and said that. Now if you have a look at the man at the top that he was talking about he already had a microphone in his hand as John went to the other side of the room, funny.
Now this info. is probably a snip of "Hot Reading". John obviously knew what was coming up, not through psychic means but because it was already set up.

J.E.: There is a January connection, birthday, anniversary etc.
My take: This was a miss.

J.E.: If you have a brother, husband, cousin, friend that is connected to this person, a person to the side.
My take: Wow, he is fishing here, imagine the possible connections here, he missed out on workmate connection only. Why did he not know that the spirit that he was allegedly communicating with was this blokes brother? Another well known cold reading strategy.
The man in question finally gave John some information that it was his brother. Read on.

J.E.: I need to acknowledge that your brother is coming through.
My take: Information feed to him by the man.

J.E.: I also feel there is a Police Officer connection either to your family.
My take: The police officer connection was fishing and he was going to add more possible connections to this Police Officer but he was stopped by the woman by putting her hand up and infering it was her connection. Another good hit. Cold reading going well.

J.E.: Said the Police Officer had passed.
My take: This confirmed by the woman. A good hit.

J.E.: There is a Florida tie or straight down south that we need to come up with.
My take: A miss.

J.E.: Did you direct him here or did he direct you.
My take: A straight out question that elicited a good response for John to elaborate on. Another good cold reading strategy.

J.E.: You brought her to support her because you are not in to this.
My take: The woman already said he had the tickets. A good hit but understandable. Women are more woo then men generally so it was a safe guess that worked out. Her emotions tells John a lot as well.

J.E.: As much of a sceptic that you are you are a good sceptic.
My take: Well the man said he was the sceptic(not) and John could see he was impressed with him so gave him a compliment.

J.E.: I don't know if he had the alcohol problem.
My take: A pleading question that was answered willingly by the man. A very good cold reading strategy that worked well.

J.E.: I don't know if you have the number 7 jersey.
My take: Another fishing expedition because having a Jersey with No. 7, I think most peoples lucky number, right? This was a good guess that drew out a hit. Reading going very well.

J.E.: He also talks about being adopted, I don't know if he is adopted or you are adopted or a joke.
My take: Another good hit from a guess, but not specific and the man fitted it to the situation. But still a good hit.

J.E.: Is he older than you, he is putting himself above.
My take: Another guess, this time a miss. Too bad John, can't win them all, but you are doing well.

J.E.: There is another male figure above you that has passed with your brother.
My take: The man then said "that's dad". Well another good cold reading trick. It could have been a grandfather or uncle. The man told John it was his dad. Why did not John come up with that?

J.E.: They are telling me they used to tease you call you a meatball, the cookie, pineapple or a food nickname.
My take: Cold reading again on his size. John had a guess about a nickname this man may have had and bombed out. But he persists. Asking questions even. He will eventually find a link somehow, somewhere. The spirits let him down this time, but they have been good so far. Maybe it was one of Deb Webbers naughty spirits. :wink:
I also think this video has been edited, maybe not.

The man: His nickname was chicky his name was Thomas.
My take: Well done John your persistant probing has brought out the mans brothers first name. First time it was mentioned and not discovered by John.

J.E.: Someone called lemonhead, eggplant, egghead, cheesehead.
My take: He has mentioned now as far as I can count 7 food nicknames. maybe one will finally stick with someone in the family. If he keeps going something will finally stick. Another well known cold reading strategy.

J.E.: What is the reference to taping over something.
My take: The man told John about his living brother Ray taping over some important tapes. How often does this happen in a family and an extended one at that. It has happened to me. Another guess to try and get a hit on some common misshap at home.

J.E.: Did you live near an elementary school.
My take: He does not say how close, living near a school, common, but depends on how close and what the psychic actually said.

J.E.: What is the 4 year difference between him and someone else, is that going back to the person who has done the erasing.
My take: John had no idea about a 4 year difference and the fit did not work. But the man came through with their sister.
Why did not the spirits tell him?

He know calls the man's sister at work. More minds to help fit a nickname with someone.

J.E.: Is she not suppose to be a smoker.
My take: A good hit, well done John. John is now nearly in hysterics, he has had such a fantastic read, maybe his best. I am sure he is thinking that his cold reading is running fantastically today. He can't believe his luck.

J.E.: He also makes me feel he has dad with him.
My take: The man has already told John his dad was dead. John fished for a male figure above the man or his dead brother. The sister on the phone was not aware that the man told John about their dad, but the sister on the phone will be impressed with John for knowing this.

J.E.: What's up with the Chinese food.
My take: How many Chinese restauraunts are there. Probably one of the most common worldwide. Good chance of getting a fit here. And he did. Well done John.

He finally found the link. Georgie Porgie Puddin and Pie. His little brother. Well done John for persisting.
The pissing on the wall hit was good as well. But boys will be boys. We all had pissing competitions. Did we not boys.

J.E.: Is somebody Thomas Michael.
My take: John already knew the brothers first name as Thomas, because the man told him earlier, but Michael, not sure, a very good hit, or some hot reading or picked it up during the show.

J.E.: Is there a corkboard with an outside scene.
Talking of the sister on the phone at her work place.
My take: Another good hit. Well done John. Can't explain not enough information.

Well that is basicly it.
The reading explained by cold reading.
It would be good to have an expert on cold reading to dissect these videos, it would be much more informative.

A link to the Sensing Murder Forum and the thread containing the YouTube link and my analysis can be found here. The thread is 8 pages long, you may or may not want to wade through every post in this thread, but my analysis starts on page 5.

Letting go of God

Here is a very funny woman, Julia Sweeney. An American woman who struggled with her beliefs for years, now has found peace of mind.
She has a show called "Letting Go of God". See trailer below.
Letting Go of God
Below is her very catchy theme song for the movie.
Theme Song
Below is some more of Julia
Julia Sweeney

What's a Sceptic

What's a Sceptic
The word sceptic is a term that I think is used fairly loosely throughout society.
According to the Internet, specifically an online dictionary and Wikipedia.
From the Free Online Dictionary.
sceptic or US skeptic [skep-tik]
Noun
1. a person who habitually doubts generally accepted beliefs
2. a person who doubts the truth of a religion [Greek skeptikos one who reflects upon]

From Wikipedia (The following was taken from Wikipedia, so it's accuracy is not guaranteed.)
In ordinary usage, skepticism or scepticism (Greek: 's??pt?µa?' skeptomai, to look about,
to consider.
* (a) an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or
toward a particular object;
* (b) the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain; or
* (c) the method of suspended judgment, systematic doubt, or criticism that is
characteristic of skeptics (Merriam–Webster).

Philosophical skepticism
In philosophical skepticism, pyrrhonism is a position that refrains from making truth
claims. A philosophical skeptic does not claim that truth is
impossible (which would be a truth claim).

Scientific skepticism
A scientific (or empirical) skeptic is one who questions the reliability of certain kinds
of claims by subjecting them to a systematic investigation. The scientific method details
the specific process by which this investigation of reality is conducted. Considering
the rigor of the scientific method, science itself may simply be thought of as an
organized form of skepticism.

Activist skepticism
Activist skeptics, self-described "debunkers" are a subset of scientific skeptics who
aim to expose in public what they see as the truth behind specific extraordinary claims.
Debunkers may publish books, air TV programs, create websites, or use other means to
advocate their message. In some cases they may challenge claimants outright or even
stage elaborate hoaxes to prove their point, such as Project Alpha.
Because debunkers often challenge popular ideas, many are not strangers to controversy.
Critics of debunkers sometimes accuse them of robbing others of hope. Debunkers
frequently reply that it is the claimant, whom they many times accuse of exploiting
public gullibility, who is guilty of abuse.

Religious skepticism
Religious skepticism is skepticism regarding faith-based claims. Religious skeptics may
focus on the core tenets of religions, such as the existence of divine beings or reports
of earthly miracles. A religious skeptic is not necessarily an atheist or agnostic.
That ends the Wikipedia definitions.

What is a Sceptic?

1. Is it a person who is close minded, negative, a party pooper, only content when they have disagreed with everyone and made a proper "bastard" of themselves.
2. Is it an anal-retentive type who is annoying everyone with their obsessive urge to challenge everything.
3. Is it a fence sitter.
   
4. Is it someone who requires the evidence.

Probably many people think of Sceptics in one of those terms.
Believers often say we reject whatever belief they have based on preconceived bias and close mindedness . Such claims I think come about as a result from psychological projection. They are incapable of coping with the fact that there are some people who genuinely do not believe in their beliefs. Believers can become very incredulous of our non belief.
Some people use the term in different ways. Kevin Rudd our Prime Minister uses the term "Climate Sceptic" when he is running down the people that don't believe in or deny climate change. To me his use is wrong, I think Kevin Rudd should use the term "Climate Denier" when he is referring to them.
Some people of course describe themselves as sceptics, but are they?
Are some sceptics more cynical than sceptical. Do they disagree with everything that they do not agree with not because the evidence is not there, but because it suits their world view.
For me a sceptic is someone who requires the evidence. Simple, but this covers it's use for me.
This brings me to the point of can someone be a sceptic on some topics but a believer on others.
Can a Theist be a believer when it comes to a God, and a sceptic on other topics? This is often asked when it comes to Theists and Science. If you have a belief in the Bible but maybe understand and accept an old Earth from the Geological record as opposed to the version of a young Earth from the bible.
Well over to you bloggers, what do you think. What is your idea of a sceptic.

Psychics and Cold Reading.

Psychics and Cold Reading

I want to discuss the connection between Psychic readings and cold reading.
When I say psychic I am referring to this in a generic way and maybe a paranormalist may be a better term. But I will use the term psychic.
Cold reading can be used in all areas of paranormal readings.
Talking to the dead (spirits), reading tarot cards, crystal balls, vibrations from jewelry or other personal items, etc.
All of these readings rely on as much as I can work out on communicating with spirits or energy,
vibrations etc. to get the information.
It is often claimed by believers and psychics that there are frauds and charlatans in the psychic industry. But of course they are not, or the psychic that the believer believes in is not.
For me the psychic has not got off first base because they have to give me evidence for spirits, energy and vibrations, etc. that they tune into and get information. This evidence is not forth coming, so the possibilities of these "gifts' are virtually nil or are nil until credible evidence can be shown to me. You can have an open mind on all of this but unless there is evidence you can't be too open. The old saying of, I think this is how it goes. "You can have an open mind but not too open that your brain falls out", would be relevant to me here.
So a pertinent question here is how do you know the frauds from the real ones?
How do you know the fraud from the genuine psychic?
I say the fraud uses cold reading.
Or do they all use cold reading?
I have not had a psychic reading or seen one first hand so don't know if they all use cold reading. So I can only go on what I have seen on TV or YouTube.
I am not prepared to pay $500 to talk to a Psychic for about 1 hour on the phone. This is what a well known "true" psychic (Deb Webber) charges for a reading to jump over all of the other people waiting for a regular reading. In other words pay the bucks and jump over the plebs.
Recently on Australian TV they had the series "The One", the search for Australia's most gifted Psychic. This show had a psychic task each episode that the Psychic had to complete. Well the result of all of these tests were woeful. No one got any of the tasks done successfully except for the first task which was completed successfully by 2 psychics, but no psychic ability as far as I could see was needed. They did readings in each show of people in the audience. All of these readings to me were done by cold reading, and this was an edited version of the readings. What were the whole readings like, bloody woeful I would say.
So to me these Psychics on "The One" are probably not real.
Here below is a YouTube video of John Edward, possibly the best known psychic in the USA and maybe Australia as well. He is shown on this video giving some readings. Well he is definitely cold reading with all of the names he is churning out and J and T etc sounding names, pretty pathetic. If this is the best the psychic world has, it does not have much.
John Edward
Cold reading is a powerful tool in the armory of any psychic if they are skilled at it.
It would do us all well to find out more about cold reading and it's uses in psychic readings.
Surely it would be to the benefit of all "genuine psychics" to advertise and encourage their believers to know all about cold reading. If their followers knew this they would then know the difference between a genuine and charlatan psychic. But do they encourage this? Not that I know of, I wonder why?

Stop Sylvia Browne an alleged Psychic

There has been a recent upheavel in the campaign to stop a well known American psychic by the name of Sylvia Browne. A website has been running started by Robert Lancaster. He recently had a stroke and was unable to take care of the site, and it was eventually bought by someone who is friendly to the paranormal and changed the whole concept of the site.
Here is the link to what happened on the JREF forum.

Black Panther

Black Panther

There has been recent media attention here in New South Wales about the Black Panthers that are on the loose in the bush. The alleged sightings have been prevalent around the Campbelltown, Lithgow, Blue Mountains and even the Melbourne areas.
Media report

The new Premier of New South Wales, Nathan Rees has waded into this saying the sightings need further investigation.
Report of Premier

How rational are these calls about a Black Panther loose in the bush? Where did they come from? Are they breeding?
There have been alleged sightings of these big cats over many years. Some say they came her during World War 2 with the USA Army. Others say they are circus escapees. These could be an explanation.
As we know there are thousands if not millions of feral cats in Australia, could this be them?
Even the Liberal Party has come in on this in a predictable manner.
Liberal Party view

What is the most likely explanation?
World War 2 big cats, unlikelyto be, they would be dead by now unless there are enough to successfully breed in the wild.
Circus escapees, unlikely, to me, unless there has been a lot of escapees and they are breeding as well.
Domestic feral moggy, most likely, to my way of thinking. People can get the appearance and size of an animal that they fleetingly see or see from afar very wrong.

Well what do you all think. Any chance of a big cat, or possibly a feral moggy.
Do people get a bit hysterical with talk of things that are mysterious in the bush?
Over to you, fellow bloggers.