APRIL 2007

Easter Sunday - attended the Hotel Ballymun (top floor Clarke Twr - awaiting demolition) by invitation from a participating local artist. It was a great opportunity to take some digital photos at a level 5 floors higher than would have been possible during the 25years I lived in Connolly Twr, if only I had the advantages of a digital camera back then.
I still feel queasy about the exploitation of artists and the manner in which public funding has to be accessed, even more so if reminded of a particularly notorious Irish patron/benefactor of the arts.
Unfortunately, with the low level of education, and the near-absence of real political awareness in Ireland, there is little to be optimistic about right now, we must wait for further growth of political constituencies via the Internet.
That's where optimism may come from - nobody can predict the cumulative results of that which is already occurring in cyberspace!

A mere 22 days left in 2006 and WOW! what a year it's been. Full of uxexpected surprises, pleasant for a change.
Seeing & hearing Richard Dawkins on last night's Late Late has really put the cherry on the icing, for me at least. He was a treat, and it was very heartening to note that the audience was not entirely devoid of mature adults with the courage to declare themselves on the side of reason.
A rather daunting prospect, I'm sure, which Kenny exploited to the full by asking for show of hands from the audience at the beginning of that slot.
Smugly aware of the inevitable result, he couldn't resist the triumphalist gesture. Of course, it was good TV, and the Late Late has never been more than an entertainment programme.
This is the only justification for having the Dublin Catholic University quack philosopher, Dr Gerard Casey, on the panel, supposedly to counter Dawkins. If that was the best the Late Late could produce, then reason should have little to worry about in the future!
All my life I have cherished a perception of education, but this guy has succeeded in putting a feel-good factor into declaring to the world at large that I never sought a University degree!
I was always cautious and uncertain on the existence of a truly secular, non-sectarian-based Institute of Learning, as well an awareness of financial constraints. The perpetuation of sectarian-based "Universities" is, in my humble view, a betrayal of education.
Casey's seemingly dogmatic assertion to having sole rights to interpret a two-word phrase by Dawkins, in his weak effort to transfer a charge of dogmatism against Dawkins made me smile. This may qualify him for the highest esteem within a Catholic University, but only in that context.
Sectarian-based Universities are inadequate to serve the needs of today's world, shame on them all! Casey's pseudo-intellectualism will never gain the respect of reasonable people, simply because it has no merit.
May next year be as enjoyable as this has been!
Joe Davis

Try out the following site
http://www.astonisher.com/

Today's Evening Herald carries an article on a 2-bedroom terraced house
which cannot be sold at €30,000, because it's in Southill, Limerick.
Obviously, none of the Gardai operating in Limerick are living in Southill, but have they allowed the reputation of the area to sink so low in oder that they/their friends can make easy profits in the property market?
With the public attention brought about by the rip-off cost of accommodation in our cities, surely they would have forseen that such an example would not reflect well on their professionalism/integrity ?
On a national level, do they still ignore the need for themselves to be seen to clean up their act?
It certainly seems so!

Hi, again,
Have been working busily on a private, personal project, putting together a free info-pack of DVDs, podcasts and, maybe, some related printouts.
The outer sleeve will be printed: 2006
GOOD NEWS for REASONABLE PEOPLE
Having listened to a lot of podcasts from American public radio, and viewed DVDs & TV programmes, ranging from
Testing God (dvd 2001 www.because youthink.tv)
A War On Science BBC Horizon
The Root Of All Evil BBC TV
The Rocky Road To Dublin RTE TV (+ review by Vincent Browne)
The God Who Wasn't There (dvd beyond belief media)
I'll include disc copies where possible, and throw in the
Emperor's New Clothes for light relief.
Guess who'll have a hard job giving these away?
Now that the Discovery Institute is playing fast & loose with free-enterprise religion in America, they have forced the world's "educators" out into the market-place in defence of their own position.
Will anyone among the "nice christian educated" people denounce the blatant segregation in education which has been found quite acceptable up to the present day?
Education for children of the better-off, indoctrination for the masses!
Are not all children deserving of the best deal possible>

This year so far has seen a lot of encouraging material for brights-secularists- rationalists- atheists- freethinkers- reasonable people in other words.
For me it began with TV programmes (2) featuring Richard Dawkins, plus his book The Ancestor's Tale.
I still had a backlog carried over from the Dover School Board case, but this was added to when I discovered the Point of Inquiry podcasts, now totalling 22/23.
Now I'm hoping to receive a copy of the waroneaster DVD entitled
The God Who Wasn't There.
With all this great material to peruse and promote in my own humble way, I may not get much time for personal blogs - but that's just fine by me!

Have had a great time listening to podcasts from pointofinquiry.org
Recommend it everybody who doesn't know of it yet. Podcasts from a secular wiewpoint, at last!