Weekly Update: 3-Sep-2016 to 9-Sep-2016

I’ve been wanting to set up recurring updates about topics of interest to Canadian atheists for years now. I was quite enthused when Secular Lynx started doing it a year or so back. But Secular Lynx seems to have died, so I thought it was finally time to step up.

I’ll try to get one of these up every Saturday, but honestly, the quality and quantity of the updates will depend on you, Canadian Atheist reader. If you see anything on the Internet that might be of interest to Canadian secularists, humanists, atheists, or freethinkers, take a moment to submit that info. I don’t know the exact readership statistics at the moment, but from the last numbers I saw, if everyone submitted just one item a year there would always be tons of items in the weekly update every week… which, of course, benefits you, because you’ll always have a wealth of information relevant to Canadian SHAFT.

I’ll put instructions for submitting stuff into a separate post (which can be linked to from every update). But basically, all you need to do is leave a comment – either on that post, this post, or any future weekly update post. (If you want to leave the tip anonymously, options will be described in the “how to submit” post.)

Anywho, without further ado, here is your first Canadian Atheist Weekly Update.

Even that much seems a stretch.

• [31-Aug-2016] B.C. Court finds RCMP organized terrorist plot

  The RCMP was manufacturing “terror plots”, exploiting impoverished, recovering heroin addicts with clearly obvious mental health challenges.

• [3-Sep-2016] ”Clockmaker” by Zach Weinersmith (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal)

  Zach Weinersmith what it might sound like to talk to the real power in control of the universe.

• [3-Sep-2016] Ban suits!

  Henry Stewart of London offers an alternate perspective about what clothing should be banned, based on harm actually done by its wearers.

  h/t Anonymiss

• [6-Sep-2016] ”Homage” by Andrés Diplotti (Flea Snobbery)

  A more honest sainthood speech for Teresa of Calcutta.

• [6-Sep-2016] Was pastor encouraged by right-wing allies to say intemperate things that could cost his private schools?

  The pastor who said he would defy Alberta’s requirements about allowing gay-straight alliances was apparently encouraged by Conservative politicians to defy the law, then left twisting in the wind when he faced the consequences.

• [6-Sep-2016] 7 things you need to know about why medicare is being put on trial

  The Council of Canadians explains the most important court case about health care in a generation.

• [8-Sep-2016] A small asteroid buzzed Earth Wednesday, but everything’s cool

  An asteroid 7–16 m in diameter buzzed Earth within 40,000 km – 1⁄10 the distance to the Moon – on Wednesday, having only been first detected two days before.

• [9-Sep-2016] Mississauga eases Eid al-Adha parking rule after allegation of religious intolerance

  City-wide parking exemptions are routinely given out for major Christian holidays, but there was apparently resistance to doing the same for this Muslim holiday.

• [9-Sep-2016] ‘Sad day’ for United Church, says atheist minister Gretta Vosper

  The United Church of Canada wants Vosper out. The money quote in the article: In the past, top elected church leaders … have enthusiastically come to Vosper’s defence, whether they agree with her or not. … The tipping point came three years ago, when Vosper adopted a new label: atheist.

• [9-Sep-2016] Why don’t Canadians care about Homa Hoodfar?

  A Canadian academic was arrested in Iran for dabbling in feminism and security matters, so why aren’t we all talking about her?

• [9-Sep-2016] ”God’s love” by Andrés Diplotti (Flea Snobbery)

  God’s “love” really doesn’t make much more sense even when you torture the details.

Well? What do you think? Worth making a regular thing?

Remember, if you like this idea or found the information round-up useful, the quality of future weekly updates depends on you. So send in the links to anything you think might be of interest to Canadian secularists, humanists, atheists, or freethinkers. Not everything sent in will make the cut, of course, but if you are the first person to submit the item, you’ll be credited (and linked to, if you provide a URL).