Here’s your Canadian Atheist Weekly Update for to .
![[A photo of an “emergency hijab kit”, showing a folded piece of fabric and instructions for how to wear it, next to the plastic bag it comes in with Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group and Dalhousie Student Union stickers.]](https://www.canadianatheist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/nspirg-dsu-emergency-hijab-kit-200x214.png)
Emergency hijab kit. Yes, this is a real thing.
-
[] Is My Family Odd About Gods?
This book was written to explain freedom of belief to kids in Ireland, with illustrations by Nice Mangos’s Eiynah, but it might provide a foundation for explaining the same ideas to young Canadians.
-
[] Is Jordan Peterson the stupid man’s smart person?
On the surface this piece is a hilarious takedown of the “academic” charlatanry of Jordan Peterson, but under the jabs is a very cogent deconstruction of the way he uses his credentials and the language of academia to push nonsense, and even intolerace.
-
[] Justin Trudeau To Apologize To LGBTQ Canadians Kicked Out Of Military
We kinda knew that this apology was coming, but now it’s confirmed with a date: .
-
[] Shrinking the Tent: How American Atheists Won’t Tolerate Intolerance
I freely admit to being a David Silverman fan; his talks on “firebrand atheism” are inspirations to me. And if there’s any question why I think Silverman’s voice is one of the best voices in movement atheism, I point to this essay.
-
This asshole just won’t learn his lesson. Even his lawyers are telling him to shut the fuck up, but he keeps digging. His son’s death is everyone’s fault but his own. It sounds like he’s actually going to the Supreme Court, but even if he wins his case and gets a retrial, surely his complete lack of remorse is only going to work against him.
-
[] “The Truth About Race and IQ” (Video: 29:31)
It’s truly disturbing that there are actually nonbelievers who give credence to the bullshit pseudoscience about race and IQ (*cough*Sam Harris*cough*). This David Pakman deconstruction of the claims is beautiful.
-
[] Shop Here, Not There: Science Says Reducing Inequality Is Almost That Simple
Fascinating piece on a very simple way to fix income inequality – complete with a technically-feasible solution. I hope the science behind this really is solid, and that it does get implemented and sees widespread use.
-
[] Canada Must Apologize For Forced Adoptions During The Postwar Years
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but still, the scale of this – 300,000 “unwed mothers” basically stripped of their children.
-
[] Priest who worked in Eastern Townships suspended after sex allegations
Yet another one.
-
[] Church’s plea of poverty a poor excuse, victims’ lawyer says
This is a beautiful read. Everyone knows the Church’s claims of being unable to pay all the settlements for all the sexual abuse cases its facing now are complete bullshit. And their efforts to foist the settlements onto insurance companies are risible. The lawyer’s comments in this article are awesome.
-
[] Student initiative provides emergency hijabs to Muslim women in need
This is not a Beaverton headline; so far as I can tell, this is quite real. The disturbing thing about it is not the kits themselves; it’s that anti-Muslim bigotry has gotten to the point that the sensible people in Dalhousie security can think something like this is actually worthwhile. Anti-Muslim intolerance is bad for everyone – not just Muslims, but also those of us who want to criticize their beliefs, because the bigots force us into a position where we have to defend them.
-
[] Quebec passes motion against Transport Canada’s directive allowing small knives on planes
Oh, Québec. Is there any level of bigoted pettiness you won’t stoop to?
-
[] Daphne Bramham: Rachel Jeffs on life after polygamy and why she testified against the Blackmores
The more I read about these cults and the bastards involved in running them, the sicker I get. Daphne Bramham deserves a medal for her work digging into this shit, and bringing the truth to light.
-
[] #ChurchToo hashtag blows up social media to expose sexual abuse in religious communities
For me the most horrifying thing about these
#ChurchToostories is not the abuse itself, but they way the abuse was responded to. -
[] Alberta public school boards apply to be interveners in Saskatchewan Catholic schooling case
This is cool news; it’s nice to see that the secular school boards are serious about standing up for themselves.
-
[] “Pull Quotes: Episode 7: Hate in the paper”(Audio: 35:52)
Really good discussion about hate speech laws.
-
[] Trudeau Apologizes To Residential School Students In Newfoundland And Labrador
This was the big apology this week, though it was really just cleaning up the mess Harper left behind.
Canadian Atheist’s Weekly Update depends on the submissions of readers like you. If you see anything on the Internet that you think might be of interest to CA readers, please take a minute to make a submission.
•[21-Nov-2017] Church’s plea of poverty a poor excuse, victims’ lawyer says
I fail to see why anyone would believe anything said by the Catholic Church, one of the world’s most massive real estate empires (the other one being of course the Protestant Church). An organization almost as old as history which has never been held accountable to any government in the world and as far as I know and has never paid taxes on the land and buildings they own, which is just about everywhere in the world.