WikiLeaks reveals Vatican's lack of willingness to cooperate with sex abuse investigations

Seriously, that the Vatican wouldn’t want to cooperate with investigations regarding sex abuse is no news. But the Wikileaks cables are one of the most concrete pieces of evidence (perhaps the most concrete) that we have about the Vatican’s hypocrisy and how unwilling Ratzinger and his minions are to punish those who abused children, if that will undermine his organization’s power

WikilLeaks cables: Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry

Leaked cable lays bare how Irish government was forced to grant Vatican officials immunity from testifying to Murphy commission

The Vatican refused to allow its officials to testify before an Irish commission investigating the clerical abuse of children and was angered when they were summoned from Rome, US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks reveal.

Requests for information from the 2009 Murphy commission into sexual and physical abuse by clergy "offended many in the Vatican" who felt that the Irish government had "failed to respect and protect Vatican sovereignty during the investigations", a cable says.

The most outrageous thing here is how unwilling the Vatican is when it comes to investigate what really happened with those victims. Its hypocrisy seems to know no limits, especially considering that “the truth shall set you free” apparently, that only works when it comes to confessions. The Catholic Church tries to convince us to reveal our “sins” but is too unwilling to confess its owns.

Besides, it’s also worth noting that by now it’s impossible to talk about single cases, since we have seen once and again that it’s not just one priest raping children, or even a bishop covering those crimes. It’s the whole machine working to cover all the abuse and trying to keep their good image, even if that means letting rape go unpunished.

The Catholic Church is desperate to keep its position and power, just like a mafia when the police start disrupting its operations. The difference is that the catholic mafia needs to lose its venerable aura. Fortunately, its priests do a better job than all its detractors do together.

Threesome Thursdays: Youtube channels you don’t want to miss

Youtube has revolutionized communications in a way it hasn’t happened in a long way. It’s power is undeniable, whether it is about cute cats, police violence or helping and underdog winning an election. Also, it is a great tool to spread knowledge, something religions are pretty weary about, since their business thrives in ignorance. There are many wonderful Youtube channels, but if I had to chose, I’ll stay with:

1. The Thinking Atheist
The Thinking Atheist updates regularly with a short video with great effects and narration about something nonsensical from the Bible or another holy book or religion. Believe me, there are lots of materials. The Thinking Atheist puts lots of effort and some budget to make his videos, which are remarkable, to say the least.


2. ZOMGitsCriss
With common sense and intelligence as stunning as her beauty, ZOMGitsCriss talks in front of the camera about several issues related to religions and how they affect (usually, negatively) our lives. But don’t be fooled, any effect you can put on the video wouldn’t match her attractive or sexy accent. You seriously can’t miss her.

3. Edward Current
Parody never looked so real. With Edward Current you will at some point ask yourself if this guy is some atheist mimicking loony beliefs or a “True Christian”. Relax, he is not the latter, but we know there are people do and think exactly as Edward’s character.


So, if you are more "audiovisual" than "reader" take a look at this channel. Won't be time wasted.

Happy Blogday, and this year’s 5 blogs

Today, everywhere in the world (at least those who know) celebrate the “Blogday”. Why today? Well, because the word “blog” looks like the numbers 3108, somehow. Anyway, today we are to congratulate those who have blogs and recommend 5 blogs.

By the way, it’s because of this celebration that 20 Peruvian Blogs contest was organized, and this blog won, thanks to your votes.

So, here you will see my favorite 5 blogs regarding atheism, science and skepticism. Hope you like them

1. Friendly Atheist I think this was the first atheist blog I started following. I wanted to do something like and, well, here I am. Hemant Mehta writes several times a day about religious attitudes that are bigoted and hateful, but always in a calmed and critical manner. That doesn’t mean he can’t be harsh. He is. He does it well.

2. Pharyngula: Maybe the best known blog regarding atheism and science. PZ Myers, is a professor at the University of Minessota Morris, and using science as a weapon, kicks serious religious ass when they propose nonsensical ideas. Never anger a scientist, never.

3. Debunking Christianity: It’s undeniable that, in the western world, Christianity has the greatest chunk of religious influence, which usually comes with anti-scientific and intolerant views. That is why “Debunking Christianity” takes on this religion in a clear and useful way.

4. Heaving Dead Cats: We all know that cats own the internet. In this blog, along with lolcats, you will find reflections an atheism and religion that makes readers think and explore their own lives. Oh, and cats.

5. About.com: Atheism/Agnosticism: Maybe not exactly a blog like the others, but still a periodically space kept by a person, who takes very academically on issues related to the lack of belief.

These are my recommendations when it comes to atheist blogs. I hope you like them I wish I could have mentioned more, but 5 is the rule. If you want more, just look in the column at the right. You’ll enjoy it.

Update #5: Atheist blog wins Peruvian blogs contest! Fuck yeah!

This blog won. Thanks to you all. To you all who voted for my blog, even if the instructions were confusing and hard to understand.

Especial thanks to Neece for correcting the first posts, to Angie for retweeting the petition for votes, and to all the English-speakers who voted for a blog that tries to do something for those who need critical thinking the most.

Thank you all for for showing that there is no need to gather around a set of beliefs in order to have a loving and supporting community. This is the real spirit of the "You are not alone" posters. You just made it real.

Also, it's interesting that no one will say "Thank God" for this. In fact, it should be said " Despite God, and His fans, we won".

My blog might not be well known as those of Hemant Mehta, or PZ Myers. I want it to be. But what I want the most is that if someone reads this, if just one person reads this blog and start thinking about how religion is not what was sold to us, not the source of love and comfor, but a facade for hatred and intolerance, will reconsider his or her way of thinking. I hope that's not too much to ask.

Anyway, thank you all. Let's keep up with the good work

The "Atheist War Council"

No, it's nothing about waging war on religion or anything like that, so, don't get all worked up. The idea came to me from a Facebook game, Castle Age, in which there is an option to got to war against other players. To do so, you have to choose your 7 best generals (including you) and put them in charge of different places in your castle.

I know, sounds awfully geeky, but let's put that aside for a moment.

I was thinking, if I had to choose 7 atheists to have by my side, this would be my War Council:


The West and East ramparts would be guarded by Daniel Dennet and Michael Shermer respectively.

Daniel Dennet is an American philosopher whose philosophy research has been very related to evolutionary biology. Dennet is a member of the Secular Coalition of America and, along with Dawkins, a proponent of the Brights Movement.

Michael Shermer is the founder of the Skeptic Society and editor in chief of the Skeptic magazine. Shermer used to be a fundamentalist christian, but then became a non-believer. He tends to use the label of "Skeptic" instead of "atheist", "agnostic" or others.

Christopher Hitchens would guard the Mage Tower (hopefully he wouldn't mind the title). Hitchens is journalist and a writer, very outspoken against religion. Maybe most known for his book "God is not Great", he also writes for Vanity Fair, Slate, and other magazines. Sadly, Hitchens is now suffering from esophageal cancer, but doesn't have any plan in converting to any faith.

Dr. Eugenie Scott is in charge of the Tower. Dr. Scott is a physical anthropologist and director of the National Center for Science Education. She is a strong critic of "Intelligent Design"and has been a key advisor during the trials that involve creationism in schools.

Hemant Mehta, a.k.a. "The Friendly Atheist" goes in the Archer Wall. Mehta, while not as prominent as the others, is one of the best known bloggers regarding atheism. Mehta authored the book "I sold my soul on eBay" in which he "auctioned" his time and went to church. Few days ago, he wrote a column for the Washington Post regarding the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero.

ZOMGitsCriss guards the Armory, in part because I like to think she will be near me. Cristina Rad (her real name) is a videoblogger with a Youtube channel in which she posts videos criticizing religion in a very interesting way, using sarcasm, common sense and her unique sex appeal.

Finally, in the Main Gate, Richard Dawkins, along with me. It's hard to say something unknown about Dawkins. Most non-believers have heard of him, and if not, they will. Dawkins is, besides a leading scientist, a prominent atheist activist. Because of his strong vies against religion, he is sometimes a polarizing figure among non-believers. But, it's undeniable that many things about the atheist movement wouldn't haven been possible without him.

So, this would be my "War Council". Maybe not the most leading figures within the skeptic movement, but a very varied group. A philosopher, a journalist, a blogger, a videoblogger, a scientist, an editor, and the ultimate activist. What else could I ask? Well, there is something I would ask:

Sagan.

Update #4: Su Nombre en Vano NOMINATED in Peruvian blogs contest:

I don't think I can say anything I have already said. It just makes me happy that it's now official.

Again, thank you all for your support and, hopefully, in a week there will be an Update #5 saying "We won!"

Update #3: Su Nombre en Vano in Peruvian blogs contest

We are winning!



What happened with "update #2" well, I didn't write the English version, just the Spanish. If I had, it would have said that there was a blog dedicated to the iPhone that had around 3000 votes. Well, that blog is not anymore in the race.

It doesn't matter really much, since, as long as we are in the three first places, we go to the finals. So, that blog's absence does not mean we automatically win. It just means that we will go to the finals with the most votes.

After that, the judges will choose the winner in the category. If we win, I think it will be a great success regarding the attention the non-believers receive, especially in Perú, where it's not that common that someone stands up to religious authorities and their dogmas.

And if we don't win? Well, we fought well. Maybe this is not what the judges were looking for. But we were there, and showed that it's not necessary to have faith ina higher being to achieve something. I had faith in all of you who gave a vote, I had faith in the community of non-believers that desire to live in a world that appreciates critical thinking.

Anyway thank you all for your votes. The contest will finish in less than a week. You can vote by clicking in THIS LINK. It will take you to a page in which you have put your email address. Then click on the button that says "envienme..." After that, got to your inbox and open the email from "20blogs". There, just click in the confirmation link. Otherwise, the vote will not count.

Anyway, thank you all for your support.

Fellow unbelievers, help this blog win a contest!

In my country, Peru, the contest "20 blogs peruanos" (20 Peruvian Blogs) has started. This contest will award 20 blogs in different categories. My blog, this blog, is participating under the "Peruvian blog outside of the country" category.

This blog talks about religion and how dangerous and misleading it can be. In my country, the Catholic Church still has a huge influence. I need your vote, not just to win, but to put an space that criticizes all the dogmas that slow down the advancement of scientific knowledge and human rights.

Please help me with your vote. To do so, just click HERE. Once you click it, it will redirect you to a page that will ask you for an email address. Don't worry, they won't send spam. Once you write your email, click on the button below. Finally (and this is very important) check your inbox, open the message from "20blogs.pe" and click on the confirmation link, the one that says "Para confirmar su voto haga click aquí". Otherwise, the vote won't count.

From the deep of my unbelieving heart, I thank you for your vote.

ZOMG! It's Cristina's Birthday!

Yes, today is Christina Rad, a.k.a. ZOMGitsCriss' birthday. Who is she? Well, she is something awesome, sarcastic, intelligent, hot, funny, brave, talented and beautiful like no one else. Oh, and she has one of the cutest accents I've ever heard

You can check for yourself:




I don't exactly remember when was the first time I saw one of her videos, but I'm sure I was totally stunned at her attitude and explanations to all the nonsense she sees. I always am.

Normally I don't watch videos of people looking at a camera and talking their mind. Those videos are usually made by people who are not very articulated and that assume that others will watch their video just because they have something to say. Some might like to do that. Not me. I'm still old fashioned and like to write blogs.

But she is not like that. As soon as you put one of her videos, you notice that there has been a great effort into assembling it. There has actually been some post-production, whether it is the effects on the video or the edition of the same.

There are even some others that definitely were planned and prepared. Like this one, for Valentine's Day:



I must have seen that poem around 10 or more times. I just couldn't believe so much awesomeness.

But there is more



Criss also takes on Islam and cusses. Besides all the ass-kicking she gives Islam, I was astonished as how well she does in front of the camera. She doesn't pause, she doesn't hesitates, she looks directly and manages to have a very nice body language instead of just standing there. That takes talent, far beyond memorizing a script.



That video was just perfect. And that includes her. Thunderf00t might be one of the best known Youtube atheists. But if I had to choose, I would choose Cristina a million times.



Miss Cristina, I salute you.

To watch more of her, visit her channel ZOMGitsCriss
She also has another channel for movie reviews: CrissReviews
She also has a blog, which she doesn't update very often, but fans of her will be pleased: k-rina
And finally, her Twitter account

Catholic schools fires teacher. Reason? Saying "I don't believe in God" in Facebook

Have you noticed how long it takes for a priest who has abused children to be brought to justice, but how fast it is when a member of a catholic institution does something “improper” and get speedily punished. Some days ago it was a nun who saved a woman's life. Now, it is a teacher at a catholic school who stated on facebook that she doesn’t believe in God

'No God' comment adds up to no job for fired math teacher

A math teacher fired from a Fort Dodge Catholic school because she joined an atheist website and noted on Facebook that she didn't believe in God said Friday she never imagined it would lead to her losing her job.

Now, there are many dimensions to this news. First of all, what is a person who doesn’t believe in God (a.k.a. atheist) working for a catholic school? Kind of hypocritical, if you ask me. On the other hand, our economy is not letting us to be picky when it comes to choose jobs. Whatever it is, my take is that such opinion is to be left to the person.

Second, isn’t the school overstepping its boundaries by digging on other people’s personal life? This reminds me of rule in my catholic school, “the school is not responsible for action committed out of it, but has the right to judge them”, very convenient. The teacher did not do anything in public, nor was promoting her lack of belief to the students. Is that a reason to punish her? Hell no.

On the other hand, what could the school have done? Do as if it didn’t know? Wouldn’t have been bad. Then wait until she starts proselytizing her views, and then punish her, since those are the rules that school has, rules she accepted when she took the job.

What could be more outrageous is that she is been denied unemployment benefits. Imagine, after her privacy is somehow violated, after she is judged by that in a pretty discriminatory way, she can’t collect unemployment benefits. Damn Catholics.

However, I can’t feel very bad for her. Even though she says she doesn’t want to work for another catholic school, she says that “she isn’t an atheist”, even though she just said she doesn’t believe in God. A little bit more consistency would have been nice

South Park creators threatened for *not even showing* Muhammad's image. Guess by who

No matter how much we can criticize Christianity or Judaism or any other set of beliefs, we have to admit their degree of intolerance will hardly hold sway against what Muslims can show us



So, first: They didn't even show Muhammad's image. Yet, it's sole mention is enough to drive radicals to threaten with death to the South Park creators and end up "like Theo Van Gogh" who, as the report said, directed a film criticizing Islam and was killed by a radical Muslim.

This sole fact is enough to show to what extents Muslim fanaticism can go. There are plenty of films and documentaries criticizing Christianity, I think the last and most successful was Religulous. Yet, as much as its creator, Bill Maher can be despised by the religious, he hasn't received death threats, less attempts to kill him.

Theo Van Gogh didn't have that much luck, the only difference being that he criticized a less tolerant and more fanatic set of beliefs.

Second: The website states that their statement is not a threat, but a warning. Does "if you do such a thing, you *might* end up killed, in the same way that another person who (according to our standards) disrespected what we hold so precious" doesn't sound like a threat? Obviously, it does.

Third: According to Ayaan Hirsi Ali (the writer of the film directed by Theo Van Gogh) the Quran calls for the assassination of anyone who criticizes Allah, the Quran or the prophet Muhammad. Yet, many Muslims don't act upon such call. That's a good thing, the same thing that many Christians do, so that they don't act following crazy statements in the bible. That kind of "cherry-picking" is ok, until the argument that "the bible is the word of God and, therefore, perfect" is made. Then it just sounds hypocritical.

Fourth: South Park creators say that it would be "hypocritical" to not make fun of Mohammad after making fun of almost everyone. Yet, they had the images of Muhammad covered. It's clear that they are afraid, even in a society in which freedom of expression is regarded as one of most essential rights. To that extent has reached the Muslim fanaticism.

Finally, there is one "what if": What if those weren't "real Muslims" and just Jews disguised as Muslims trying to make Islam look bad. Because, you know, threatening people and acting violent after Islam has been criticized is not what Muslims usually do. Islam is a religion of peace, right?



Riiiiight...

Lolcats, loldogs, lolnews, lols...

I should be studying for a test I have tomorrow, but instead I am checking the "Lolz" pages, and thought about sharing:

From ICanHasCheezburger



I don't think Atheist cat does it either.



A cat doing it is cute. A nutjob trying to convince you about he truth of the Lord is not.


From IHasAHotDog



Nothing new, just another guy who does something in the name of God that goes, well, against the laws of God. But if it is in "His" name, everything is ok.

Moving on to RoflRazzi



Tom Cruise and Scientology are a favorite. It's obvious why.



Well, the JW came and knock at your door, which is annoying. I still haven't got any scientologist do that.


Going to Look-a-likes



This one is a classic. It becomes epic once you realize how they really are like each other.

Now, to LolNews



If you still don't know who this woman is, she's the main brainwasher from Jesus Camp. See that and try not wishing punching her in the face.



This was so perfectly done I cannot comment further.




Really, I should write more about Muslims. But actually, they give themselves a bad name by themselves. The captions are perfect.




It would have been awesome to get one with a choir boy around. I bet there is one. But I don't have the time to look for it.

Going to FailBlog



The churches' signs can be a an awesome source of fail. There are many others with more idiotic and funnier phrases. I should start scouting for them. However, my favorite so far has been this:



Creationists are as ridiculous as annoying. The answer says:

“Note: Just to let you it is not that we don’t believe in things like that, it is just misleading when you talk about it being billions of years old, when we all know that the world is only about 6,000 years old. So why would I pay so that you can misslead my children, your world is just a revolving(?), ours has a start and an end. God created the world. He created animals and man all in the same week. It was also Adam who named all the animals, they will do the essay ‘Rock and Minerals’ but it might not be 5 pages long, and about billions of years, it will be according to the Bible.”

It's incredible that the U.S., as advanced as it is, has these kind of people.

Now, going to Failbooking, we find that those retards are also on the popular networking site:



Yes, I said retards. Because you have to have a very low level of intelligence to just dismiss so much evidence in favor of your favorite myth.

And finally, on Engrish:



In a sense, they are right. Education tends to wash away the nonsensicality religion gives us. Unfortunately many of it still remains in many educated people. Not everything is perfect.

Well, this took longer than expected. I have to go back to study French. Later on I'll be translating a video from the RDF, I still owe that one.

AAIC Chronicles Episode VI: Ramasknight and Ateos Mexicanos

The person I had just met was Gerardo Romero, one of the leaders from Ateos Mexicanos, a forum in Mexico that serves as a community for atheists in that country. But not only that, he also helped organized the Atheist March in 2008 and 2009 in Mexico. Besides, he hosts a podcast, Masa Crítica, which is about, you guessed it, atheism. And last but not least, he contributes to the E-zine Hidra, a web magazine about atheism. In few words, a real mexican atheist activist.

During that lunch (those were the most expensive noodles I have ever had) we talked about what had brought us to atheism, the dangers and bigotry that religion brings, his activism, our relationship with our parents, how we got there, etc. It is interesting how most of us non-believers had to go through a process of self discovering to get to where we are now. Both Gerardo and me had been catholics in our youth, but after going though that process of questioning and critical thinking, we ended up noticing that we did not belong with the church crowd. His story was more painful than mine, but he has used to go full force into the atheist activism.

We talked so much that I missed more than half the PZ Myers speech. Dammit.

When we got there, the room was crowded and I could only get a little bit of what he was taking about. I taped some but not enough to be proud of. Besides, later that day, the presentation of Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher was going to take place, so I better saved my tape.

Ater the PZ Myers event, Gerardo got a picture with a philosopher he admires a lot and had recommended to me, Daniel Dennett. So I also got a picture with him. The next day I would hear him give a speech, which would demostrate why Gerardo admires him

AAIC Chronicles Episode II: Dogma Free America

I was already a little late when I arrived to the first conference: The Dogma Free America Posdcast, which was going to be broadcasted live and had William B. Davis (The X-Files’ smoking man and, yes, an atheist), Sunsara Taylor (an activist for women’s rights and also an atheist) and PZ Myers (if you don’t know who he is, shame on you. To get to know him, just visit Pharyngula). Since I was late, I had to sit in the back and couldn’t get many good pictures of the panelists. They talked healthcare, women’s rights (Sunsara would focus on that in her presentation), and many other topics. At the end was a time to make questions. I asked how did they think immigrants were affecting the atheist movement. The answer I liked the most was Sunsara’s, who said that by coming to the U.S., immigrants see their views challenged, which also leads to challenge religion. When the event ended I went on to get pictures.

That's me with PZ Myers. I was happy to meet the most famous athiest blogger.

But there were more events to come.

To be continued.

I joined the club

"Su Nombre en Vano" has been added to The Atheist Blogroll. Yeah, the "Scarlet A" that is in my sidebar says "Agnostic", but I'm perfectly fine in an atheist group. It's not that we're going to be fighting like cats and dogs, or protestants and catholics. We are all rational people.

You can see the blogroll in my sidebar (if I figure out how to put it there). The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.