Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 9, 2012, 6:51 pm
– Corporate tax rates are at a low, their profits are at a high, and the gap between the pay CEOs claim for themselves and what they let the workers share is growing ever wider. – Satan is much more powerful than God. Or, God is evil. One or t’other, Christians. – Plainclothes police off...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 9, 2012, 2:56 pm
I heartily endorse this event or product. Seriously, this is a beautiful thing. The stated intent of The Forgiveness Project is to “build a better future by healing the wounds of the past”, in a way that promotes the idea of forgiveness as a way to achieve positive change. Their answer to “...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 9, 2012, 6:15 am
There’s been an ongoing petition for some time to have an official pardon granted to Alan Turing. Turing was a mathematical genius who basically won World War II (I’m abridging the full story a tad), and was then convicted on a charge of gross indecency due to being in a gay relationship. He ag...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 8, 2012, 6:14 pm
– A small but probably good step has been made toward gay marriage rights and/or marriage equality, leaving only a tragically long way to go for modern society to catch up with itself. – If you choose not to donate to a charity because you disagree with their practices or philosophy, you’re ...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 8, 2012, 2:36 pm
Let’s not be political for a moment. Let’s just look at some numbers. The combined pay of the top 299 CEOs is enough to support 102,325 average jobs. 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. The poverty rate among children in the US is over 20 percent. The US poverty rate among child...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 8, 2012, 8:22 am
…IN SPACE! No, sorry. Just OF THE DEAD. Mitt Romney’s family recently tried to save the soul of his wife’s father, who died some years ago, by posthumously baptising him. He hadn’t been religious in life, and certainly wasn’t a Mormon, although his atheism may have been exaggerated. Thi...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 7, 2012, 12:44 pm
You know when Irish rock band U2 released an album titled How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb? You remember how they were then arrested and spent several years in Guantanamo Bay under suspicion of possessing illegal fissile material and intent to tamper with restricted government nuclear facilities? N...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 7, 2012, 5:19 am
Well, this is a grand occasion indeed. PZ Myers has identified one of the greatest geniuses ever to walk the earth. But you don’t have to take my or PZ’s word for it. Just listen to the prodigy himself: Around 2007 upon arising from higher states I started awakening this strange innate ability...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 6, 2012, 3:25 pm
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told the mother of a child with a rare genetic disorder on Tuesday that she shouldn’t have a problem paying $1 million a year for drugs because Apple’s iPad can cost around $900. That’s a slightly coarse summary of his recent remarks, but not ne...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Feb 6, 2012, 12:18 pm
– Because it’s the kind of thing I often say I want to see happen, but don’t often expect: The Rhode Island State Council of Churches came out in support of atheist challenger of religious privilege Jessica Ahlquist, and condemned the treatment she received from many other Christians, in a pre...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 26, 2012, 9:35 am
So, who’s going to be Occupying Valentine’s Day? I think I’ve vacillated about Valentine’s in the past, some years being kinda grumpy about it, others being more supportive of people who are trying to enjoy it. I was never moved to any particularly strong emotions about it, one way or the o...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 25, 2012, 12:17 pm
– I vow to make other people’s decisions for them and deny my family any autonomy that defies my idea of a patriarchal family structure. – I still haven’t seen The Passion Of The Christ. Even though I’ve heard Penn Jillette repeatedly describe it as a very sexy movie, and now I find out ...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 24, 2012, 12:14 pm
Katie Price started out her career as a topless model. Now, at the age of 33, she’s a successful author and businesswoman, with a near-ubiquitous presence in the British media, as well as a lingerie range, a number of reality shows, and multiple novels and autobiographies to her name. She’s don...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 23, 2012, 3:57 pm
I couldn’t stop the title of this post from sounding like something people would shout on a game show, so I just embraced it. Anyway, I’m only stopping in quickly before dinner. The exciting news is that we now have two guinea pigs who need names. Hurrah! Here they are:       Suggestions...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 23, 2012, 8:26 am
Brian Cox is great. Hey, I can’t always be controversial. He is. He’s doing so much to get people interested in cool sciencey stuff, with his Wonders series and the BBC Stargazing thing and whatnot. The first time I saw him in person was at his lecture for 2009′s TAM London, and it was also th...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 22, 2012, 3:09 pm
– What version of atheism are we on now? Cuttlefish estimates it’s 6.2. Maybe in a future upgrade we’ll believe in God again. – At this moment the UK Economy is listing. Hehe. (Context, if you need it.) – The futility of prayer, demonstrated in one simple chart. – Asexual and aroma...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 22, 2012, 10:52 am
Here’s a video I enjoyed today, in which thirty wordsmiths of note from around the world discuss their lack of belief in God:     Although there’s some variety in the tone they set, there’s a greater preponderance of deliberate antipathy toward religion than simply apologetic or uninteres...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 21, 2012, 3:04 pm
I’m all for more liberal relationship norms. I strongly think we should be striving to break away from the idea that monogamy is some supreme standard we ought all to aspire to. It shouldn’t even be the default mode. It’s working very nicely for me, thank you very much, but it’s high time we...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 20, 2012, 1:08 pm
As a corollary to this recent business with Jessica Ahlquist, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of the exact nature of the direct correlation between religiosity and morality. Namely, there fucking isn’t one. It’s certainly not the case that all religious people are immoral, or that th...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 20, 2012, 10:54 am
– So they recounted the Iowa caucus and now Santorum won it, even though they’ve still lost a bunch of votes. Democracy, ladies and gents. – The kung-fu chop… OF LOGIC. – Apparently it’s against the law to masturbate in jail. Yikes. Marty Klein explains why this is a really unhelpful...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 19, 2012, 8:18 am
This article got me a little agitated on Twitter yesterday. To recap what I was snarking about it at the time, Reason magazine seems to be asking: What’s so bad about billionaires spending money in politics? It just helps you freely decide what to think! I hate it when patronising liberals assume...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 18, 2012, 4:04 pm
– A TED talk from Clay Shirky on the problem with SOPA. – “Just like John Kerry, he speaks French, too.” The Republican candidates are genuinely attacking each other for having acquired new skills and abilities. Who are they even pandering to? – You might get what you wish for, even if...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 18, 2012, 9:55 am
Okay, this is finally starting to really piss me off. For the benefit of morons, here is a complete list of every situation in which calling a 16-year-old girl a “stupid bitch”, “not human”, “garbage”, and a “fucking worthless cunt”, and praying for her to be punched in the face, cu...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 17, 2012, 3:11 pm
– Depressingly, I don’t find it hard to believe that a Republican Congressman could be caught publicly praying for Obama’s death. However, given the exact Bible quote he was referring to, isn’t it entirely possible he was just hoping for the guy to lose an election? – These statistics on...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 17, 2012, 10:19 am
If you weren’t following the big Obscenity Trial at the start of the year, it’s worth catching up on, either through the defense lawyer‘s own account or that of David Allen Green for the New Statesman. It concerns the sale of some particular styles of hardcore pornography (described more expl...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 16, 2012, 4:03 pm
– No, it’s not Blue Monday. And if you’re using that nonsense as anything other than an excuse to break out some New Order LPs and go on a nostalgia binge, you’re doing it wrong. – The TSA has compiled a list of its best “catches” – that is, people detained by their security staff ...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 16, 2012, 9:23 am
Psychic Nikki has been “clairvoyant all her life”. She “has appeared on several top-rated international television shows”, and her famous clients include Rod Stewart, Matt Dillon, and Survivor Contestants (I love that guy!) Nikki has also made some predictions about what’s going to happen...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 14, 2012, 1:09 pm
– Bravo, Jessica Ahlquist. If you’ve been slacking off following her story as much as I have, go read JT’s summary of events so far, and this follow-up. Oh, and these examples of religious intolerance from Christians abusing their privilege, including many actively calling for this 16-year-old...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 13, 2012, 3:21 pm
It sometimes feels like there’s no shortage of discussion about the unfairness of the government’s attacks on “benefits scroungers” on the interwebs, but when the problem will persist quite as enduringly and damagingly as this one perhaps that’s not surprising, and to be encouraged. Of co...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Jan 13, 2012, 8:46 am
– The New York Times faces an ethical quandary. When they’re writing about stuff people have said, should they bother to report on whether that stuff’s true or not? Is that an important or useful part of their role as a news organisation? They’re “looking for reader input” on this. Becau...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 29, 2011, 5:48 pm
For something that involves so much lying down and making sympathetic faces, looking after a girlfriend with glandular fever can be surprisingly tiring and time-consuming. So, apologies that I’m still not very present here. However, although I’m not going to comment at length about Sally Morgan...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 20, 2011, 2:51 pm
Or possibly, Rapture II: Die Rapturer. Anyway. Tomorrow is Harold Camping’s second attempt to correctly predict the end of the world (this year). But it might surprise you to learn that his first attempt was, in fact, entirely successful. It turns out that May 21st, when everyone was holding the...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 16, 2011, 4:19 pm
I wrote a whole post for tonight on some head-scratching moral analysing of questionable situations, then realised I’d been really boring. So here’s another thing. I liked this quote from Dr Marty Klein in a recent post on abstinence-only education: We know how we would describe a parent who�...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 15, 2011, 4:50 pm
So, here’s a thing. Imagine there’s this privileged subset of society who are allowed to break into your home with impunity. Let’s call them the “overlords”. There’d probably be certain rules about exactly when the overlords get to enter your premises against your will. But imagine too...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 12, 2011, 11:20 am
Here’s a video that’s kinda fun if you know what’s going on:     Maybe I should explain what’s going on. Penn & Teller do a regular magic show in Las Vegas, several times a week, and have been doing so for years now. The show changes constantly, with some tricks being retired once they...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 11, 2011, 8:26 pm
My lovely nursey girlfriend’s gone and done a blog thing, about abortion and idiots. She rants good. Have a read.
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 11, 2011, 3:37 pm
One thing that’s important to remember is that I’m a total wuss. Okay, so in the spirit of combating the stigma surrounding mental health problems, maybe I should use less accusatory language, and not sound like I’m browbeating myself for my sporadic psychic troubles. But you know what I’m ...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Oct 9, 2011, 6:03 pm
Greetings, people of Earth. I am no longer in Scotland. Posting is still going to be a bit irregular for a while, but there’s a lot to discuss when I find the time. Here’s Richard Dawkins talking about magic.     The title of his new book, The Magic Of Reality, is an excellent summation of...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 30, 2011, 1:32 pm
Hey, you know all that writing and posting and commentary I’ve not been doing lately? Well, you’re in for a bunch more of not that. I’m still moving in with my girlfriend, bit by bit, over the course of a month or so, and next week we’re going to be holidaying in the Hebrides. I’m not dea...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 23, 2011, 1:21 pm
Atheists we might see as people like those who deny global warming. You might celebrate their right, and defend their freedom of speech, to deny global warming – but if they’re wrong, and millions of other people have taken their view, then it could end in a terrible, terrible disaster for a lot...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 22, 2011, 4:16 pm
Two lives were taken by the government in the southern United States last night. One, in Georgia, received a great deal of media attention, and has invoked those opposed to capital punishment to speak out in force and in great numbers. This was in part due to the serious doubts raised about Troy Da...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 22, 2011, 10:50 am
If the skeptics community is going to thrive and grow, it’s essential that no one feel unwelcome or excluded due to race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. This line caused a bit of a stir lately after it appeared in an article written by Brian Thompson on the James Randi Educational Found...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 20, 2011, 3:12 pm
But what of my religion? I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion, and every day I am sorely, grossly, heinously and deeply offended, wounded, mortified and injured by a thousand different blasphemies against i...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 18, 2011, 7:15 am
Troy Davis has been awaiting the death penalty since his conviction for murder in 1991. There was never any physical evidence linking him to the crime, and no murder weapon was found. He was convicted largely on the basis of eyewitness testimony. Of the nine non-police eyewitnesses who testified a...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 17, 2011, 4:17 pm
I’ve been finding more and more things about which to disagree with Penn Jillette, as I’ve been learning and making up my mind about libertarianism. He’s still a great guy, and a fantastic performer, and I have not a shred of doubt that his politics are consistently driven by compassion and hu...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 16, 2011, 4:18 pm
Okay, no. I’m not actually proposing a direct causative link between those two things; I’m not the Daily Mail. The evidence that proximity to Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann causes life-threatening illness is, at best, hazy and inconclusive. What has happened is that she has...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 15, 2011, 11:08 am
Although it starts off being about grammar, this post at the Sadly, No! blog has a great line about the double-standards employed by conservative news outlets such as NewsBusters: Over at Newsbusters, disagreeing with a conservative is hate; suggesting that gays shouldn’t even appear on TV unless...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 11, 2011, 9:33 am
When the planes hit the twin towers on… Actually, you know what? I don’t have anything to say about 9/11 which hasn’t already been said a billion times all over the internet, and which isn’t being repeated another trillion times today in blogs and newspapers and angst-milking TV news shows....
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 10, 2011, 10:41 am
”       .” Gay rights activists are still being quite entertaining with some of their placards. The title and opening line of this post refer to one of my favourite signs from that compilation, and here’s another one that made me chuckle: Ridicule is a useful way of approaching argumen...
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Cubiks R. posted an article on Cubik's Rube - Sep 9, 2011, 2:14 pm
…K-I-S- …Wait. Um. What letter rhymes with “Vatican”? Okay, never mind. This is about The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, part of the Vatican, which sent some sort of open letter to all Muslims not long ago. It’s possibly a bit weird. The end of the month of Ramadan offe...
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