Upcoming Skeptic, Atheist, Secular etc Events

Title: Atheist Ireland's 6th Annual General Meeting
Speaker: Atheist Ireland - and you if you are there
Date and time: 25 October
Venue: Wynns Hotel Dublin
Admission: Atheist Ireland Membership - obtainable on the day.

Atheist Ireland's sixth Annual General Meeting will take place on the 25th of October in Wynn's Hotel in Dublin. All members of Atheist Ireland may attend and vote in elections to the committee, changes to the constitution and any other matters that come up. A full agenda and details will be provided soon.

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

It's less than three weeks away... Not filling me with confidence this.

"The 2014 Atheist Ireland AGM will take place next Saturday, 25 October, in Wynnes Hotel in Abbey Street, Dublin. The morning session, from 11:00 am to 12.30 pm, is for members only. The afternoon session, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, is open to the public. We will then be going for an informal meal if you want to join us."

^ Usually although the first session is members only, on previous years people were just able to become members at the door.

Alas I live in Germany now so could not make it. I think the AI You Tube Channel has some footage from it though.

Atheist Ireland are having their annual x mas party on Saturday the 13th of December at 7 p.m. starting at the Third Space on Smithfield Square and then heading on to Oscar’s Bar for a late drink. The party is free for members of Atheist Ireland and €10 for non-members. You can join on the evening for €25 (waged) or €10 (unwaged). Finger food will be served. The cafe sell beer and wine or you have the option of bringing your own. There will also be a raffle.

kylith wrote: »

The 3rd of December is a Wednesday. Did you mean 13th?

Yes the 13th I've edited the post. Thanks.

From Maryam's FTB

I will not accept Trinity College Dublin conditions on my talk

I am to speak at Trinity College Dublin on Monday 23 March 2015 on “Apostasy and the Rise of Islamism”.

I’ve just been informed, however, that college security (why security?) has claimed that the event would show the college is “one-sided” and would be “antagonising” to “Muslim students”; they threatened to cancel my talk. After further consultation with college management, they have decided to “allow” the event to go ahead with the following conditions:

* All attendants of the event must be 1) Trinity students and 2) members of the society hosting the talk.

* For “balance”, they require that a moderator host the event; Prof. Andrew Pierce of the Irish School of Ecumenics has kindly agreed to do so.

I, however, will not be submitting to any conditions, particularly since such conditions are not usually placed on other speakers.

I intend to speak on Monday as initially planned without any restrictions and conditions and ask that TCD give me immediate assurances that I will be able to do so.

It is crucial that I be able to speak against Islamist fascism and honour our dissenters deemed apostates, blasphemers, heretics… whether ex-Muslims, Muslims or non-Muslims.

I particularly insist on being able to do so in light of the fact that only last month – 25 February – Kamal El Mekki who advocates the death penalty for apostasy was given space to speak at an event hosted by the “Muslim” Student Association. No conditions were placed on his talk and security did not threaten to cancel the event nor inform the Association that the speakers’ position on death for apostates would “antagonise” ex-Muslim and Muslim students who do not support apostasy laws.

Interestingly, when the college’s Central Societies Committee was informed of El Mekki’s view on apostasy, they could not “see why there can even be a discussion about cancelling the event” and that his video was simply “explanatory and not advocatory”!

The video they were alerted to shows El Mekki advising his audience on how best to explain the death penalty for apostates. He tells them to start with the simplest example so that the need for the death penalty can be easily understood. In the video, he says:

The question is ‘Why is the apostate killed in Islam?’…if someone leaves their allegiance to their country they should be killed, so if they leave their allegiance to Allah nothing happens?

…in Islam, of course, you know, it’s a very different system. It’s not like somewhere you heard someone leaves Islam and you just go get him and stuff like that. First of all it’s done by the authorities, there are procedures and steps involved. First of all they talk to him, yeah, about, yanni, the scholars refute any doubt that he has on the issue, they spend days with him refuting and arguing with him, trying to convince him. Then they might even, yaani, threaten him with the sword and tell him ‘You need to repent from this because if you don’t you repent you will be killed.’ And if he insists on being killed that means really, really believing in that. And then, after the procedures take their toll, and then at the end, by the authority of the ruling body, it’s done.

This is beyond outrageous given the social and political reality where apostasy from Islam is punishable by death in 11 countries and especially at a time when it has come to light that British Islamists are executing apostates for ISIS after having been “radicalised” in British universities. Also it does a disservice to the many Muslims who oppose Islamism and apostasy laws by conflating “Muslim” students with Islamism or the religious-Right.

Trinity College Dublin, I am awaiting your response.

***

For those who want more information on this “beautiful young man”, see here - oh sorry that was Jihadi John who was beautiful according to Cage.

One does get confused when they all (the Islamists) say the same thing…

As a student of TCD can anyone recommend any course of action I could take to help with this situation? There was also a talk recently about freedom of speech and the blasphemy law with Ali Selim as a speaker and a surprise appearance by Ronan Mullen, some of the fallacious pro-law points mentioned particularly riled me up considering these men are in positions of fairly high authority. It seems as though they are trying to perpetuate the censorship of religious criticism, albeit to quite a minuscule effect as the law is practically unenforceable although the conditions proposed by TCD security for this cancelled talk seem to suggest otherwise. Maybe it's best to ask for such recommendations in the TCD forum? Thanks

PopePalpatine wrote: »

Why am I not surprised Mullen would be on the pro-blasphemy law side.

In fairness he wasn't too militant about it or anything, just a bit idiotic. His reasoning was that the law should stay in the constitution because it was practically unenforceable and if someone does threaten violence against you for 'offending' their beliefs, point to this law and tell them to sue you (because it probably won't go through), or something to that effect. That stance doesn't make too much sense though (looking at free speech as a fundamental right).

He did indeed, his appearance at the talk was impromptu so he wasn't prepared for talking on the subject in particular although you'd think he should know his stuff considering he's a senator. Yet even though the subject was the blasphemy law he still managed to get his opinions on gay marriage and adoption in there, "the right to a mother and father" yada yada etc., it was like he intentionally made the appearance only to make the audience's blood boil. Fortunately the sighs and groans heard as he blurted out these lines showed how most find his views ridiculous and will refuse to put up with his crap

Yeah it looks like it's mostly just miscommunication and misunderstanding, some of the comments underneath that article sound like slight exaggerations. That said hopefully a talk will be properly organised for her soon as she seems quite passionate about it.

Aron Ra, Texas State Director of American Atheists, will be speaking in Dublin next Tuesday evening at a public meeting organised by Atheist Ireland, about how religion harms education. It will be Aron's first talk for Atheist Ireland since the World Atheist Convention in Dublin in 2011.

The meeting is in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin at 7.30 pm next Tuesday, 21 April 2015. Admission is free but space may be limited so please arrive early.

There are two Facebook event pages for this talk:

This is the event page if you are a member of Atheist Ireland.

This is the event page if you are not a member of Atheist Ireland.

Aron is best known for his YouTube series on The Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism (see episode one below), and he will discuss the difference between faith-based and evidence-based education, and the battle between creationists and educators in American schools.

I will then talk briefly about the harm caused by religion in the Irish education system, followed by an audience question and answer session chaired by Jane Donnelly.

Time 29 April at 19:30
Place Wynns Hotel Dublin 35/39 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, Ireland Dublin 1

Atheist Ireland are hosting a debate on the Marriage Equality referendum. The motion for the debate is "Would a No Vote be Good for Irish Society?". The debate is open to everyone to attend and we look forward to a respectful but robust discussion on the night.

Arguing for a Yes vote are Max Krzyzanowski and Brendan Butler. Arguing for a No vote are Susan Philips and Tom Carew.

Max Krzyaanowski is an organizer with the group LGBT Noise who campaign for the equal treatment for LGBTQIA people in all areas of life, in Ireland and abroad. Max was born and grew up in Dublin, with an Irish mother and a father of Polish extraction, and was introduced to activism in his teen years, helping with his mother's campaigning in Divorce Action Group. Since winning the Mr Gay World title in 2009, he has committed to advocating for legal and social change on issues ranging from gender recognition to policing reform, and has filled the role of public spokesperson for LGBT Noise.

Brendan Butler is part of the group 'We Are Church Ireland'. ‘We are Church’ is a global organisation founded in 1996 and is dedicated to the reform of the Catholic Church . Presently he is a joint Co-Ordinator of We are Church Ireland . Brendan has been active in Solidarity work for Latin America since 1979 , founded the Ireland Algeria solidarity group, and is the co ordinator of the NGO Peace Alliance.

Susan Philips is a Political Correspondent. She was an Independent member of the Wicklow County Council for fourteen years up until 1999 when she then went into academia.

Tom Carew was formerly a full-time trade union official - Secretary of Post Office Group of Unions, former Union President, on Executive of Dublin Council of Trade Unions, and former Treasurer of both the Peace Train and STOP-96, which both campaigned against terrorism in Ireland, as well as active in the Anti-Amendment Campaign against the anti-abortion 8th Amendment to the Constitution, and in the Divorce Action Group. Tom is a member of global networks, SPME [Scholars for Peace in the Middle East ] and TULIP [trade unionists linking Israel and Palestine]. And a life-long critical student of Ethics and History.

The debate will be chaired by Ashling O'Brien, the Chair of the Dublin Regional Branch of Atheist Ireland.

Marriage Referendum Debate

Wednesday, 6 May 2015 from 19:00 to 20:30 (IST)
Ballinode, Ireland

This debate has been organised by the I.T Sligo Debate Society. We aim to create an equal opportunity for local representatives, on both sides of the referendum, to put forward their position. The debate will take place on Wednesday the 6th of May in Hume Hall, on the I.T Sligo campus. The debate will start at 7pm and we would encourage all those attending to arrive before the event begins to ensure entry.
The motion is a shortened version of the actual ballot question, it is : "Marriage should be accessible to all couples, within the law, without distinction to their sex'.

There are 4 speakers on the night:

Against the motion, the Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran. The Bishop has been outspoken in calling for a no vote. Also against the motion, is Amanda Gallagher who is a local campaigner on a number of issues and advocate for a No vote.

For the motion will be local Yes Equality campaigner and Atheist Ireland representative Corey Whyte. Also advocating in favour of the motion will be Brian Finnegan. Brian is a Sligo native, novelist and editor of GCN magazine.

7.30pm tonight, Screen Cinema, Dublin, enjoy the Irish premier of A Better Life: Atheists and Joy.

Tickets only €5, subsidised by Atheist Ireland.

We had a lovely dinner yesterday with producer/director Chris Johnson from New York, who will be doing a Q&A after the film.

Drinks afterwards, venue to be announced.



Chris produced this film while traveling the world to photograph 100 atheists for his coffee-table book of the same name.

Here's the story of the film on the project's website:

A Better Life: The Movie