You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Freethinkers' Night’ category.
Many of us understand the importance of thinking things through when it comes to forming beliefs about how best to deal with different aspects of our lives, such as when it comes to making important decisions.
Examples:
-
Should I invest in this business scheme?
-
Should I buy this car?
-
Should I vote for this politician?
-
Should I try this herbal treatment for my illness?
-
Should I pray for a miracle?
Still, we often make bad decisions. Why?
It could be because there are roadblocks we’ve erected in our minds that prevent us from examining all the evidence objectively, or impartially, prior to forming beliefs. These mental roadblocks might be pre-existing beliefs that have been informed by culture, religion, political/social ideologies, personal prejudices, peer pressure, etc.
Having these mental roadblocks is one problem; the other problem is not knowing that you have those mental roadblocks. But perhaps the worst problem of all is not acknowledging that as human beings all of us are susceptible to having these mental roadblocks, at any given time. Acknowledging this should compel us to structure our thinking in such a way as to minimise, as much as possible, the degree to which these mental roadblocks might impede our ability to think objectively.
We should be willing to evaluate all kinds of information, including information that might go against what we currently believe about something, without allowing our mental roadblocks to interfere with that evaluation process. We also need to train ourselves to be able to use logic effectively – and to consistently use it when trying to make inferences about what it is we are forming beliefs about. We must also question our methods of reasoning. This, in a nutshell, is what it means to think critically.
Edward M. Glaser in his 1941 book “An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking” describes critical thinking as:
A persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends.
Youtuber Qualia Soup explains what critical thinking is in this video:
As a freethinker, I advocate for the application of critical thinking across the board, on all issues, and I also encourage people to be consistent in their application of it. Indeed, I often have to remind myself to be consistent as well, because I know that mental roadblocks can pop up anytime, and unbeknownst to me, some might already be lurking about in my mind.
It is not easy to consistently apply critical thinking – but there is great value in striving to be as consistent as is humanly possible in our application of it.
THE DISCUSSION
In a world where all kinds of people are offering all kinds of get-rich-quick schemes or miracle cures for all kinds of ailments, it greatly helps to be a critical thinker. A person who applies critical thinking will be less likely to lose money to professional con-artists or fall prey to medical quackery. He or she will also be able to do a better job of analyzing problems and finding solutions to them. People who think critically will probably make better business/investment decisions as well, as compared to people who don’t.
From a social perspective, a good critical thinker is also less likely to hold prejudices that would prompt him or her to discriminate against people on the basis of race, tribe, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. He or she will also be less likely to engage in extreme forms of religious expression that are detrimental to their well-being, and the well-being of others.
What we’d like to discuss at the upcoming Freethinkers’ Night is HOW to communicate CRITICAL THINKING to the general public.
How do we encourage people to apply critical thinking, and to apply it consistently, in their lives? How do we get people to recognize that their mental roadblocks might be preventing them from thinking objectively?
Let’s discuss.
This is a crucial issue for us, as it touches on what we consider to be our mandate as Freethought Kampala, which is:
Promoting Reason in a Highly Superstitious Society
Much of our focus for the last two years has been mainly to apply critical thinking in the evaluation of popular mystical/religious claims that abound in this country’s spiritual landscape – because there was simply nobody doing it. We acknowledge that the scope for critical thinking is much wider than this, but for strategic reasons we initially chose to narrow our focus to an area that we felt was being completely neglected in the national discourse. Perhaps at this meeting we might also talk about this focus, and whether or not we should broaden it.
The January 2012 Freethinkers’ Night will take place on Thursday, 26th January, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are more than welcome to join us.
Oh, and we’ll also be marking 2 years of Freethought Kampala as well!
Thursday, 29th December, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us for our end of year party.
Just one thing, though…
Uganda is currently experiencing what may be described as a population explosion. From the World Watch Institute:
Within the next few decades, the east African nation of Uganda is likely to have the highest population growth in the world, according to a new report from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy group. The country’s current population of 27.7 million is projected to explode to 130 million by 2050, a nearly fivefold increase, notes the study. According to Carl Haub, a demographer at PRB, such expansion will entrap the country in poverty and instability. “No one would consider such a rate of growth to be sustainable,” he says.
At 3.6 percent, the African island nation of Mayotte, an overseas collective of France located in the Comoros chain, has the highest annual rate of natural increase today, according to the study. Uganda’s current growth rate is 3.1 percent, while the world average is 1.2 percent.
The Ugandan government’s lack of commitment to family planning is the main reason for the country’s extraordinary population growth, says Haub. The PRB study indicates that only 20 percent of married Ugandan women between the ages of 15 and 49 have access to contraception. Women in Uganda have an average of 6.9 children, compared with a global average of 2.7 and an African average of 5.1. Some government officials consider this a boon and may in fact be encouraging high birth rates; President Yoweri Museveni has called the nation’s population explosion a “great resource.”
This situation seems unsustainable. There are simply not that many jobs, or economic opportunities available to cater for this rapidly growing population. This population also puts tremendous pressure on the country’s limited resources in the provision of social services such as basic healthcare, decent education, and so on. Of course, the likely outcome will be that poverty and sickness will increase exponentially.
What can we do to reverse this trend? Is it possible to slow down this rapid population growth?
Or are you in agreement with President Museveni, who seems to see this population explosion in a positive light?
Uganda’s growing population is our most important asset that should be used for increased productivity in order to achieve economic transformation for the country, President Yoweri Museveni has said.
He said Uganda’s growing population is not a problem, but it is important to exploit it in order to address the country’s development needs. He added that the Cabinet has adopted a revised National Population Policy for social transformation and sustainable development.
Come and discuss!
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us at the meeting.
The November 2011 Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 24th November, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
Parliament of Uganda
A 2010 estimate puts Uganda’s GDP at $42 billion, with per capita income at $1,226. Further, according to the World Bank - Uganda’s economic growth was at 6.3 percent in 2010/11, which is well above Sub-Saharan Africa average.
You would think that given these fairly impressive figures, the quality of life of the average Ugandan was good. This, unfortunately, is not the case.
Only about 3 percent of the total population have access to electricity. Infant mortality rate was at 79 per 1,000 in 2005, and rose to 128 in 2009. There is lack of basic social infrastructure – with the hospitals and roads in a very sorry state.
Kampala’s poorly maintained roads
Dilapidated staff-quarters at Jinja Hospital
Why does this happen?
One of the most often cited reasons for this problem is corruption.
Due to corruption, services are not properly delivered to the sectors to which resources have been allocated. Further, lack of accountability leads to people who misappropriate public funds to flourish without facing any risk of prosecution.
A culture of impunity is pervasive in the public sector, with top government officials, legislators, the judiciary, and civil servants at every rank exploiting their positions to gain access to public funds/resources for their own benefit – and little to no risk of being held accountable.
Uganda: Corruption Costs Sh500b a Year
The World Bank (2005) estimates that Uganda loses about $300m (sh510b) per year through corruption and procurement malpractices,” the 592-pages report notes. It reckons that the Government would save sh30b annually by eliminating losses from corruption in public procurement alone. Citing the 2005 Auditor General’s Report, it estimates that 20% of the value of public procurement was lost through corruption, prompted by weak public procurement laws, adding that procurement accounts for 70% of public expenditure.
The Uganda Self-Assessment Report and Programme of Action was yesterday launched by finance state minister Fred Omach at the National Planning Authority offices in Kampala. It is part of an initiative by African countries to assess themselves and each other on issues of democracy and good governance, economic management, corporate governance and socio-economic development. “Corruption in procurement has adversely impacted on the quality of services meant to improve the quality of life, especially health and education,” says the report, which was presented to the President before it was launched.
“It has influenced death and poverty levels in Uganda. For private firms, the costs of production have been continually high and unpredictable.” The Government did put up a number of legal and regulatory frameworks to fight corruption, the commission acknowledges. It lists the establishment of the Inspectorate of Government Act, the Leadership Code Act, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act and the Whistle Blower Act. Despite these measures “the perception is that corruption has not decreased in the public sector”.
Two thirds of respondents believed corruption had increased, according to a 2007 survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. One third even believed it had increased a lot. In another survey, cited in the report, almost half of the respondents reported that bribes were more frequently demanded today than five years ago.
Here’s what Kundhavi Kadiresan, the World Bank Country Manager (for Uganda) had to say to the president of Uganda in February 2010:
Your Excellency, corruption in Uganda is endemic and we have seen no signs of improvement. The costs of corruption, stealing and leakages are staggering: $1.6 million lost in the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria; $4.6 million lost in the GAVI immunization scam; at least $27 million lost in connection with CHOGM; billions of Shillings lost in the NAADS scam and the NSSF Temangalo scandal; and the loss in procurement corruption is estimated by the PPDA to be more than $100m per year.
Billions upon billions of shillings lost, misappropriated, stolen, or unaccounted for – while people die in hospitals due to lack of drugs, there is widespread poverty, teachers are underpaid, and the quality of education being provided in our underfunded schools is appalling.
Uganda Police:
Corruption also runs deep within Ugandan law enforcement:
The Uganda Police Force has been found to be the most bribery-prone institution compared to other forces in the five East African Community partner states, according to the latest East Africa Bribery Index, carried out by Transparency International.
Criminals, especially those who embezzle public funds, are thus very rarely brought to book.
Oil:
In 2009 TULLOW OIL, an Anglo-Irish exploration firm, announced that Uganda has 700m barrels of proven reserves. Within a few years Uganda could be producing 100,000-150,000 barrels a day – worth billions of dollars annually.
However, already, the oil sector has been plagued with allegations of bribery already – even before a single drop has been exported. Many are of the view that Uganda is probably going to suffer what some call the Oil Curse.
Looking at the current political situation in Uganda, with massive corruption and lack of accountability, its fair to assume that this oil wealth will not be channeled towards helping the country develop – rather, the wealth will most likely be exploited by a few in the ruling class. There are far too many examples of scenarios like this playing out elsewhere in Africa, such as Gabon.
WE NEED A SOLUTION:
So… what’s the solution?
Civil society groups, and also the international donor community, have all made calls for increased transparency and better governance as the way to curb corruption in Uganda. These appeals have been made for the last 20 or so years, but corruption seems to be getting worse with time.
Will continuing to press hard with calls for transparency and better governance eventually yield fruit? Or is it time for a new approach? Is a new strategy needed? Might it help to try to look into what might be the SOURCE of corruption, so that we instead deal with its cause rather than the symptoms? Might culture have anything to do with it? Or is it education? Is it a question of having appropriate systems? Do we need new laws?
This is what we want to discuss!
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us at the meeting.
The October 2011 Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 27th October, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
Nationwide, students of all grades struggle to meet the national test requirements, with the majority dropping out of school before making it to the secondary level. Some of the factors causing this are: overcrowded classrooms; lack of access to textbooks or classroom tools; poor nutrition; unclean water; lack of government funding and; lack of basic needs like water, food or sleep.
These are the basics.
If we are to get into the nitty gritty of things, our system does not promote logical thinking, or inclusive, participatory and practical teaching. The lack of a reading culture or promotion of extra-curricular activities, especially in primary schools while the brain and body is at its best, is also a setback to a well rounded education. It can be assumed that the problem may not necessarily lie within the curriculum but rather, in the implementation of it.
So the question for the Thursday Freethought meeting is this:
It is being reported that schools in Uganda are failing the students. Discuss with reasons for or against and alternative solutions to improve the situation.
By Lindsey Kukunda
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us at the meeting.
The September 2011 Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 29th September, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
Related Posts:
Mabira Forest is a rainforest area covering approximately 30,000 hectares (300 Square kilometers) of Buikwe District in central Uganda. It’s home to diverse species of fauna and flora (rare monkeys, birds, butterflies, awesome trees and many herbal plants). It’s also a popular tourist attraction for people interested in nature walks, bird watching and bicycle riding.
Like any good story, it is better to start from the beginning: In 2007 the government proposed slashing 7,100 hectares (17,540 acres, which is nearly 25% of the total Mabira Forest) for a sugar company, which is owned by a conglomerate from India. The anger over cutting the forest was ultimately channeled into something akin to a race riot targeting the Asian community and ended in violent protests in April. Three people were killed and a substantial amount of damage was done.
Now, four years later, we are back in the same place, with President Yoweri Museveni threatening the fate of Mabira. This time, as a backdrop, there are soaring sugar prices, which he uses to justify the need to chop down the forest and grow more sugarcane.
Museveni maintains that poor nations must boost their economies before they can afford to protect their environment. In an article in the New Vision (Thursday, 19th April, 2007) entitled ‘Why I support Mabira Forest give-away to Mehta Group’ the ‘good’ president attempts to articulate his reasons for supporting the Mabira giveaway.
Here are few excerpts that caught our attention:
‘The problem of Africa is not lack of forests but lack of factories, hotels, real estate, professional services (e.g medical, financial, etc)’
‘Why, then, use forest lands? This is because there is no free land. Much of the land is occupied by peasants who are engaged in traditional, subsistence farming.’
And of course there was the sugar-production argument also. Like any other argument from an African leader it is not complete without a quick jab at the West.
‘Europeans and the Americans are destroying the environment because of greed; we are destroying the environment, involuntarily, because of poverty, lack of employment, lack of electricity, etc.’
One may suppose some of his contentions do carry some merit: After all, to run factories, hotels, real estate, you need to have a skilled work force. Why not invest in the education sector first, and then cut down the trees after? (Makes sense, no?)
The National Environment Management Authority boss Tom Okurut, in an interview with The Daily Monitor last week, said Mehta only needs to change its production practice, technology and the cane type to increase the volume of cane production. This then begs the question: Why not seek means to maximize production before deploying the Mabira alternative? When will the expansion of the plantations stop? Plus, how about the out-growers who have been selling sugarcane to Mehta? Does this mean they are no longer needed? So much for creating more jobs. It seems more likely to destroy the livelihoods of those depending on the forest for income and those already in the sugarcane agricultural sector.
Museveni has been offered another 50,000 acres of land in fertile Bwikonge and Bunambutye sub-counties by Bulambuli LC5 Mr Simon Wananzofu for sugarcane growing in a bid to save the planned give-away of part of Mabira, but the president says he will give away part of the forest regardless of people’s cries. Let us not forget that the Kabaka’s offer of alternative land, near Mabira, for sugarcane production, had been disregarded by the government. It would seem contrary to what the president was thinking — there are plenty of other sources of land (unless he is lying, but we would never say something like that *wink-wink*).
The boom in sugar prices is as a result of the country’s biggest sugar producer, Kakira Sugar Works, announcing that it would close for maintenance. When traders (middle-men) heard this, it resulted in speculation, hoarding and an eventual increase in the sugar price from 2,400 UGX a kilo to as high as 8,000 UGX a kilo. Most sugar factories claim that they have not increased the factory prices of sugar, though the production rate is still low. Which, of course, calls into question the basic premise Museveni is relying on for giving away the Mabira Forest.
Wilberforce Mubiru of the The Uganda Sugar Cane Technologist Association attributed the price increase to speculation.
"Before the factory goes on off crop, it stocks enough to last through the period of non-production and therefore the factory selling prices remain the same"
‘I am ready for war on sugar’– says President Museveni. Suddenly it seems is fair to assume there seems to be more to this debacle than just sugar.
President Museveni
From Central Africa to the Amazon basin and Indonesia’s islands, experts say the world’s greatest forests are being lost at a rate of at least 13 million hectares (32 million acres) a year — an area the size of Greece or Nicaragua. "Africa is losing more than 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of forest every year — twice the world’s average deforestation rate," according to a statement by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Between 1990 and 2010, Uganda lost an average of 88,150 hectares or 1.86 percent of its forests per year. In total between 1990 and 2010, Uganda lost 37.1 percent of its forest cover, or around 1,763,000 hectares.*
Foreseeable effects of the Mabira land giveaway include:
-
Biological and ecological impact
-
Reduced plant biomass
-
Reduced biological diversity
-
Loss of valuable species of economic/medicinal value
-
Reduced ecosystem stability
-
Disturbance of animal habitats
-
Broken food chain
-
Species extinction (bad time to be a rare monkey)
-
Rapid depletion of soil nutrients
-
Increased soil erosion and flooding
-
Increased local aridity and desertification
-
Global greenhouse effect, global warming and rise of sea-level
Facts about sugarcane: A long, warm growing season with a high incidence of solar radiation and adequate moisture (rainfall) – the plant uses from 148 to 300g of water to produce 1.0g of dry substance. (yep, one whole gram!)
We would love to hear your opinion on this, please come join us at the upcoming Freethought Night, which is going to take place on Thursday, 25th August 2011, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
* References:
What do you think about gender roles and how they may or may not be changing as Ugandan women become more financially independent?
In his recent article entitled ‘Common Sense: What Have Our Women Turned Into?’ (Daily Monitor Tuesday, July 5 2011) columnist Robert Kalumba seems to have literally rattled the wasps nest:
‘They have evolved from the submissive, caring, obedient, thoughtful, and understanding person into something that would have Frankenstein shudder in his grave. And here is the scary bit; the evolution, going with today’s teen girls, seems to be getting even worse.’
It’s an interesting article, not necessarily factual, but it does make one wonder, surely times have changed and to be honest are still changing, the ladies of Uganda are a far cry from what they were 30 or so odd years ago when Uganda had just earned her independence, no more finishing school, no more nursing, now our wonderful women are empowered engineers, lawyers, doctors and taxi conductors (true story). They have risen to the occasion and taken the proverbial bull by the horns, but one has to wonder, is it without consequence?
Like many Ugandan dilemmas the focus goes back to the family, one may argue, if both parents are committed to work, what happens to the children? What happened to the traditional gender roles? Does a woman have to be the one to manage the home while her husband is away earning the bacon? Does it all really matter; can’t a woman be a successful in her career while being a successful mother? Does she even have to be a mother anymore? Must she get married? Is this a result of all the years of female emancipation? Is there a problem at all? Can’t men just get with the program?
No point in sitting there, you might as well come along and weigh in on the discussion…… see you there!
The July 2011 Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 28th July, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
References and Definitions:
- Daily Monitor article: http://www.monitor.co.ug/LifeStyle/Reviews/-/691232/1194318/-/c7hole/-/index.html
- Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioural norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role. Like any other stereotype these expectations does have its shortfalls, for one, it is often regarded as the ‘natural way’ and we often don’t bother to question it from the day we are born we receive blue baby clothing for boys, and pink baby clothing for girls, and so the it begins.
- Financial independence is a term generally used to describe the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live indefinitely without having to work actively for basic necessities. (Cummuta, John. "The Myths & Realities of Achieving Financial Independence". Nightingale Conant. Retrieved on 14-Sep-2009)
Over the past few years, Uganda has been able to get a grip on its HIV epidemic, to a good degree. Since the massive scale-up in treatment that started around 2004, many people are now on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), which can prolong the life of HIV-infected individuals by more than 15 years if administered and managed correctly.
Anti-Retroviral Therapy is complicated though, in many aspects.
First, for the patient:
-
It is a life-long therapy, that requires drugs every day, complemented by sufficient nutrition.
-
There may be side effects.
-
The environment for the patient may not be optimal, social isolation and stigma are still frequent occurrences.
-
There is always the risk of resistance, the on-going process of the virus that slowly mutates to become resistant to some drugs. This gets worse when people skip (voluntary or involuntary because of drug stock outs) some treatment days.
Secondly, for the health sector:
-
The epidemic puts a major burden on the health system. It can barely cope.
-
HIV-positive individuals must be continuously monitored to make sure that their outcomes are improving, and that the drugs are working.
-
Drugs must always be available, in sufficient quantities.
-
New developments and knowledge in HIV means continuous training.
-
Samples must be tested, sometimes not where the samples are taken from, but at reference labs.
-
Health workers are not sufficient, and it is hard to retain them at health facilities. They prefer working in the city, rather than rural areas.
PREVENTION:
The best medicine therefore is still prevention:
-
Prevention of new infections.
-
Prevention of infection to children of infected mothers.
-
Prevention of infection in married couples whereby one of the two is infected.
-
And prevention of everyone else.
Known strategies that work include abstaining and being faithful. Condoms are extremely effective, but are not as heavily promoted anymore as they used to be. Newer methods include the female condom and medical male circumcision; the latter has become policy for Uganda.
THE PROBLEM:
However, prevention efforts are failing. The number of new infections is on the rise, compared to earlier years when Uganda was touted as a success story in the fight against HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the UNAIDS annual global report of 2010 (with data from 2009):
-
There are currently around 1.2m people living with HIV in Uganda. In 2001, there were 980,000 people living with HIV
-
Women and children are disproportionally more infected. There are around 610,000 women and 150,000 children infected in 2009.
-
Of all adults between 15-49 years, around 6.5% is infected, but major regional differences exist. In Kampala, it is estimated to be 8.5% (2009 data).
-
In 2009, it was estimated that 120,000 new infections took place.
-
The number of deaths from HIV is decreasing. In 2009 there were an estimated 64,000 HIV-related deaths, with 89,000 in 2001.
-
Uganda has spent close to $270m on HIV in 2007, of which only 2.5% was funded by domestic public spending.
-
In 2008, approximately 153,000 people received ART, and in 2009 this number was slightly above 200,000
-
But it is estimated that around 520,000 people would need ART, based on their disease progression, although Uganda reported that this number slightly above 373,000
-
The world bank estimates Uganda’s population growth to be around 3.3% (2009).
These numbers are worrying, because the country cannot afford this epidemic. All individuals who are currently HIV positive will require treatment at some point. As of now, less than 20% of all who are infected are being treated, yet the health system is already struggling to keep up with the demand. International funding is under pressure – yet the number of new infections is on the rise.
From: Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS, 2009: UGANDA
If these infection rates continue to increase what will happen to Uganda? What’s the way forward?
LET’S DISCUSS!!!
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us at the meeting.
The June 2011 Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 30th June, at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
See also:
This coming Freethinkers’ Night is going to be yet another movie night! Every now and then we’ll be holding a FREE screening of an interesting, thought provoking movie pertaining to freethought, and thereafter have a discussion about the issues covered in the film.
The movie we will be screening on Thursday is an award-winning documentary called Religulous, starring American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor, Bill Maher.
So what’s the documentary about?
The film generally takes a humorous, satirical look at religion.
From Amazon.com:
Bill Maher incurs the wrath of multiple religious zealots of myriad faiths in Religulous, a snarky but unexpectedly powerful documentary.
Maher bluntly disputes the value of religion in a world made increasingly dangerous, on the one hand, by fanaticism of all kinds and the human race’s environmental self-destructiveness on the other. No one is immune from Maher’s dogged questions about the illogic and negative fallout of doctrines that advocate violence or shun scientific evidence or marginalize minorities or punish anyone who disagrees with any religion’s extreme tenets. Maher takes his inquiries to the Vatican; to small, evangelical Christian churches; to Jerusalem; to Amsterdam (where elements of an increasingly vocal Muslim community have shown violence toward critics); to a large, African-American church in a big city; and to several bizarre theme parks celebrating creationism and the life of Jesus.
Wherever he goes, Maher seeks to demonstrate that many of the world’s major religions are rife with hypocrisy, completely self-referential, and destructive to the collective good. The fast-moving, globe-trotting film is full of highlights, including a great scene where Maher, in disguise, argues for the core beliefs of Scientology to a bemused crowd at Speaker’s Corner in London’s Hyde Park. There’s also a wonderful moment where Maher, just having been thrown out of the Vatican, gets a terrific interview with a maverick priest.
Raised Catholic but in reality half-Jewish, Maher also spends time with his mother and sister trying to reconcile the role of religion in his childhood.
Everything is really leading toward Maher’s major point that atheists and agnostics are in a sizable minority but are afraid to speak out in these days of zealotry. If that minority stays in the background, Maher says, we may very well be heading toward catastrophe.
Bill Maher on Larry King talking about his new movie Religulous:
A scene from the documentary:
The May Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 26th May 2011 at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. We will start showing the documentary at exactly 6.30pm, so please keep time! There is NO entrance fee – it is FREE.
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed not by religious or cultural dogma but on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us at the meeting.
If you happen to be religious, meanwhile, you too are welcome to interact with those of us who are not, and engage in debate about these contentious issues after the movie.
See you there!
The Burqa
The Niqab
From Wikipedia:
French ban on face covering:
The French ban on face covering is an act of parliament passed by the Senate of France on 14 September 2010, resulting in the ban on the wearing of face-covering headgear, including masks, helmets, balaclava, niqābs and other veils covering the face in public places, except under specified circumstances.
The ban also applies to the burqa, a full-body covering, if it covers the face. The bill had previously been passed by the National Assembly of France on 13 July 2010.
The key argument supporting this proposal is that face-coverings prevent the clear identification of a person, which is both a security risk, and a social hindrance within a society which relies on facial recognition and expression in communication. The key argument against the ban is that it encroaches on individual freedoms. Many Muslim women have claimed that the ban "stigmatises one gender of one religion – Muslim women".
As of 11 April 2011, it is illegal to wear a face-covering veil or other headwear in public places such as the street, shops, museums, public transportation, and parks.
The law applies to all citizens, including men and non-Muslims, who may not cover their face in public except where specifically provided by law such as motor-bike riders and safety workers and during established occasional events such as some carnivals.
As a result of the law, the only exceptions to a woman wearing a niqāb in public will be if she is travelling in a private car or worshiping in a religious place.
Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian-born journalist (based in New York) who calls herself a liberal, a Muslim and a feminist supports the ban:
I support banning the burqa because I believe it equates piety with the disappearance of women. The closer you are to God, the less I see of you — and I find that idea extremely dangerous. It comes from an ideology that basically wants to hide women away. What really strikes me is that a lot of people say that they support a woman’s right to choose to wear a burqa because it’s her natural right. But I often tell them that what they’re doing is supporting an ideology that does not believe in a woman’s right to do anything. We’re talking about women who cannot travel alone, cannot drive, cannot even go into a hospital without a man with them. And yet there is basically one right that we are fighting for these women to have, and that is the right to cover their faces. To tell you the truth, I’m really outraged that people get into these huge fights and say that as a feminist you must support a women’s right to do this, because it’s basically the only kind of "right" that this ideology wants to give women. Otherwise they get nothing.
According to Judith Sunderland, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch:
“We are aware that there are cultural and religious practices around the world that violate women’s rights, and policies of forced veiling in certain regions clearly violate women’s rights to autonomy and to freedom of choice," she said.
"But the bans on wearing the full-face veil in all public places also violate women’s rights to autonomy and to freedom of religion, thought and expression,"
Some have alluded to security concerns with regard to permitting full Islamic veils in public. And there are stories, such as this one in the Telegraph last year, that seem to lend credence to those concerns:
Burka-wearing gunmen raid French bank:
Two burka-wearing bank robbers have pulled off a heist near Paris using a handgun concealed beneath their full Islamic veil.
Employees let the pair through the security double doors of the banking branch of a post office, believing them to be Muslim women. But once inside, the men flipped back their head coverings and pulled out a gun, officials said.
They seized 4,500 euros (£4,000) in cash, according to staff at the branch in Athis Mons, just south of Paris, and made their getaway.
So, is this newly implemented law in France a violation of human rights? Or are the French authorities justified in imposing this law?
Let’s discuss!
If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are welcome to join us at the meeting.
The April 2011 Freethinkers’ Night is going to take place on Thursday, 28th April at 4 Points Bar & Restaurant, Centenary Park, Kampala, starting 6PM. Entrance is FREE.
Freethought Kampala 
Recent Comments