Tickets still available for Sunday Herald's freedom of speech debate at Comedy Fest

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Je Suis Comedian: What Are You Laughing At? forms part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival and will be chaired by our head of news Neil Mackay.

He will be joined by comedians Imran Yusuf and Bruce Morton, Scottish journalist Stuart Cosgrove, theatre critic Joyce McMillan, human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, and the Kirk's Rev Sally Foster-Fulton as they debate the role of comedy and satire in the modern world.

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In the wake of the tragedy in Paris, in which 12 people were killed at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, supporters of freedom of speech around the world adopted the slogan "Je suis Charlie" to express their affiliation with the victims of the massacre and their opposition to censorship imposed by violence.

Debate has raged over what these events mean for free speech and whether in a multi-faith, multi-cultural society, religion should or shouldn't properly be the object of humour.

The event will discuss whether comedy can bring people together in the wake of tragedy and whether unrestricted free speech is essential to the functioning of our democracy, as well as the idea that we may be more tolerant to free speech in some contexts more than others.

Tommy Sheppard, Festival Director and owner of The Stand comedy club, said: "Originally we were going to poke fun at the general election, but this just seemed so much more important. The debate on free speech versus causing offence goes right to the heart of what comedy is and what comedians do, and it's fitting that we're going to have this discussion at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival"

Je Suis Comedian: What Are You Laughing At? takes place on Thursday 26 March 2015 at 8pm at the Citizens Theatre. Tickets are available for 8 from the festival website http://www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com and via the box office on 0844 873 7353.

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Tickets still available for Sunday Herald's freedom of speech debate at Comedy Fest

Mardi Gras: SBS wrong to dump ad opposing same sex marriage, say MPs Dean Smith and David Leyonhjelm

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By Matthew KnottMarch 9, 2015, 1:25 p.m.

Prominent politicians who support gay marriage have accused public broadcasterSBS of supressing freedom of speech by pulling an anti-same sex marriage advertisement from its telecast of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade.

Liberal senator Dean Smith Photo: Stefan Postles

Liberal senator Dean Smith Photo: Stefan Postles

Liberal senator Dean Smith Photo: Stefan Postles

Prominent politicians who support gay marriage have accused public broadcasterSBS of suppressing freedom of speech by pulling an anti-same sex marriage advertisement from its telecast of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

The advertisement by the Australian Marriage Forum claimed that marriage equality forces a child to miss out on a mother or father. It was broadcast on Channels Seven and Nine but was pulled from SBS on Sunday night.

Liberal senator Dean Smith, who is openly gay, said: "I am opposed to the censorship of any of the arguments for or against same-sex marriage.

"Same-sex marriage proponents need to be prepared to meet head-on the arguments of those who disagree with them.

"Obnoxious ads should be aired because they undermine the cause of their sponsors - the obnoxious views will be seen for what they are."

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Mardi Gras: SBS wrong to dump ad opposing same sex marriage, say MPs Dean Smith and David Leyonhjelm

Atheism no smarter than Christianity

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WITHOUT a Supreme Being (God) to account to, and in the absence of an ultimate authority in the universe, it logically follows that human beings are their own masters and a law unto themselves. In fact, more graphically, it translates to this: the wicked massacres of defence-less citizens by the wicked regimes of this world; the wanton rape; the abuse of the innocent; the senseless genocides and the numerous injustices witnessed over the centuries will be perfectly in place as there is no answerability and, consequently, no judgment.

This is precisely what the devil craves for the human race to believe. Atheism, by rejecting the existence of God, is nothing but a secreted way of propping up lawlessness, anarchy and transgression in the universe. Atheism represents the mindset that Satan (whom they think is imaginary), desires humans to have. Atheism, by design or default, is an adroit satanic ideology meant to promote immorality throughout the world. Where it not for space, I would have had readers realize the striking and salient similarities between verses from the satanic bible (written by Antony Lavey) and independent atheistic writings.

I have also realized that atheists, eccentrically, suffer from an extremely developed smarter-than-thou-complex. They claim to be more enlightened than the manic lunatics of religion. A sister from Netherlands wrote, I have suffered much grief debating with atheists as they trash the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ and God. This is not strange, personally I have debated with decorated atheists and one thing that surely stands out in the atheistic argument is their smarter-than-thou attitude. Atheists view themselves as having a monopoly over truth and knowledge, an accusation they ironically direct at Christians. Atheism is anchored in the belief that no deities exist. Building on this belief, atheists go on the rampage attacking everything in their path that is religion.

Atheists points of attack, particularly on Christianity, centre on the purported crimes and abusive practices found in the Old Testament; practices such as slavery, sanctioned murders and generally, the massive suffering in the world today. These things equip the deluded atheistic mind with unholy zeal to go on an offensive against Christianity. For long, I have realized the futility of debating with atheists mainly because of their preoccupation with attacking personalities.

The ill-advised part of atheism is that it ridiculously demands proof of the existence of God by intending him to prove himself in a way they (fallible humans) have codified. They think of God as some petite being they can tinker with; they do not want God operating on his own terms. They want a God who would yield to their (warped) ideology of how he should operate before they validate him. Why doesnt God end the wars in various states? Why does he allow the suffering to continue? Why didnt he fight for Christ when he was being crucified? The list of the sanctimonious questions goes on. Sadly, the answers to these questions lie in the very bible which they spurn.

Atheists claim that their belief system is morally superior to religion largely because it does not lead to murderous fanaticism. Paradoxically, atheists have been the most fanatical hatred spreaders against those who believe in religion. In the 20th century, millions were slaughtered by communist regimes that embraced militant atheism as part of their creed Atheist intolerance exists in unbridled proportions and they simply cant claim the moral high ground to be better than Christianity. They seek to justify their nearly-insane ideology by incessant attacks on the bible itself. While atheists may cite biblical incidences and treacherously seek for loopholes, it is imprudent for them to claim the high moral ground over Christianity.

Whether from a scientific or religious view, atheism is no smarter than religion. Unreligious scientists, for centuries, confirm by a mere dissection of the human body that 100% someone designed the human body. Science, in recent years, continues to make a case for God. Theorist Physicist Paul Davies has said that The appearance of design is overwhelming. Oxford professor Dr John Lennox has said the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a creatorgains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.

The system we call the universe, itself. Its structure and how it operates, from a purely scientific point of view incontrovertibly proves the existence of One who designed it. The evidence is simply overwhelming. The Bible is a collection of scores of books which were written years apart yet there is striking harmony in the message. Every book, for example, in the Old Testament points to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Like I mentioned, its too much to ask atheism to comprehend such a thing as the pre-existence of Jesus Christ which they viciously attack using a carnal mind. Jesus existed from the beginning (John 1:1); he did not father himself as they blasphemously claim.

In all honesty, atheists should do some soul-searching. God operates on principle which, if flouted, consequences result. For example, Aarons sons were advised not to use fire and they disobeyed and that had consequences. Annanias and Sapphira knew what was expected of them when they sold a piece of their land yet they chose to disobey and certainly too that brought consequences. Its the same story with Adam and Eve. God cannot be held in error for operating on principle. We cant use terrorist acts by Islamic extremists as a basis for bastardizing religion. Surely, it befuddles the mind why atheism would choose this route of appalling ignorance. Surely, it can only be the fool who has said there is no God.

Learnmore Zuze can be reached on lastawa77@gmail.com

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Atheism no smarter than Christianity

TRANSHUMANIST AGENDA Lab Rats Rise of the Secret Soldiers 720p – Video

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TRANSHUMANIST AGENDA Lab Rats Rise of the Secret Soldiers 720p
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TRANSHUMANIST AGENDA The End of Religion and Review of Lab Rats 720p – Video

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TRANSHUMANIST AGENDA The End of Religion and Review of Lab Rats 720p
I am just a middleman trying to spread the word FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for entertainment purposes only. This constitutes...

By: Timothy anon

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The Everyday Transhumanist | Solve all the Problems!

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There has been a bit of commentary over the Boston Dynamics video of their newest robot: Spot. Spot is the little brother of Big Dog, the gas-powered pack horse designed to walk over complex terrain carrying huge weights for long distances. Spot is a bit more nimble. But proving that is whats really garnered all the attention:Spot is designed to correct its balance in real time, making it capable of literally taking a kick.

Christ, what an asshole.

Now, this kick is pretty sad. The robot is so good at correcting its balance, its motions actually resemble the motions a similarly-sized dog would make if it were kicked. And we humans love dogs. So we see this and we are filled with sympathy for the poor, abused do um, robot. Lots of people were thinking it, butNatasha Tiku at the Vergefinally came out and said it: we should not kick robots because on day soon, they might start kicking us instead. I might write this off as satirical were it not for the link to LessWrongs wiki article on Unfriendly Artificial Intelligence.

There are good reasons to be concerned about unfriendly Artificial Intelligence. The fact that we built robots, programmed them not to lose their balance, and then videotaped ourselves kicking them isnt a good reason to be concerned. The overwhelming majority of UFAIs will not be sympathetic to the robotthe failure modes in which an Unfriendly AI could be enraged by this and hold humans accountable for this heinous action are approximately as complex as the success modes of building a forgiving Friendly AI. So help make Friendly AI a possibility, and dont worry about having sympathy for the robot.

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The Everyday Transhumanist | Solve all the Problems!