Michael Nugent – Atheism, Reason, Happiness

An open letter to the AHA about Richard Dawkins

I have written the following letter to the American Humanist Association.

Please reconsider your decision to publicly withdraw from Richard Dawkins the Humanist of the Year award that you gave him in 1996. By doing this you are sustaining a pattern in recent years of people unjustly portraying Richard as something of a cartoon villain.

King Rocker and the myths of the Nightingales

I absolutely loved King Rocker, the surreal and heartwarming documentary about seventies cult punk icon Robert Lloyd. His midlands band the Prefects morphed into the Nightingales, who still perform today after Lloyd’s journey from the verge of pop stardom to working as a postman while living over a Chinese takeaway.

Why RTE’s ‘blasphemous’ comedy sketch was ethical

In the 1960s Catholic Bishops in Ireland complained about a light-hearted quiz on the Late Late Show, when a woman said that she might not have worn anything on her wedding night. In the 1970s RTE axed the television drama the Spike, after prudes complained that a scene of an art class briefly showed a nude model.

Why I am a Sentientist

Sentientism is the name of a unifying philosophy or worldview about what’s real and what matters, promoted by Jamie Woodhouse and others.

Archbishop wants ‘blasphemous’ item removed

Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin has called on RTE to immediately remove a television clip which he says it is offensive, outrageous, and blasphemous. He was complaining about RTE’s New Year’s Eve Countdown Show, which included a mock news review by Waterford Whispers News.

The sexist abuse directed at Karen Carney

Former England international footballer Karen Carney has closed her Twitter account after sexist abuse from a minority of Leeds United fans. Why? Because she expressed her opinion as a pundit about the Covid break last season benefiting Leeds’ fitness levels.

UN to raise secular rights with Ireland

The UN Human Rights Committee has raised the Irish education system and religious oaths in its List of Issues under the UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights. They raised the right to freedom of religion and belief in the Irish Education system.

Civil society needs dialogue, not silencing

The recent public letter seeking to discredit and silence campaigners for the sex-based rights of women and LGB people is part of a wider problem, which has been escalating over the last decade.

Amnesty falsely denies its call to remove rights

Amnesty Ireland has falsely denied that it called on the media and politicians to deny legitimate representation to people promoting the sex-based rights of women and LGB people. Amnesty signed a letter that says:

Amnesty Ireland rejects equal rights for all

I agree with Iseult White that Amnesty Ireland should not seek to deny media and political representation to people promoting the sex-based rights of women and LGB people. Nor should they caricature people with one sincere belief as arbiters of truth and virtue, and people with another sincere belief as toxic bigots and haters.