Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Copenhagen Declaration on Religion in Public Life

http://open.salon.com/blog/douglas_berger/2010/06/29/copenhagen_declaration_on_religion_in_public_life

The recent Gods and Politics conference in Copenhagen adopted the following Declaration on Religion in Public Life. The conference was the first European event of Atheist Alliance International, and was co-hosted by AAI and the Danish Atheist Society.

We, at the World Atheist Conference: “Gods and Politics”, held in Copenhagen from 18 to 20 June 2010, hereby declare as follows:

* We recognize the unlimited right to freedom of conscience, religion and belief, and that freedom to practice one’s religion should be limited only by the need to respect the rights of others.

* We submit that public policy should be informed by evidence and reason, not by dogma.

* We assert the need for a society based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. History has shown that the most successful societies are the most secular.

* We assert that the only equitable system of government in a democratic society is based on secularism: state neutrality in matters of religion or belief, favoring none and discriminating against none.

* We assert that private conduct, which respects the rights of others should not be the subject of legal sanction or government concern.

* We affirm the right of believers and non-believers alike to participate in public life and their right to equality of treatment in the democratic process.

* We affirm the right to freedom of expression for all, subject to limitations only as prescribed in international law – laws which all governments should respect and enforce. We reject all blasphemy laws and restrictions on the right to criticize religion or nonreligious life stances.

* We assert the principle of one law for all, with no special treatment for minority communities, and no jurisdiction for religious courts for the settlement of civil matters or family disputes.

* We reject all discrimination in employment (other than for religious leaders) and the provision of social services on the grounds of race, religion or belief, gender, class, caste or sexual orientation.

* We reject any special consideration for religion in politics and public life, and oppose charitable, tax-free status and state grants for the promotion of any religion as inimical to the interests of non-believers and those of other faiths. We oppose state funding for faith schools.

* We support the right to secular education, and assert the need for education in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and reason as a guide to knowledge, and in the diversity of religious beliefs. We support the spirit of free inquiry and the teaching of science free from religious interference, and are opposed to indoctrination, religious or otherwise.

Adopted by the conference, Copenhagen, 20 June 2010.

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i totally and 100% agree with all of this. and i think its something our nations (not to mention state) leaders need to adopt. christians like to say that our country was founded on christianity. um no, it wasnt. our country was founded on the principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. we are a SECULAR nation, and we need to start acting as such.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

jack i want you to draw me like one of your french girls...

yea so im watching titanic, wanna make somethin of it?! dont judge me XD lol

so its been a long time since i updated. ive pretty much had no life and nothing to write about except work, and i didnt want to bore you lol. i havent had a break since i got back from chicago - today is my last say in a string of eleven days straight of working, with no day off. tomorrow is my day off, and even then i have to catch up on all the cleaning i havent had time or energy to do, plus make it to mitchs little cousins birthday party. oy. and i miss my friends (theyve been on the rotary western trip for like two weeks now and wont be back for a few more days) but even if they were here its not like id have the time or energy to hang out. stupid job, stupid being a grownup :p

tribal rev was INCREDIBLE. i had so much fun, and i learned so much. i also was able to keep up better than i thought i would :) dont get me wrong, i still got my ass kicked royally, but thats to be expected when learning from ariellah and unmata lol.

me with amy sigil of unmata (the picture quality sucks, my camera was on the wrong setting lol)

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and with ariellah. seriously, this woman is my idol ♥
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there are so many other bellydance events i want to go to...3rd coast tribal in texas, tribal fest and gothla in california...i know i keep saying it, but i *really* wish we had more money. i need to fuel my shimmy addiction XD

my friend vicki is getting married next saturday. i am so excited for her, and im honored to be one of her bridesmaids. but - and i know i have no real place saying this since its a million times worse for her - but i am so effing stressed out over it. my dress doesnt fit, its too tight in the hips (even with spanx). i had planned on losing weight (which i need to do anyway) but with the chaos of moving and getting settled in, it just never happened. and when i went to get it altered (it was too loose around my chest) they said they could only take it out in the hips about a quarter inch. so im pretty much screwed. i tried starving myself (yea, THAT lasted lol) now im trying a raw food diet, which ive heard good things about. last-ditch effort will be the acai berry cleanse; my friend lost 7 lbs in three days on it. so i might have to go buy that and pray that it works. on top of that, i still havent gotten shows or jewelry or anything because i dont know what she wants me to get. i havent heard anything specific, other than "silver." so i still have to go find shoes. then the rehearsal is on friday at 1730. i have a doctors appointment that day at 1445; it was the only time i could get in. the doctors office is like half an hour away from the church and the wait time at the office is ungodly long. so im not even sure ill make it in time. so yea, even though im crazy excited for vicki, ill breathe a lot easier when this wedding is over.

i think thats about it for now; i started writing this when i put titanic on and now its at the part where cal grabs the little girl and jumps into a lifeboat. just to give you an idea of how long this damn entry has taken me. i dont have a whole lot to say, and i have a very short attention span lol. ttfn.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

tribal rev in t minus 2 days

ariellah


unmata


deb rubin


I AM SO RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED!!!!! i leave for chicago on thursday and i wont be back til monday ^_^