A non-Buddhist skeptical atheist with background in psychology, scientific research, healthcare and mindfulness meditation shows how many of the central tenets and practices of Buddhism can appeal to other skeptics.

A thorough epistemological and ethical consideration of secular philosophies and how they are ultimately rooted in unsubstantiated moral and existential faith claims. This is surely not to dismiss or disqualify them; but to understand them for what they are.

We’ve heard of mental health risks for trauma victims, models, high-performance athletes, people in the public eye, soldiers, executives, people living in poverty, and many other social demographics. As a political activist who studies and works in healthcare, is currently on a placement in a mental health unit, and has had personal struggles with mental health issues linked to depression, anxiety and emotion regulation, I have come to believe that political activists may represent another identifiable group at elevated risk for a series of  mental health issues. Read on.

Theologically speaking, where do observant Jews and Conservative Christians derive their moral precepts?

Homeopathy Under Fire in the US, UK, Italy, Israel and Australia.

Endorsing Justin Trottier, Green Party of Ontario Candidate, Parkdale-High Park.

A proud endorsement of Justin Trottier in his candidacy in the upcoming Ontario provincial elections. Justin is a leading Canadian activist on behalf of nontheism, secularism, science, reason, humanism, freedom of speech, gay rights, and other causes that make Canada one of the world’s most progressive and respected nations.

How will Rapturites respond when Sunday, May 22 rolls around and nothing in the world has changed? Will they claim that their great faith saved the world, that the Rapture in fact DID occur – we just don’t realize it, that Harold Camping – the man behind this Rapture campaign – forgot to carry a zero and was off by a thousand years? will they (hopefully not) attempt to Rapture themselves (i.e., mass suicide), or will they simply admit that they were in error and might need to re-think a few things? Vote here.

For more Death By Trolley cartoons, click here.

- Every politician or beauty pageant contestant ever.

Highly unlikely. That’s not to say that it wouldn’t be desirable. It’s just not going to happen. Even in an idealistic world where everyone had enough food, followed the Golden Rule, did not covet status, wealth or luxury, politicians weren’t corrupt, organized religions did not divide us, and everyone was perfectly honest, rational and considerate of the opinions of everyone else, and moreover, everyone knew that everyone else was being as morally upstanding as they could be, world peace would not happen.

Why not? In short, a lack of resources tomorrow, and irreconcilable disagreements on what is moral and best for society.

Read on and leave comments at my new blog, Death By Trolley.

It’s not all bad, though. At least I and my fellow students are fortunate enough to have instructors who sometimes do us the favour of ending class early, canceling the odd lecture here and there, and maybe even going on strike (faculty at my school, the University of Western Ontario, are teetering on the brink of a walkout/lockout)! That last one is a rarity, but it’s one of those things where you just kind of feel good when it happens, even if it doesn’t happen at your school. It’s good to know that good things still happen, y’know?

This all sounds ridiculous, of course. If theatres started cutting movies short, or if a food/beverage establishment only gave you a portion of what you ordered and paid for, you wouldn’t be happy. You’d be shocked and rightfully pissed off. You did not get what you paid for and you’d have a good mind to ask for at least a partial refund.

Contrast this with the situation in university education, where paying students (including me) are apparently universally pleased to be let out of class early or have a class canceled, and are sometimes even welcoming of a short lived academic strike. Lets use a little bit of folk behavioural economics to speculate as to why so many students love to get less than what they paid for when it comes to school.

Read on and leave comments at my new blog, Death By Trolley.

Materialism holds that the mental is a product of the physical – the mind is what the brain does. By contrast, dualist accounts are consistent with our common sense notion that the mental is fundamentally different from the physical. How much does a thought weigh? a dualist might ask. In this post I will offer a materialist position that offers all the strengths of materialism as commonly understood, but with none of the shortfalls.

Read on and leave comments at my new blog, Death By Trolley.

That this man has become a well-known online symbol of stupidity. Unfortunately for him, what is less well-known is that he was making a pun! His “Get A BRAIN MORANS” sign was directed at Democratic Virginia Congressman, Jim Moran, and Moran’s supporters. Did this little quip ever come back to bite him… What’s more, it’s seven years later and his image is still being used as an international symbol of stupid!

Read the rest and leave comments at my new blog, Death By Trolley.

To see the lyrics or to leave a comment visit my new blog, Death By Trolley.

Come check it out. Leave a comment to say “hi”.

I have just started a new blog, Death By Trolley. From its About section:

Death By Trolley is a soapbox and a centre for discussion on the political economies and ethical issues surrounding health care, the mass media, civil liberties, social issues, and other things that catch the interest or ire of a secular humanist progressive 28 year old Canadian health care graduate student who believes in open, honest and fair discussion of all issues, follows Major League Baseball, and enjoys awkward, immature and taboo humour.

Goals of the blog:

• To promote open and honest consideration of important and interesting political, societal and ethical issues.
• To promote greater understanding of the worldviews and perspectives of people of different value systems (e.g., progressivism, libertarianism).
• To shine light on fair and unfair coverage of political issues in media, on the left and right.

Hope you’ll check it out!

I created it myself. Following the lead of others I’ve seen online, I’ve deliberately made it benign (i.e., no negative imagery). The stick figure is for simplicity, not to demean. This said, I reserve every right to post any horribly vile image of Muhammad that I wish. It’s not something I have any intention of doing, but I have every civil right to. The purpose of going the benign route is to highlight the ridiculousness of the inhumanly vile over-reaction of said Islamofascists.

As Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks has pointed out, perhaps these people’s problem is that they don’t really believe in Allah. If they did, then why do they need to take it upon themselves to harm those non-Muslims who break Allah’s rules for Muslims? What? They don’t think that Allah has got the situation under control? That he can’t handle a few cartoonists?

It has annoyed and angered quite a few people, to say the least. I would describe my reaction as mildly annoyed. I just don’t view these people as credible, and so their idiotic views hardly phased me. A few months ago, I would’ve been more annoyed. But now it’s becoming increasingly clear that the target market of this network – right wing lunatics and ignoramuses – are moving further and further into marginalization.

Tom Green, on the other hand, was absolutely enraged. I pass the video on because it’s important to support those in the public eye who speak out against this horrible network. While it’s true that corruption in news media spreads across the television dial, Fox News is in a league of its own. The bar was already so low, so the people at Fox News routinely take to digging.