Saudi threatens supporters of blasphemous writer Hamza Kashgari

Hamza Kashgari tweeted about the prophet Muhammad:

• On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you've always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you.
  
• On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more.
  
• On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more.

(from Wikipedia)

He now faces death for blasphemy. Why are people so stupid and ignorant? There is no god of whatever designation, so why bother about "blasphemy"? Or maybe it's because the less true something is, the more eagerly you defend it. That would explain muslim fanaticism.


Read more...

bad memory is now a federal offense

"A Colorado woman that was ordered by a federal judge to decrypt her laptop hard-drive for police last month, appears to have forgotten her password. If she does not remember the password by month's end, as ordered, she could be held in contempt and jailed until she complies. It appears that bad memory is now a federal offense."

Read more on SlashDot

MIA: Bad Girls

Internet censorship in the Netherlands

A court in the Hague has ruled that ISPs XS4ALL and Ziggo must block access to thepiratebay.org for their customers. This court doesn't seem to understand how the internet works. Will they order phone companies to block phone lines for criminals planning a bank robbery?

This is what customers get instead.

UN Chief Urges Africa to Respect Gay Rights

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on African leaders to respect gay rights, and to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Islington girls forced into marriage at the age of nine

AN alarming number of under-age girls – some as young as nine – are being forced into marriage in Islington, according to a leading campaign group.

The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) claim that at least 30 girls in the borough were forced into marriage in 2010.
Islington Tribune, more...

How to get around Twitter resctictions

Does Twitter censor tweets in your country? Here's how to uncensor them: NextWeb

it gets better

End piracy, not liberty

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Man faces five years for ‘God does not exist’ Facebook post

Atheism is a violation of Indonesian law under the founding principles of the country. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, recognises the right to practice six religions in total: Islam, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhism and Confucianism. Atheism is, however, illegal.
ZDNet

I thought Indonesia was the one Muslim country that's not barbaric and primitive. I was proved wrong.

Occams razor (in Dutch)

Sync.nl

Why politicians should never make laws about technology

As the world gets more and more technical, we can't let Luddites decide the fate of dangerous legislation like SOPA. (InfoWorld)

The Art of Flight

Hanged, not stoned

Sakineh Ashtiani will be hanged, not stoned to death, according to an Iranian source. For adultery. A government that punishes people for adultery is absurd and ridiculous. A government that kills its citizens for adultery is barbaric, inhumane, criminal, stupid, ignorant, and should not exist.

Flappie

Reason's Greetings

print my new kidney

What if there's an afterlife, but only for atheists?

Multicopter

The innovators dilemma

Steve Jobs liked The Innovators Dilemma by prof. Clayton Christensen.