Secular Sunday #36 – Winning Women

It’s time for another Secular Sunday.

In this issue:

• Women Worth Listening To
• Upcoming Events
• Blogginess

Women Worth Listening To

• Michael Nugent has compiled a list of over a thousand women, from different parts of the world and with different areas of expertise, who would make excellent speakers at atheist, skeptic, scientific or human rights events. He also deals with some of the arguments against increasing the number of women speakers (for such arguments are often made), and invites readers to add further names to the list.
• Atheist Ireland will be hosting a Women in Secularism conference in Dublin next summer and a number of the women listed will be speaking at it. Our team of  volunteers is busy working on this and we’ll have updates on it in the near future.
• There will also be a Women in Secularism conference in the USA next May. Details here
• Lest you think that women are latecomers to the atheist scene, here’s a video of Annie Laurie Gaylor of the FFRF discussing the history of women in freethought, at the 2012 Women in Secularism conference. There are more videos from the conference on the CFI‘s YouTube channel.

Upcoming Events

• Saturday 8 September, 1:00 pm, Bórd Gais Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2 (map)
  The biggest TEDxDublin to date: 15 speakers will take to the stage to share ideas and explore the unexpected. The theme is ‘A City of Ideas’. Tickets are €30 but currently sold out. List of speakers
• Monday 10 September, 8:30 pm, McSwiggans Bar and Restaurant, Woodquay, Galway (map)
  Galway Skeptics in the Pub: “Let’s just put plus on everything, get back to square one”. Facebook event page.
• Thursday 13 September, 8:00 pm, Malone Lodge Hotel, Eglantine Ave., Belfast (map)
  Humani‘s monthly meeting. David McConaghie from the Caleb Foundation will be speaking on the origins of the Giant’s Causeway.
• Saturday 15 September, 1:30 pm, Storey’s Gate, London, England
  Protest march for a secular Europe. If you’re in London, you can join this annual march for equal rights for all and the removal of special privileges for religions.
• Wednesday 19 September, 8:00 pm, Absolute Hotel, Sir Harry’s Mall, Kings Island, Limerick (map)
  The Mid West Humanists will be meeting. Any non-believers or people leaning that way are welcome. The meeting is due to make plans for pairs or trios of members to visit all the TDs in Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary with a list of desired changes to the Constitution, and to ask that these issues be sent to the Constitutional convention.

Blogginess

• Given the findings of various reports and the contribution of Cardinal Sean Brady to the anguish of many abused Irish children, one would assume that an individual such as this would not be immune to shame and would therefore either resign, or be “relocated” like so many before him. – The Moaning Messiah takes issue with Cardinal Brady’s comments on the abortion debate.
• What would you do if someone claimed that, because of “geopathic stress”, moving your bed could be the key to avoiding cancer? – If you were Zen Buffy you would excoriate them and those who unquestioningly publicise their claims.
• Pseudo-science is a menace because it uses scientific words out of context and distorts the actual facts to suit whatever product or ideal is being promoted. – Atheism Northern Ireland on the negative impact of pseudo-science.

That’s all for another week. Stay up-to-date and keep in touch via our website, our Facebook page and group, our Twitter feed, and our YouTube channel

Derek Walsh
Editor, Secular Sunday
Atheist Ireland