I’m not a beer fan, but this is cool nonetheless.

In the early part of fall 2008, a small Danish brewery, Bryggeriet Djævlebryg, released a new Imperial Stout titled, “Gudeløs.” Those translate to “Devil’s Brew” and “Godless” in English. The beer caused a small stir and even earned a few mentions in the mainstream press here in the U.S. despite only being available in Europe.

Read more on Gudelos.

For those with drunken godless stories, they should be submitted here. Also, sober stories are welcome.

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The Holocaust was a horrific atrocity and watershed event in human history. The meaning of the word is being distorted and demeaned in political rhetoric and casual comparisons.

Over the last few years, U.S. political discourse has been saturated with opponents accusing each other of Nazi-like policies or behavior. Most recently, it was California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown who likened the attack ads of Meg Whitman, his Republican opponent in the race for governor, to the tactics employed by Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels.

Brown later called me to say he regretted citing Goebbels. But most of the comparisons are made without apology.

Its quite sad how people can use the Holocaust as a metaphor for their measly political gain.

Last week, Sarah Palin criticized President Obama’s handling of the BP crisis in a tweet to followers recommending they read an article by Thomas Sowell that compared Adolph Hitler’s use of a financial crisis to give himself dictatorial powers to Obama’s role in creating the BP escrow fund.

Its disgusting. That’s all.

The continued misuse and trivialization of the word prompted Elie Wiesel, Nobel laureate and chronicler of the Holocaust, to discontinue using it. “Whatever mishap occurs now, they call it ‘holocaust,’” Wiesel said. “I have seen it myself in television in the country in which I live. A commentator describing the defeat of a sports team, somewhere, called it a ‘holocaust.’”

Wiesel is right. There are many injustices and manifestations of evil in our world, even in our own country, the greatest of democracies. Standing up to them is not only our right but our obligation. But that obligation does not include distorting and demeaning the word that has come to stand for the great evil that was the Holocaust.

Distorting the meaning of anything solely for your own political aspirations is lame enough as is. Let alone, the Holocaust.

Read the rest of the story.

EDIT: I posted this yesterday and didn’t have much to say about it. It sort of left me speechless. Some in my family are very conservative and are likely back up Palin. This notion crushes me. Especially since others on the opposite side of my family have died and survived through the Holocaust. I was speechless yesterday but not today. How do people like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck not only get away with such awfully irresponsible accusations but enable it to be encouraged? From Palin’s Hitler and nazi references to Beck using MLK to support his agenda, its disgusting and unfair. The fact that there any blacks and/or Jews left in that party is baffling; allowing themselves to be used in this way for the cheap political gain or approval of some white Christian who clearly does not understand actual facts, history, or the plight of said groups. This is at least true of those who continue to defend perpetrators of such inapt metaphors. Of course, that alone may not be enough to leave a party or its philosophy.

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Embedding is disabled, so view this clip here.

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Good without god

I doubt it.

Come out, come out Atheists wherever you are

Born-Again Atheist

If you have any ideas you’d like to see on a product, just let me know.

All of these products plus more can be found under the Humanism & Atheism Product Line. Also, we have an Evolution line and other lines you may enjoy.

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There’s quite a thorough list of secular charities at Effort Sisyphus:

DonorsChoose.org: a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack.

Kiva.org: lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world.

The Union of Concerned Scientists: The leading science-based non-profit working for a healthy environment and safer world.

American Red Cross: The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers, guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The USA’s premier emergency response organization, over 91% of Red Cross spending is on charitable services.

Just to name a few. See them all.

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Mmm, sounds tasty.

Via Friendly Atheist:

It’s probably fake, though. We all know there are no such things as “Christian Infants.”

“Kabbalah Vodka with the Children of Christian Parents” just doesn’t have the same appeal, though…

Exactly. You may also read the explanation.

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Barbie has always been best-known for her revealing costumes and impossibly pneumatic figure. For her 50th birthday, though, the queen of the toy shop has apparently decided it’s time to take a more modest approach. A new exhibition of the globally popular doll has her appearing in a traditional burka.

The look, which will come as a surprise to those who remember previous incarnations as an air stewardess and a French maid, is part of a Mattel-backed anniversary celebration of dolls in multicultural outfits created by the Italian designer Eliana Lorena.

“This is really important for girls, wherever they are from,” Ms Lorena said. “They should have the opportunity to play with a Barbie that they feel represents them.”

[Read more]

Somehow Mattel manages to ramp up the sexism with this new pint-size delight. When American Girl doll went Jewish, at least she wasn’t in the traditional covering…if that even is a silver lining.

I can’t help but wonder, Is she just naked under the burka?

Via Scornful_Luigi, “Burka Barbie, a doll for the modern age. Really? A doll for the medieval age would be more fitting.”

I suddenly feel a little bit better about the original Barbie.

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