This is the weekly summary of the Humanist Network News (HNN). The HNN is published every Wednesday via e-mail and on the Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS) Web site. This diary is a slightly reformatted copy of the weekly email they send me, which I post here every Thursday (Yes, I have permission from the IHS). (CP @ MLW, BT, SP)

February 22, 2006
Humanist Network News
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  1. Helping youth help us all
  2. Kurtz to speak at IHEU – UN bioethics conference
  3. Ontario Tories’ Tory supports religious schools
  4. Rationally Speaking: Are you pursuing your project?
  5. Comparing media from around the world
  6. Film Review: Freedomland
  7. Sweet Reason, can a student start a Darwin club?
  8. Letters to the Editor
  9. Media Roundup
  10. Cathartic Comics
  11. Humanist Humor
  12. Poll of the Week

Summaries, links, and MY TAKE across the break.
1. Helping youth help us all
The secular movement suffers from a chronic case of youth deficiency. But some groups are getting better at reaching out to young humanists. August E. Brusnman IV, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance, sheds light on how some freethought groups are doing good outreach to the next generation. MORE

MY TAKE: It kind of goes against the notion that secular humanists don’t proselytize, but I guess you kind of have to proselytize in order to compete in the marketplace of ideas. Plus, I know from personal experience that it can be quite comforting to find out that there are like minded individuals out there, and I’m sure there are many free-thinking youngsters that may feel like something of an outsider in our heavily Christianized society, so this outreach could be very welcome to them.

2. Kurtz to speak at IHEU – UN bioethics conference
Famous humanist Paul Kurtz will be among the distinguished speakers at the IHEU – Appignani Center for Bioethics conference in April. MORE

3. Ontario Tories’ Tory supports religious schools
Doug Thomas examines the future of publicly funded religious schools in Canada. MORE

MY TAKE: Canada is an odd bag: more conservative in some ways, yet far more liberal in others. This issue is an example of that odd situation. They want to eliminate favoritism to the Roman Catholic Church Schools, but they propose to do it by funding the other religious schools equally, rather than removing funding for the Catholic schools. The problem with this proposal is that it then favors religious private schools over secular private schools. Of course, the Canadian Constitution complicates the whole matter, so go read the article to get the full overview of this issue.

4. Rationally Speaking: Are you pursuing your project?
Dr. Massimo Pigliucci explores philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s notions about human actions and ethical choices. MORE

5. Comparing media from around the world
Have you wondered how media are different across the world? Prof. Robert McKenzie takes a look at how media in different countries vary on their policies about religious coverage, nudity, graphic violence, profanity, and MORE

6. Film Review: Freedomland
HNN Film Critic Carolyn Braunius writes: “Freedomland is an awkward discourse on oppression in America.” MORE

7. Sweet Reason, can a student start a Darwin club?
A high school students asks “Sweet Reason” for advice on starting a Darwin club to offset other high school creationist and ID clubs. MORE

8. Letters to the Editor
Letters on the Muhammad cartoons, Agnostic Mom, secular dating and MORE

9. Media Roundup
A roundup of news items of interest to freethinkers. MORE

10. Cathartic Comics
This week we add a new freethought cartoon, “The Boiling Point,” by Mikhaela B. Reid. READ THE COMICS

11. Humanist Humor
This week we translate a few words to show what they really mean. MORE

12. Poll of the Week
What are your thoughts on hunting? CAST YOUR VOTE

MY TAKE: I am generally anti-gun (especially in urban areas, but I admit hunting has its place and may even be a natural human behavior on some level. That said, I wouldn’t do it unless I had to in order to survive. I can shoot guns or bows for fun by shooting inanimate objects and targets (I actually quite enjoy archery). With all the stories about diseases jumping from animals to humans recently – from bird flu, to the spongiform encephalopathies, to hanta virus and ebola – I don’t know how safe hunting for food is even without any gun mishaps.

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The IHS promotes nonreligious perspectives on social, political, and ethical issues and serves as a resource for and about the humanist community. Questions, comments, concerns, got a better joke or a story? Send a letter to the editor.

If anything here interests you, or if you are one of those people who doesn’t “get” humanism, you may also be interested in my diary on what secular humanism is and what it is like to be a secular humanist in today’s political climate: I Am The Boogeyman.

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