Dear <<First Name>>,
Last year I watched in disgust the January 6 insurrection in Washington DC. It was unbelievable the hate spewed by a group of people who could not tolerate that they lost the election and that other people had different views from theirs. Trump never won the popular vote in any election.
They truly believed that they had absolute property rights to land and everyone elses thoughts and mind. In a similar manner, the Europeans came over to the Americas and colonised it's people and land, it was an immediate possession of land and people that didn't belong to them.
Are we very different in Canada? The Trucker's Convoy has raised 10Million dollars. What!! Yes, how did this happen? Why? Kind of scary!!
For an interesting talk, you can listen to:
Join us for this virtual talk with Priya Gopal as part of our Anti-Racist Thought and Activism in History Speaker Series.
Priyamvada Gopal is Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the University of Cambridge. Gopal’s most recent book, Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent, was a finalist for the 2020 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding. Her article, “On Decolonization and the University,” sets an important agenda for the future of anti-racism in higher education.
Find out about damages paid to Gopal by the Daily Mail for having falsely accused her of “inciting race wars” in this interview by Bhakti Shringarpure for the LA Review of Books. You can hear Gopal speak on the the history of abolition and rebellion.
Follow Gopal on Twitter.
REGISTER NOW
Sincerely,
Nina George
think@askuskelowna.ca
KASHA - Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics & Humanists Association
Inquire with us at askuskelowna.ca
You can now become a member via our secure website payment system HERE
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Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters
from centerforinquiry.org
Today humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding–and also appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing?
Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of many awards for his research, teaching, and books, he has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and named one of Time‘s 100 Most Influential People and one of Foreign Policy‘s 100 Leading Global Thinkers. His books include The Blank Slate, The Stuff of Thought, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now.
This talk (Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters) took place on January 6, 2022 as part of Skeptical Inquirer Presents.
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‘Gone by 2040’: Why some religions are declining in Canada faster than ever
By Ashleigh Steward - Global News
Posted January 8, 2022
Updated January 17, 2022
It’s Advent Sunday and snow is falling thick and fast outside the front doors of the soaring, neo-Gothic bell tower of the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto.
 A tiny crowd huddles around a black Weber grill, emitting brief puffs of smoke as a crackling fire battles the elements.
“Come, gather around the holy barbecue,” Reverend Jason Meyers jokes.
It’s a modern scene amid very modern challenges facing religious institutions in Canada. Continue reading HERE
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Shortly after the KASHA newsletter was sent out on December 22, I received an email from a KASHA member expressing his disappointment that we had included a link to the Zoom video chat between Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins. I was unaware of the backgrounds of these men, and had I known more about them, I don't think I would have promoted them in any way in our newsletter. If you are interested in becoming more informed, please check out the following articles: Lawrence Krauss and the Legacy of Harassment in Science, The Unbeliever, Richard Dawkins Loses "Humanist of the Year" Title Over Trans Comments, and Atheist Richard Dawkins Swings to Anti-Trans Right.
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Shortly after Betty White's passing on December 31, 2021, this video, Betty White talks about her own death with Larry King, popped up on my YouTube recommendations list. Some fellow atheists, humanists, and skeptics might disagree with what she says, but then, how can we ever REALLY know what happens after death? Rest in peace, Betty, wherever that may be!
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Prey is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Matt Gallagher and released in 2019. An examination of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, the film centres on Rod McLeod, a man who is suing the church for restitution after having been abused in childhood by priest William Hodgson "Hod" Marshall, and includes testimonial interviews from some of Marshall's other victims.
https://www.knowledge.ca/program/prey#air-dates
One can sign up for free to get access to the Knowledge Network and stream this documentary.
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What I learned through deconverting (and funerals)
By Tania
(July 2013)
It has been about 2 ½ years now since the start of my deconversion.
I had been having questions and doubts about many of the Christian doctrines for years leading up to this, and I'd had many struggles with God and my relationship with Him; yet at these times, I sensed that these things were just building blocks to a stronger Christian faith, and I worked hard to become “the kind of person God wants me to be.”
In January 2011, something snapped. It was something small, in the scheme of things, and looking back on it now, I'm grateful for how things worked out in the end. But, nonetheless, I believe that it was the thing that marked the start of my unbelief in a God who intervenes in the lives of His children. What happened was small: I was interested in a young man; I felt that God had placed him into my life and that we would end up together, eventually, as husband and wife; said man expressed, three months into my infatuation with him, that he was not interested in me. And this hurt. It hurts to be rejected. And it hurt that it had seemed like such a “God thing,” only to be crushed. I remember going into my bathroom and looking at myself in the mirror, crying, angry, asking, “Really? Really, God? What are you doing? What ARE you doing? Where are you? Are You even there?”
Click HERE to read more
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Webinars & Town Halls on the KASHA website
Thanks to Darrel, we now have a page of interesting webinars and town hall meetings from BC Humanists, Center for Inquiry Canada, and Amnesty International that you can watch.
If you just can't watch another Netflix show or commercial TV, tune in here to see issues that are relevant to you. KASHA WEBINAR PAGE
You can also catch up on some of our previous newsletters HERE.
Thanks, Darrel, for all your work!
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We are officially an affliate local group member with BC Humanists. We receive support to help connect with humanists and atheists in our area. We become part of a larger network of non-religious people across the province by joining with other groups.