I was accepted as the new Rochester Atheism Examiner on examiner.com. It seems like a good opportunity to explore my writing career on one of my favorite subjects. I hope you will take the time to visit it and read my new article and hopefully will come back for more or subscribe to my rss feed to know when I post a new article.

Feel free to contact me if you have films or books for review, want an interview, arrange speaking engagement, or just to say hi. Link at the top.

http://www.examiner.com/x-14681-Rochester-Atheism-Examiner

I wrote this article exclusively for Associated Content. You can read it by clicking on the link below. Thanks!

Uncle Sam Will Provide Protection from the Bullies
Uncle Sam promises to create new agency to protect consumers%2C but consumers need to realize that their ignorance is even bigger problem than corruption of the CEOs and bankers.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle%2F1856185%2Funcle_sam_will_provide_protection_from.html

Admin has no common sense

I thought I will get this out of my system, it’s been a week or so since I found out that ThinkAtheist banned me. Yes, they banned me. I come to their site, try to login, and it says I’m banned. WTF? I didn’t receive any warnings, nothing at all. Just banned. I don’t know what kind of site they are operating, but clearly admin is absolutely lost their minds.

Did I do something wrong? I do not know and not that I recall. Not that I really cared for that site as it didn’t offer any substance, just pretty cover and nothing on the inside. I actually think the guy behind it created as a money-making venture, and supporting atheism is either not important or not part of the plan.

This is why I recommend you join Atheist Nexus. It offers substance and membership is over 8k. In less then one year A|N was able to reach thousands of atheists. Admin, Brother Richard, is great and it offers friendly atheist replacement for Myspace and Facebook.

I highly encourage you leave ThinkAtheist. Stop filling that dude’s pockets with money, he doesn’t deserve it. I even tried to invite them to AAI convention. What was I thinking? I’m glad it’s not going to happen.

So stop wasting your time and money on ThinkAtheist, they are clearly not lined up with atheist movement. They have no connections in atheist organizations and they lack leadership. Don’t be fooled by the cover. I read the book, and it has nothing to offer. Just a waste!

PROUD A|N MEMBER

The 38^th edition of Humanist Symposium and I’m the lucky number 38 to host it. Wait, maybe I’m number 39 if there was edition zero. Hmmm, interesting… Anyways, here I am at 4:23AM writing it. Don’t ask me why, because I’m going to tell you why anyways. Well, I didn’t feel like sleeping and figured I could do it now. End of story. Yes, I know you’ve expected some dramatic, life-altering story with a twist at the end. No, just insomnia.

I read all submissions, some were pretty long but interesting and I don’t want to point fingers (Greta), but all were very informative on different topics but under the same umbrella of non-belief.

I began with Jen’s (Blag Hag), post “Is a battle ever too hard to even bother”. I’m very well aware of such situations where you face with such dilemma. She mentions her favorite quote by Albus Dumbledore, which states we all must make a decision between right and easy. Spending four years in the military I was faced with such decisions every day. Do I solve this problem the right way or the easy way? The choice was always clear as my decisions held lives of other people, and I wasn’t about to take someone’s life because I decided to do it the easy way. The right way is always the easiest way, because at the end you don’t have to deal with the consequences that an easy choice will bring. What would happen if Rosa Parks did it the easy way and gave up her seat?

Jen also wrote “Wanting to believe”, which deals with people who want to believe in something. There’s one more post from her, but I’m saving it for later.

Andrew Bernardin, from Florida Freethinkers, wrote an interesting piece titled “The assumed anarchy of atheists”. I particularly enjoyed his last paragraph:

If morality were simply belief-deep, Christians would have the lowest divorce rate in our land. They don’t. If behaving well were simply a matter of reading and reciting words in a book, Christians would be convicted of crimes at a lower rate than non-believers. They aren’t.

BINGO! Please, come claim your prize now. Andrew is right on the money. Last time I checked, faith is a requirement to fly planes into buildings. Atheists are like Linux operating system, nothing popular and mainstream will not install on it. Yet it has everything you need from open source community that lacks nonsense that mainstream software has. I hope I didn’t lose you with my metaphor. If you didn’t get it, pray – or at least do something that works, move on.

Greta, Greta Christina’s Blog, if you want to see mockery of religion check out JFC Show online. One of my favorites is when the priest turns around to a little boy and says, “It’s time for the second coming!” You better be on board with me on this one! As Greta answers the question and the title of her post “Is it ok to mock religion?”:

Of course it is. From Aristophanes to Jon Stewart, from Mark Twain to Molly Ivins, from Jonathan Swift to Monty Python, from Chaucer to The Onion, satire is a powerful, time-honored form of social and political criticism.

Can I have an Amen!

Dave Mauriello, You Made Me Say It, writes about Jerry Coyne in “In defense of ‘unsophisticated’, impassioned atheists”. He writes, “Most people think you can’t be a true American without belief in a god.” First Bush comes in mind. I think he got slapped pretty good, can still see the mark, by Obama when he mentioned us in his inaugural speech. SLAP! Felt good.

FYI, you can see Jerry Coyne speak at Atheist Alliance International Convention this October in Burbank, CA.

Living With Mormons blogger, unfortunately no name, writes about our good old BSA issue in his post, “Speaking of LDS Scouting…” I’m an immigrant, just like LWM blogger, so I can’t really say anything from personal experience. Never dealt with scouts, never bought their cookies – and won’t! As a recommendation to anyone with kids and to LWM blogger, look into alternatives to BSA such as Camp Quest or even sports. I loved soccer, and I know you played soccer when you were younger LWM blogger. Take this great sport and teach your son, let him join local league. Or maybe he’s interested in other sports. No need to succumb to SBA.

Paul Fidalgo writes a good article, “Atheism and marriage: Promises made to each other, not to a god”. He is right on the money. I’m not married, but if I ever do get married you bet your crackers it won’t be at a church. I attended secular wedding (I was the photographer) at 2008 AAI Convention. It was wonderful, I would love to have something like that for myself. We have atheist officiants that do secular weddings. Margaret Downey, former AAI president, comes to mind if you are interested.

Moving forward I come to Isabel, Open Mind and Heart, she’s from Mexico. Always love reading something from another country, another perspective. I enjoyed her post, “On the understanding and respect of a faith different than ours within our families” I agree that within our family we need to respect each others religions. At least be better and accept their views, and let them make fools of themselves if they wish so.

I would like to talk about coming out as an atheist now. Jen, Greta, and Vjack (Atheist Revolution), sent me posts talking about this subject, which I’ve dealt with myself last summer with my mom. It is important to be open and honest with your family and Vjack gives good advice on how to approach this matter in his post “Coming Out as an Atheist to Your Christian Family”. It’s a must read if you’re still in the closet. Even if you’re out, read it and pass it on to your friends who are hiding. Jen talks about her fear of coming out to her grandparents in her post “One foot in the closet”. I think many of us been there, and some still there. I’m myself is in a similar predicament. Nobody in Ukraine knows I’m an atheist. They don’t ask, I don’t bring it up. I’m letting it take its own course and I know eventually they will find out through the internet, just like it happened with my mom.

On the other hand, Greta landed an excellent interview with Sikivu Hutchinson. I don’t want to spoil it, so I will ask you to go and read it, “The cultural tethers of organized religion: Interview with Black Atheist Sikivu Hutchinson“. You will enjoy it!

I want to close with fantastic piece of blogging art by the one and only, Adam, Daylight Atheism. His grandmother passed away recently and my sympathies go out to him. I’ve dealt with this when my grandmother died in 2002 in Ukraine, and we couldn’t go back for the funeral. Before closing this wonderful edition of Humanist Symposium, I want to mention that we still don’t have a host for the next edition. If you are interested, go here. To end I will quote Adam from his timeless piece “Green fields”:

If there is any complaint we might justly make, it is not that this life lacks meaning, but rather that it has so many meaningful things to do and to explore that one lifetime is not enough for all of them.

It was my pleasure being your host for this edition.

Until next time,

Viktor Nagornyy

Humanist Symposium #39: No host

Humanist Symposium #40: The Evolving Mind

Humanist Symposium #41: Greta Christina’s Blog

Gazelle.com

I’ve been looking around for a service that would recycle some of my old electronics as I didn’t want to throw it away and help kill the planet. It got frustrating that some services wanted to charge me for trying to recycle. This is something that needs to be free for all. Some people would participate in recycling program if it was free and easy to use. But a lot of greedy entrepreneurs see money-making business in recycling. Well, not all as I found out recently.

After my search on the internet for a good, free recycling program I stumbled across Gazelle.com. What an amazing service! They pay money for your old electronics, plus they offer free shipping. It was great. I looked up Motorola Razor, checked few boxes, and there you go – $8 for my beat up Razor phone. It can’t get better than that. I tried to see if they give me anything for my old old Kyocera Slider Remix, but it was too beat up to be worth anything. BUT, they offered to recycle it for free.

The process was easy, hassle-free, and I got $8. Sure, it’s nothing big but it was nice to be able to recycle my old stuff and get few bucks back for it. Something is always better than nothing.

I really hope you can check out this site. They accept all kinds of electronics. I know you got old cell phones laying around at home. Why not get rid of them and get some money in return?

Check it out at Gazelle.com

Big news! I will be hosting the 38th edition of The Humanist Symposium. I highly encourage everyone to visit past hosts and current host to learn more about the symposium. Especially, read all wonderful blogs that were put together for your reading pleasure. Consider it a free digital edition magazine of blog articles, where each edition is compiled by a different editor. This ensures unique and different perspective from edition to edition.

I hope you will join me on June 14th, 2009 here on my blog. We will explore humanism through the eyes of ordinary people. Such intimate approach eliminates uncertainty and provides insight on the topic at hand. It is my goal to touch hearts of all my readers, and help them connect with blog writers who were hand picked for this special ensemble.

Feel free to check out past hosts and current host.

It’s funny when atheists get accused of not being charitable. They say, “We do God’s work and help out poor and needy.” Sure you do, why did your God allow it in the first place if He’s so good? That is my question. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in the world from diseases to poverty, from wildlife preservation to pollution control.

One of the most innovative social machines became a small hub for atheist giving. Kiva.org is

“the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world”

as the website states. It gives every individual an ability to witness their money work to reduce poverty. This unique fight against poverty stimulates economies of the developing countries, which in the end stimulates the world economy. No, this is not another charity where you donate money to get tax cuts. This is philanthropy at work. Yes, they try to repay the loan but it is never guaranteed. Plus, Kiva provides easy way to re-lend the money. The best part? Anyone can join and lend as low as $25.

How is it a small hub for atheist giving? Kiva offers “Teams” feature where people can join together and promote something else while benefiting others. Currently, the number 1 donating team on Kiva is “Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious.” Yes, that’s right. The team has over 3, 000 members. It made over 10, 000 loans. Wait for it, wait for it… The team loaned more than $300, 000. It is incredible that atheists were able to come together and work for a common cause to help developing countries prosper. A simple step to a better future for the entire world.

The interesting thing is that number 2 team is Kiva Christians with over $200, 000.

This trend needs to be maintained. Number 1 status might not change crazy Christian’s mind, but it will help reduce ignorance and help educate people that atheists do have morals. Those morals surpass religious morals very frequently.

All in all, there is no doubt that the success of atheist team will grow. It is the duty of every individual to help the ones in need. Instead of feeding them, why not provide a way for them to start or maintain their own business that will feed a lot more people while providing valuable jobs. It is time to eliminate poverty, and Kiva is here to help one entrepreneur at a time.

It’s been a while since I wrote anything. Work keeps my mornings busy and once I’m home either homework or AAI duties keep me busy. Enormous amount of work is on my plate, but I can’t complain – one half pays the bills, the other half is something I enjoy (homework is not part of it, it’s on a different plate with vegetables that I don’t want to even touch).

I’ve been in NYC for the past week. I had to visit my mom as it was her 50th birthday. Ah, much needed time away from work. Unfortunately, have to fly back tomorrow. But this is not about that, today is a big day.

February 12th, 2009 – Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday and 150th anniversary of The Origins of Species. What a day for science and non-believing community alike. Christmas and Easter on the same day, well not really. At least our holiday really happened and has a bigger meaning.

I want to take this opportunity and ask you to visit online home of Charles Darwin.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/ Here, you can find his complete works; even The Origins of Species. Also, if you feel like learning more about Darwin they offer Biography page. This is an incredible resource that everyone should visit and use to learn more about Darwin and evolution.

The past 150 years were very revolutionary. We learned more about everything, including our universe. It seems like Darwin’s publication inspired scientists to look beyond God, to question the status quo set by the church and religion.

150 years of reason, and we are still find ourselves dunked in a water polluted with religion. Looking a head, the next 150 years will be crucial. Hopefully, within that time frame new discoveries will clear the minds from religious delusion – and one day the Pope will quite because he lost his faith.

We have reason on our side, the truth, and the universe that wants to talk to us…we just need to listen.

I’m ecstatic today. Student Photographic Society (SPS) picked me to be their Student of the Month for January 2009. Several of my images are now on display on their front page, and they are linked to my brief bio. I have to say the beginning of 2009 is the greatest beginning of any previous year. It’s only day 5, as I write this, but so many things happened.

Images displayed on Student Photographic Society's homepage

First, I reconnected with my half-sister that I never saw or spoke with. Then she told me that I’m an uncle. Never thought I’ll be an uncle as I was raised as an only child. Reconnecting with a lost kin is always good, but it’s even better when you find out there’s a whole family waiting. It was an amazing feeling.

Now, I’m the Student of the Month. It gives any photographer, or any artist for that matter, to be recognized for their his or her work. It doesn’t matter how small the recognition is, it makes our world go around and inspires us to create new art pieces.

As a photographer, I enjoy capturing life. Especially in a manner that no one sees but me. This unique perspective is my take on reality, and how I see it. I’m glad that people enjoy looking at the world through my own eyes; it gives me a feeling of accomplishment, especially when it moves them.

Lastly, my short biography that is linked to my images on the front homepage sates that I’m an atheist. I was hesitating on including this piece of information in my bio as it was a part of the application when I submitted it. Unsure of out come, yet proud to be an atheist, I chose to include that piece of information about myself in my bio. Fortunately, that piece of information didn’t play any role. I’m happy that it made all the way to the site without any problems. It is who I am, and I don’t want to hide it.

My bio clearly states that I'm an atheist

I’m proud to be an atheist, it takes courage to face the “angry crowd”, so to spkeak, and go against their mainstream belief when you know they are ignorant to the evidence and facts presented. In court, the amount of evidence we have would put someone in jail – yet it cannot bring God out as a fake, a myth, and a piece of cultural folklore.