UK General Election 2024

[Asmodean]

I would have to assume that there are Atheists who are one or more of the above.

What atheists are not, are monolithic, beyond certain commonalities with regard to matters of faith in the divine.

Heck, I'd go so far as to say that there are plenty of "religious" atheists out there - it's just that the objects of their faith are mundane, sometimes ideological in nature, rather than transnatural or supernatural.

What are atheists? A group of people united by little, except their lack of belief in deities as presented by believers in said deities.

[zorkan]

I don't care if they call me a fascist.
But if they refer to me as a Starmerite, then I'm upset.

https://thecritic.co.uk/socialism-with-starmerite-characteristics/

[zorkan]

The situation is now so desperate that "two-tier Keir", as he is now called has cancelled his summer break.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/15/keir-starmer-summer-holiday-break-politics

Heard on the radio this morning he might not be around for long, then he can have a long break.

[zorkan]

Don't be fooled that into thinking this satellite will be used purely for military purposes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d77yq9zz2o

It will be used by Starmer to spy on the working classes.

[zorkan]

Just as I suspected, Labour having already hit pensioners hard, now start to plunge the healthcare system into crisis.

https://news.sky.com/story/doctors-warn-8am-scramble-for-gp-appointments-wont-end-without-more-funding-13198358

Election promise broken.

[zorkan]

Just when I thought Starmer couldn't get any stupider.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/keir-starmer-removes-portrait-margaret-thatcher/

[Asmodean]

The portrait in question. Is that the one in the title image? Because I can see absolutely nothing unsettling about it. It's just a lady, looking all prime-ministerial.

[zorkan]

More likely it was this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvy87wgjzvo

I'm thinking that Starmer may already have replaced it with a picture of Karl Marx.

Meanwhile, there could be a run on the pound if pensioners are not punished.
https://news.sky.com/story/economy-could-have-crashed-if-winter-fuel-payments-for-pensioners-werent-cut-labour-minister-claims-13207619

https://www.facebook.com/PrivateEyeNews/photos/pensioners-go-cold-on-labourthe-new-private-eye-is-out-now/947778534059419/

[Asmodean]

Well... If he finds that portrait unsettling, then I suppose he really should steer clear of art galleries.

...Or is he unsettled by who the portrait is of, in which case... I'd say "cry me a river, snowflake."

[zorkan]

I suppose Starmer and Thatcher would not have got on well.
In terms of religion, Starmer is an atheist and Thatcher was a Methodist turned Church of England (1).
Thatcher was guided from Above to fight the Marxist unions and the president of Argentina.

https://humanists.uk/2024/07/05/non-religious-prime-ministers-a-history/

Very different to New Labour's Tony Blair who it would appear was guided by god to take his country to war.
Different to just about every US president who needs to have god on his side to win an election.

(1) For those not acquainted with the C-of-E it's "god's church in England".

[billy rubin]

Different to just about every US president who needs to have god on his side to win an election.

the american religion thing is actually a more recent creation of the american right wing's decision to make abortion a political litmus-- they courted the evangelicals and got the bathwater along with the baby.

john kennedy's catholicism was a minor issue in 1960, but as late as ronald reagan people didnt emphasize a candidates religion. reagan famously never went to a church service in his two terms that i know about.

[Asmodean]

Yes, I seem to remember reading about that somewhere. I wonder what changed..? Did the American society become more religiously observant, or maybe just those who already were got more vocal/into power?

[billy rubin]

abortion was a non-issue for most people until the conservative activists started searching for a single issue they could push to drag in evangelicals and catholics into politics.

they chose abortion and spent decades persuading people that ir was important, with great success.

[zorkan]

Where does the  bible explicitly forbid abortion?
It appears to allow it in some circumstances, like when the mother's life is in danger.

The subject comes up rarely in UK politics.

[billy rubin]

to my knowledge it does not forbid abortion. that position is an inference made from passages about other matters.

numbers and exodus both contain related passages about death of a foetus through injury to the mother or judicial proceedings. probably more than just those.

where is the passage that appears to allow abortion if the the womans life is in danger?