Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:54:42 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/ The Humanist Association of Massachusetts en-us http://masshumanists.org/images/logo.gif http://masshumanists.org/ masshuma@masshumanist.org http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=44   HAM Members & Friends: Our annual HAM Picnic and Gabfest is approaching: Saturday, August 16, 2008; 1:00pm THE GERSTEINS 400 HIGHLAND ST., WESTON, MA (781) 891-8667 or (339) 927-1020 See full entry for travel instructions. We guarantee great weather, based on past experience. If wrong, we’ll retreat inside and still have fun. We’ll have the usual beef, turkey and vegetarian burgers, regular and fat-free hot dogs, and fruit and sherbet desert. Please contact Tom prior to the 16th to register (by using his new gmail address above or call 617—547-1497) and plan to bring an appetizer, salad, fruit, or whatever. Please, if you are driving, bring an aluminum chair. We’ll have frigid alcohol-free beer & soft drinks available. If you arrive early, please pull deep into the driveway behind the house so there will be room for everyone. If you need transportation, let Tom know if you need a pick-up at Riverside MBTA Station or at Kendall (Weston) Station on the North Station-Fitchburg Line. See full entry for driving directions. Tom suggests, for the PROGRAM, that we answer the question, “What Do I Believe?” It’s a picnic, now, so let’s not get too heavy. But we can imagine the question coming up at a school reunion. What words would you choose? Michael Shermer, editor of The Skeptic, answered the question his own way, as a person versed in science. Imagine your own answer. Read the rest of this entry. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:54:42 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=43   You are cordially invited to our Summer Solstice Luncheon on Saturday, June 14 at 1:00 PM. As in past years, it will take place at the Royal East Restaurant, 782 Main Street, Cambridge. It is important that you make your reservations by telephone before June 12 with a call to our number, (617— 547-1497). Leave your name and telephone, and we’ll confirm within days. Now would be just the time to dial us, (or use email). When you arrive present your check, (for $21.00 per person), and choose your seat. We always have a good time at these luncheons; it’s a real pleasure to greet old friends and new. And the Chinese food is varied and plentiful. Afterward we will hear Dr. Abby Hafer, an expert in Human Anatomy, present a special view of Evolution which she calls: Un-Intelligent Design. She examines five blunders in the "design" of the human body which confound the notion of a planned creation. Funny and surprising. *Free parking: From Massachusetts Avenue, turn on to Main Street, then right on Windsor for one short block. Turn left (important) on State Street and park in the MIT lot on your right. Click "Read the full article" below for more information on the program. Thu, 29 May 2008 13:18:34 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=42 Greg Graffin, Bad Religion   A true punk-rock philosopher will perform and speak about his life as a humanist musician and scientist! Greg Graffin, the lead singer and songwriter for seminal punk band Bad Religion, will receive the 2008 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism. Graffin, who is also a life sciences professor at UCLA and an expert in religious belief among scientists, will speak about his experience in music and science and his views on humanism in general. The award, presented last year to novelist Salman Rushdie, is sponsored by the Humanist Chaplaincy and Harvard Secular Society. Graffin will follow his acceptance speech with an acoustic performance and a question and answer session. Tickets are available now from the Harvard Box Office: $5 for students, $10 for the general public. Since forming Bad Religion in 1980 while still in high school, Greg Graffin and Bad Religion have recorded fourteen albums and toured extensively around the world. Hits such as 1988’s Suffer and 1994’s Stranger than Fiction have kept them at the forefront of punk music for almost three decades. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:54:15 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=41 Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation   Dan Barker, leading spokesman for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, will speak in Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, on Sunday, April 20 at 1:30 in the afternoon. It will be a talk on "Fighting the Imperial Presidency - Keep Church and State Separate." His organization, for decades now, has constantly fought the right to be free from government's support of religion, both in the media and through lower jurisdictions up to the Supreme Court. Visit FFRF.org for an amazing education; their radio programs will enlighten you. Dan Barker will also entertain us at the piano. Attendance is without charge and parking in the Law School lot is free.   Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:31:34 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=40   Happy Spring from HAM! We have a special announcement in advance of our next newsletter to add to your personal calendars: The First Annual HAM Spring Equinox Brunch Sunday March 30, 2008 we invite HAM members and guests to celebrate the arrival of Spring at our first Equinox Brunch. We will gather at Changsho Restaurant (1712 Mass. Ave between Harvard and Porter Square) at 1:00 pm for food and good spirits. Changsho serves an all-you-care-to-eat Asian buffet including Chinese dishes and sushi for $18.95 a person (drinks are extra), and has a semi-private area with large tables we have reserved for the occasion. Payment by cash or check only, please. We have invited leader Zachary Bos and a few guests from the Boston Atheist Meet-up as our members Marcia Weiss and Stuart Wamsley lead a discussion "Even Freethinkers Need Community: Recruiting New Members in the Internet Age". This casual discussion will consider successful ways to increase interest and membership in humanist and secular organizations going forward. Changsho has its own parking lot for customers across the street from the restaurant. There is street parking on Mass, Ave. as well. Please let Tom Ferrick know you are attending by Saturday morning, March 29 so we can fine-tune the reservations. HAM is following up on our successful Winter and Summer Solstice luncheons in Central Square to add to our Humanist celebrations of the turning of the seasons, without supernaturalism. Please consider attending what promises to be a casual and very social Humanist celebration. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:28:44 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=39 Robert Boston, Director of Communications Americans United for Separation of Church and State   Bill O’Reilly rails against “secular progressives” nightly, and it has become fashionable among the far-right intelligentsia to bash secularism as morally bankrupt. In this speech, Rob Boston will explain why the secular state is the only vehicle that can ensure religious and philosophical freedom for all. Boston will discuss how an official policy of government secularism, far from being hostile to religion, is in many ways the best friend faith ever had. Robert Boston is assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the assistant editor of AU's monthly magazine Church & State. Boston, who joined the Americans United staff in 1987, is recognized as a leading writer and researcher on church-state topics and an articulate advocate for the separation of church and state He covers the U.S. Supreme Court for Church & State and has attended oral arguments in every church-state case at the high court since 1988. Boston is the author of three books: Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics (Prometheus Books, 2000); The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition (Prometheus Books, 1996) and Why the Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church and State (Prometheus Books, 1993; second edition, 2003). DIRECTIONS TO THE SCIENCE CENTER/LAW SCHOOL PARKING LOT From Kirkland Street turn right onto Oxford Stret. Take the entrance road on your left at the Maxwell Dworkin Building, (across from the Museum of Natural History). Take first left and follow it to the parking lot closest to Littauer and the Science Center. Parking is free for guests of the Humanist Chaplaincy.   Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:06:17 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=38 Nathaniel A. Raymond   Do you have any doubt that the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques" are methods of torture? That they can cause severe and often irreversable harm, mentally and physically, that under American law, they are war crimes and that the use of torture against detainees in US custody has degraded the discipline, traditions, and honor of our armed services and our country? The counter argument is an obvious one – torture may save innumerable lives. Let’s engage in this debate as if we were policy makers for the US administration and then decide, as citizens, what we ought to do. Nathaniel A. Raymond is currently the Senior Communications Strategist at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), an organization that shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.  In this position he is responsible for crafting all communications strategies for PHR's No Torture Campaign and other work on armed conflict, as well as detention and asylum policy. He has lectured on humanitarian and human rights issues, particularly famine and conflict on the Horn of Africa, at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Harvard University, and other graduate programs dealing with international issues. (Editor’s Note: Nathaniel Raymond, in a long conversation by telephone, outlined his argument against torture, not just philosophically, but historically and politically, naming clearly those agencies and persons who have violated American principles and traditions, going back to our Revolution). Also - Late last year the House of Representatives passed important anti-torture legislation as Section 327 of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization bill.  Section 327 would require all elements of the intelligence community, including the CIA, to abide by the restrictions in the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations.  The Army Field Manual prohibits torture and many of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" being used by the CIA. Notice to Members – We will hold our Annual Meeting, same day, Feb. 10, at 12 Noon, in Phillips Brooks House. We will have lunch (thanks to Joe Gerstein) while we order our business affairs and plan for the coming year. Then, promptly at 1:15 pm, we will walk over to Hall D in the Science Center. Directions to the Harvard Science Center / Law School Parking Lot (free for event) From Kirkland Street turn right onto Oxford Stret. Take the entrance road on your left at the Maxwell Dworkin Building, (across from the Museum of Natural History). Take first left and follow it to the parking lot closest to Littauer and the Science Center. Parking is free for guests of the Humanist Chaplaincy. Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:56:11 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=37 The Humanist Association of Massachusetts will be holding its Winter Luncheon on Sunday, January 6, 2008. It will, as usual, take place at the Royal East Restaurant, 792 Main St, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Map) at one o'clock. The cost per person will be $21.00. Always a cheerful experience, we will have a fun program -- all humanists, freethinker, and skeptics, are welcome. Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:11:10 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36   Jianli Yang, a well-known Chinese dissident who was imprisoned by the Beijing government for five terrible years, will speak about human rights in his address titled, "Ordeal and Hope: My Advocacy for Democracy in China." You can read more about his ordeal on the website set up to petition for his release: yangjianli.com Mr. Yang 's close friendship with Tom Ferrick goes back to the nineties when he earned a second doctorate at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and started his non-violent organization, The Foundation for China in the 21st Century. He is also a good friend of Rep. Barney Frank. Mr. Yang will speak on Sunday, December 9, at 1:30 PM in Hall A, at Harvard's Science Center. (December 10 is Human Rights Day). Parking will be available nearby in the Law School Lot. Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:29:48 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=35 The Greater Worcester Humanists are proud to be sponsoring Noam Chomsky on November 6th at 7 p.m.. Mr. Chomsky's talk will be at the First Parish UU Church of Bedford, 75 Great Road, Bedford, MA. He will be discussing his new book, "What We Say Goes - Conversations on US Power in a Changing World." His presentation will be relatively short, and he'll take questions and answers from the audience until about 8:30. If you are interested in carpooling or otherwise sharing a ride with others from our group, please contact the Greater Worcester Humanists they will try to put you in contact with others. If you would like to help spread the word about this event, you can download a flyer here. Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:07:29 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=34   Steven Alan Hassan, cult counselor and mind control expert, is the Nationally Certified Counselor and licensed Mental Health Counselor who has developed the breakthrough approach to help loved ones rescue cult mind control victims. Aa a former member of the Moon cult, ex-cult members and others seek him out for specialized counseling to help them recover from symptoms other mental health professionals are not trained to address. Steve has been at the forefront of cult awareness activism since 1976 and is the author of two critically acclaimed books – Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults (1988) and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (2000). With over 30 years of frontline activism exposing destructive cults, providing counseling and training, Steve Hassan appears in major media including 60 Minutes, Nightline, Dateline, Larry King Live, and The O’Reilly Factor. For our purposes on October 14, Steve will discuss the recruitment and indoctrination by destructive cults, altered states of consciousness as well as his “personal belief in the interface between spirituality and science and ways to pull apart the commonalities and differences in approach. We’ll ask him to explain the scary power of hypnosis and why he sees Islamic terrorists as “victims of cult mind control.” If time allows, he’ll lay out the case of Jacques Robidoux, who is appealing his 21 year murder conviction citing an insanity defense by reason of brainwashing in the death of his son through starvation. And then there is the Boston Magazine article and Dahn yoga, a korean cult very active in Boston. Steve has been a very busy man since his previous visit with us. (For this event, there will be free parking in the Law School area).   Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:53:59 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=33   HAM Members & Friends: Join us for this historic event, when Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) will give his first-ever public remarks on becoming the first member of the US Congress to openly deny belief in god. Stark is a senior member of the influential Ways & Means Committee, a strong advocate for religious liberty and church-state separation, a Unitarian Universalist, and a veteran of the US Air Force. He will deliver the 15th annual Alexander Lincoln memorial 'Harvard Humanist of the Year' lecture, presented by Harvard's Humanist Chaplaincy for atheists, agnostics and the non-religious; along with the Harvard SecularSociety. Despite numerous surveys showing atheists to be the group Americans would be least likely to elect to political office, Stark denies that it takes courage to become the first admitted nontheist in the House. "What is courageous," he adds, "is to stand up in Congress and say, 'Let's tax the rich and give money to poor kids.’” (This event, and most of our events, are co-sponsored with the Humanist Chaplaincy, Harvard University.)   Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:30:05 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=32   HAM Members & Friends: I hope you are having a pleasant and relaxing summer despite the international political situation and the stock market. As usual, Tom and I have scrutinized carefully the entrails of a road-killed squirrel and determined that Saturday, August 18, 2007 will likely be a propitious day for our Annual Humanist Picnic.. Our methodology has proved efficacious in the past 11 years, since we have never had to cancel and only once had a bit of drizzle. For those who superstitiously feel that it is unlucky to talk about no-hitters while in progress or fear the retribution of the Law of Averages, the last sentence is inoperative. Location: The Gerstein Home, 400 Highland St., Weston. Not only will there be the usual luscious food options and intriguing conversation and gregarious community but we will have several non-culinary events. Sadly, we will be eulogizing two deservedly illustrious and path-breaking Humanists: Sherwin Wine and Albert Ellis. These two giants of Humanism died within a few days of one another, the one in a tragic accident in the fullness of life and the other after a series of drastic and debilitating illnesses. We will express our mourning by celebrating their remarkable creative and innovative lives! Death and life, the two inescapable antitheses of human existence. We will also be celebrating a first: The naming ceremony of a new member of our community, the child of Jaclyn and Nathan Dye. TIME: 12:00pm, noon August 18. Rain date: August 19. Call 781 891 8667 if unsure about the weather status. Please bring a salad, drink or appetizer, if you can. There will be hamburgers, turkeyburgers, veggieburgers, regular and fat-free hot dogs and a fruit-and-sherbet dessert provided. Cold beer (with and without alcohol), wine and soft drinks will be available. Please let Tom Ferrick know that you will be coming and what you will be bringing so we can enhance our planning: 617-547-1497. Also, let Tom know if you are a Vegetarian or a Vegan. Directions below. Let us know if you need to be picked up and/or dropped off at Riverside MBTA Station or at Weston’s Kendall Station on the North Station-Fitchburg Line. We can arrange a trip to the Weston Swimming Pool after the program or a walk in the Weston Town Forest with comment on the natural wonders thereof. Please bring a bridge chair or beach chair if you drive and have same. There is plenty of parking if first arrivers will pull behind the house. Please do not park on the grass. DRIVING DIRECTIONS: From the West, Mass. Turnpike (I-90) E. Exit at Natick/Route 30 and go East on Route 30 about 5 miles. Watch for WINTER ST. on the left 200 YDS. after you pass the Tennis Club on the right. Turn L into Winter St. At the T, turn Right. This is Highland St. Take 2nd paved driveway on the L (400). House is a Gray and White Cape Ranch. From the East: Mass. Tpke. Or Route 30 to Weston/Wayland/Route 30 W Exit. Take Route 30 W about 2.7 miles. Pass the football stadium/track on your L and pass through the Wellesley St. traffic lights. Highland St. forks to R about 0.3 miles from this intersection. 400 is 1st driveway on R. From South & North: Take 128/95 to Route 30 West Exit; follow the “From the East” Directions from there. We’ll try to mark the important landmarks with balloons. Tom Ferrick Executive Director                            Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:51:38 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=31 The second speaker at our Saturday Summer Solstice Luncheon was Mark Lindley who is a volunteer teacher at SAV (School at Varni or Sanskar Ashram Vidyalayam). The SAV is a rural school that goes from the first through the tenth grade in Varni, India. The school services the needs of children of criminals, prostitutes and drug-addicts who would otherwise suffer a deplorable lack of education and fall into the vices of their parents. The SAV school is based on secular Humanist principles and needs support to continue and expand its activities. A great deal more on the history of the school can be found in this explanation by Lindley. There are a great deal of other photos of the school and its children with detailed descriptions, some of which Mark went over at the luncheon, here in the School at Varni photostream. Some of Mark’s student’s have also created the following video (two parts) regarding the school: The school accepts donations in three categories: To cover all the costs (including room & board) for one student for an academic year (11 months): $270. To cover all the costs for one student for one semester: $135. To pay a teacher's salary for one month $105. Please mark donations sent through HAM as "SAV" to earmark them for this project. For further details about the benefits and details of giving, please click here. Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:43:03 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=30 One of the topics discussed at our Summer Soltice Luncheon on Saturday was HAM's continuted assistance to the Swami Manavatavadi's International School of Humanitarian Thought and Practice located in Rajghat of Haryana, India. The school bills itself as "A Triply Persecuted Secular Institution Situated in the Doubly Religious Town Kurukshetra Since 1976 and Working for Street Kids, Orphans, Oppressed (Dalits), Downtrodden, Aboriginals (Adivasis) and Untouchables" The current President of HAM, Dr. Joseph Gerstein M.D. of Harvard Medical School and his wife on January 14-16, 2000 during the 14th IHEU World Congress visited this humble Institute dedicated to human values, secularism and compassion and pledged the support of the HAM organization which has continued over the years. The powerpoint Swami Manavatavadi gave at the Luncheon is available here: International School of Humanitarian Thought and Practice Swami Manavatavadi (25.4 MB) If you would like to make a contribution to the school via HAM please mark you donation for "Manavatavadi". Donations should currently be made by check or money and sent to: The Humanist Association of Massachusetts,  P.O. Box 381125, Cambridge, MA 02238-1125 Your support is greatly needed and greatly appreciated. Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:31:48 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27   You are cordially invited to our Summer Solstice Luncheon on Saturday, June 30 at 12:00 Noon.  It will take place at the Royal East Restaurant, 782 Main Street, Cambridge*. It is important that you make your reservations by telephone before June 27 with a call to our number, (617—547-1497).  Leave your name and telephone, and we’ll confirm within three days. Now would be just the time to dial us, (or use email).  When you arrive present your check, (for $21.00 per person), and choose your seat.   We always have a relaxed and interesting time at these luncheons; it’s such a pleasure to greet old friends and new. And the Chinese food is varied and plentiful.   Afterward we will pay homage to the memory of Kurt Vonnegut, the Honorary President of the American Humanist Association, who died a few months ago.  Blessed with the personality of a Mark Twain, this man delighted us with his novels and with his wry and insightful glimpses into the human condition . You are invited (with but one condition) to reminisce about him, to quote him, or to read a short passage from his writings. The condition is that you call us ahead of time to be on the program. It will be serious; it will also be fun.                                                         Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:05:42 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26 Let’s weigh the importance of Atheism, in our own minds and in the world at large. How necessary is it to our everyday existence? Are we comfortable with it? And how does it differ from Agnosticism, and from Deism? Is it the necessary stone in Humanism’s foundation? What kind of God or gods does it rail against? Does the existence or non-existence of the divine have anything to do with ethical decisions? There’s no end to such inquires. They are all worth talking about and we’ll do that on the 20th. How do you feel about the aggressive style of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and now, Christopher Hitchens? Strong atheists are having a ball. Do you think they are winning converts as well as scoring points? Interesting stuff. OK, so there’s no god of any kind. What do we do about it? How do we live our lives? And what does all this mean for Humanism? How do we separate the two - Humanism and Atheism? Each is a major tributary from the huge river of knowledge that burst its banks overwhelming Western Civilization in the sixteenth century and forward -- the Age of Science. Knowledge, based on empirical learning, now trumps Faith, based on questionable authority. At the heart of Humanism is the understanding we have of the worth and dignity of the individual person, and by extension, the human race. Some call it our “summum bonum.” In no way divine, it is rather the central organizing principle of our morality. It gives us license and encouragement to cooperate in self-governing, salvaging the environment, extending the arts, healing every disease, breaking through every barrier to knowledge, and most importantly, the making of peace. Isn’t this why we call ourselves Humanists? What then is your take on Atheism? Let’s explore its many dimensions when we meet at the Phillips Brooks House in Harvard Yard on Sunday, May 20th at 1:30pm. Sun, 13 May 2007 10:04:40 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=25 HAM member David Niose writes about in about an opportunity to serve the cause of intellectual freedom: The AHA is co-sponsoring an important documentary on PBS called "A Brief History of Disbelief" hosted by Jonathan Miller.  The program was to premiere last Friday night across the country.  However, I've learned that the local PBS affiliate, WGBH, is not planning to air the program at anytime in the future.  Since many of you are no doubt WGBH viewers and supporters, I'd like to suggest that you contact WGBH about this programming decision, as feedback from viewers and supporters is sometimes given consideration.  WGBH can be reached at:     Telephone: 617-300-5400 Mail: WGBH-TV, PO Box 200, Boston, MA  02134 Web: www.wgbh.org   "A Brief History of Disbelief" is an excellent program that would be both entertaining and informative to the WGBH audience.  It can be seen here: http://www.veoh.com/series/briefhistoryofdisbelief I hope you'll take a moment to provide feedback to WGBH.  And please pass this word on to your friends.  Thanks. Tue, 08 May 2007 23:51:47 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24 The organization called Compassion and Choices labors mightily to ensure that latter right for all of us, nationwide. Its local chapter, CCGB, lead by Dr. Sidney Wanzer, invites your interest and suport as it celebrates its Annual Meeting this week. It is free and open to the public: Compassion and Choices Anuual Meeting Saturday, May 5 - 10:00 AM Brookline Public Library 361 Washington St, Brookline, 02445 First, this is the organization that has won approval by the State for a Health Proxy Law, (or medical directive). Thousands of individuals have drawn up such a document, but many haven't. If you are among the latter you will be helped to do so at this meeting. Peace of mind will be yours. Second, you may not yet have decided on funeral plans for yourself and family members. Our guest speaker, Charles Dee of Concord, representing the reform-minded organization, Funeral Consumers Alliance, will be discussing how to avoid the high cost of burial services, how to choose among so many Directors, and other questions you may have. Third, you will hear about the new program for volunteers in the Boston area who will be available to individuals who need help with problems at the end of life. The Boston chapter will now have a "client service center' that will be staffed by volunteers, the first group of whom will be trained in a three-day session late in May. For our area this should result in a great improvement in availability of help from Compassion and Choices. Lastly, you will hear about Dr. Wanzer's newly published book, "To Die Well -- Your Right to Comfort, Calm and Choice in the Last Day of Life." Our executive director, Tom Ferrick, also serves as Secretary of CCGB. For more infomration, please visit: http://www.compassionandchoicesboston.org/ Tue, 01 May 2007 12:50:12 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23 Photographer Juliette Melton has a Flickr Photostream of the Friday Night opening reception that drew near 1100 attendees, featuring Rebecca Goldstein, Stephen Pinker, and Salman Rushdie. Blogger spazeboy has provided the following video of Woody Kaplan and Ned Lamont at the Saturday night gala at The New Humanism conference organized by the The Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard, as well as a personal account and some audio. Conference organizer and Humanist Chaplain, Greg Epstein sums up the experience on the The New Humanism conference blog: "We conference organizers were, to a person, totally new at running a major international conference with nearly 600 registrants. We’re thrilled with the way the weekend turned out, and also committed to learning a great deal from it and improving on it for the future. Our greatest hope is that this weekend will result in a stronger, richer, more diverse Humanist community at Harvard and beyond. We welcome all feedback at humanist@hcs.harvard.edu." Greg also points out that many professional journalists were also present but primarily were from periodicals or other publications that won’t be writing things up right away, so more coverage will be following in the coming next few days/weeks. Tue, 01 May 2007 07:54:04 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=21 And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, "Kurt is up in heaven now." That's my favorite joke. From the AHA Humanist News - April 12, 2007: Humanist President Kurt Vonnegut Mourned Kurt Vonnegut, who died Wednesday night in New York at age 84, was the honorary president of the American Humanist Association. "I am a humanist," he wrote in a letter to the organization's members, "which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am dead." Roy Speckhardt, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, said, "Vonnegut's sarcasm was so thick that those less familiar with him had trouble seeing through to his pointed commentary on the state of the world." One example of his sarcasm had some "intelligent design" supporters quoting Vonnegut for saying: I do feel that evolution is being controlled by some sort of divine engineer. I can't help thinking that. And this engineer knows exactly what he or she is doing and why, and where evolution is headed. That's why we've got giraffes and hippopotami and the clap. Of course, Vonnegut was completely secular in his outlook and enjoyed taking jabs at those who would skirt the teaching of evolution by promoting so-called intelligent design. In his 2005 book, A Man Without a Country he made a special request: And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, "Kurt is up in heaven now." That's my favorite joke. Sun, 22 Apr 2007 12:08:49 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=20 Steven Pinker is amongst the many spectacular speakers Harvard Chaplain Greg Epstein writes: Spaces Still Available But Filling Up Fast at New Humanism Conference Our conference in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard is now less than two weeks away. As the registration deadline is rapidly closing in, we want to ask you again to help spread word of mouth about the conference. Tell your friends, and encourage them to attend! Thanks to our move over to the Hyatt Regency Cambridge for our Saturday 4/21 program after our previous venues filled up, we do still have some space (for now).  If you, or anyone you know is interested in attending, but hasn't yet registered, now's the time. Please also note and pass on to anyone who might be interested that two conference events will be free of any charge to attend: the Humanist Expo at the Hyatt from 5-7 on Saturday 4/21, and a reception in honor of Humanist Chaplain of Harvard Emeritus Tom Ferrick, just down the hall from the Expo, from 5:30-7 pm. Light refreshments will be served at the reception for Tom. In addition Tom would very much like to hear from you and give you a special welcome during your stay on campus. You may contact him in advance via the Humanist Association of Massachusetts at 617-547-1497. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:00:37 -0400 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19 One of Darwin's journals on exhibit Humanist Association of Massachusetts presented an informal outing: A Visit to the Boston Museum of Science Darwin Exhibit April 8, 2007 - 11am in the Mueum Lobby, followed by lunch If you’re interested in this casual social event, give Tom Ferrick a call at (617) 547-1497 sometime before Easter Sunday in case of any slight change in plans.  Join us by 11 o’clock that morning and spend the next hour or more learning about life on The Beagle where great discoveries took place as well as the serenity of Down House where Darwin wrote his great works.  Your new appreciation of Science will know no bounds.The Boston Globe published a review of the exhibit; it closed with these words:The Darwin exhibit brings to life a scientist -- and a way of doing science -- that seems out of date in today's competitive and specialized environment. What is perhaps most inspiring is its recreation of a serendipitous series of events that enabled a wondrous theory to evolve from one man's careful observations. Darwin was a geologist, a botanist, an ornithologist, and many other things, yet it is because he was unencumbered by allegiance to any of these specialties that he was able to see the world so clearly. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:57:58 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18 From The New Humanism organized by The Harvard Chaplaincy, orginally posted Thursday, March 22, 2007: The New Humanism: Multi-Cultural and Multi-National We have had many requests for details about the program of “The New Humanism” conference at Harvard, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, April 20-22. This is the first of a few messages explaining the themes the conference will touch on. Please keep in mind we have already had to move two main conference venues due to lack of space, and there is a chance the current (and final) venues will also fill up, so please register as soon as possible here. Our conference is designed to demonstrate that Humanism is a multi-cultural and multi-national world movement that best represents the otherwise unrepresented, under-appreciated 1.1 billion non-religious people on Earth. To this end, among many other things (click here for a fuller list of our speakers, including E.O. Wilson, Steven Pinker, Dar Williams, Ned Lamont, and others): Novelist Salman Rushdie will speak on “Humanistic Islam.” Nobel Prize winning Philosopher and Economist Amartya Sen will speak on “Indian Humanism.” Harvard-Yenching Institute Director Tu Weiming, among the world’s greatest living Chinese philosophers, will speak on “Confucian Humanism.” Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, 2003 American Humanist of the Year and one of the world’s greatest Humanist orators, will speak on “Humanistic Judaism,” the international movement he founded over 40 years ago. The Reverend Dr. William R. Murry, former Dean and President of Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago, will speak on “Unitarian Universalist Humanism and Christian Cultural Roots.” Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:44:20 -0500 http://masshumanists.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17   The Humanist Association of Massachusetts and Center for Naturalism presented: Evolving a Universal Moral Grammar: The Natural Foundation of Right and Wrong Wednesday, March 21, 7pm Harvard University Science Center, Lecture Hall D The Humanist Association of Massachusetts and the Center for Naturalism were pleased to present "Evolving a Universal Moral Grammar: The Natural Foundation of Right and Wrong," a lecture by Harvard psychologist Marc Hauser, author of the recently published Moral Minds, on Wednesday, March 21, 7 pm. The lecture was free, open to all and followed by a question/answer period; wheelchair accessible. Held at the Harvard Science Center, Lecture Hall D, Harvard Yard, 1 Oxford St., Cambridge. For further information call Tom Ferrick, Humanist Association of Massachusetts, 617-497-1497, or Thomas Clark, Center for Naturalism, 617-480-8846. For details please visit http://www.naturalism.org/hauser.htm Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:48:33 -0500