Bartholomew's Notes

Florida:

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle on Friday added his voice to the vocal — albeit small — chorus demanding the county strip controversial advertisements promoting Islam from Broward County buses.

..At issue — 50 Broward County buses, which for weeks have been driving with the following message plastered to their exterior: “ISLAM: The Way of Life of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.”

…Jewish activist Joe Kaufman, chairman of Americans Against Hate…said it implies Abraham, Moses and Jesus were Muslim.

You think so? Kaufman also objects that the adverts are paid for by CAIR, which he claims has links with Hamas. Naugle, meanwhile, has featured on this blog before – his efforts as mayor have famously included unveiling an anti-gay public toilet and inviting members of a particular church to patrol the streets in military uniform.

Genoa:

Adverts reading ‘The bad news is that God doesn’t exist. The good news is that you don’t need him’ were due to appear on vehicles on the streets of Genoa…

Cardinal [Angelo] Bagnasco was said to be ‘furious’ about the proposal and told his officials write to the bus company..He is said to have been ‘delighted’ when he was then given the news that at the last minute the campaign had been cancelled.

Apparently Genoa was chosen especially to annoy Bagnasco, who has compared homosexuality with pedophilia.

Barcelona:

The posting of atheist advertising on Barcelona’s buses has been branded “an attack on all religions”.

Again we ask – you think so?

The campaign has provoked a reaction from the Catholic archbishopric of Barcelona. “Faith in God is not a source of worry, nor is it an obstacle for enjoying life,” it said in a statement.

“It is an attack on all religions,” said Javier Maria Perez-Roldan of the church’s Tomas Moro centre, blaming the socialist government for the privately funded campaign. “The government has created an atmosphere of belligerence.”

Perez-Roldán previously hit the headlines in 2007 with a call for some anti-religious pictures to be banned; I blogged him and the Centro Jurídico Tomás Moro here.

London, from Parliament:

Offensive advertisements on public transport
That this House notes that posters with the slogan ‘There’s Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life’, appear on 800 buses in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as on the London Underground; notes that this causes concern to Christian and Muslim people, many of whom feel embarrassed and uncomfortable travelling on public transport displaying such advertisements and would not wish to endorse the advertisements by using that public transport; regrets that the British Humanist Association backs the campaign; and calls on Ministers responsible for public transport and advertising media to investigate this matter and to seek to remove these religiously offensive and morally unhelpful advertisements.

The British “atheist bus” campaign – actually a “strong agnostic” campaign – has brought worldwide fame for a certain Ron Heather of Southampton. A sample:

Ron Heather, natural de Southampton (al sur de Inglaterra), declaró a la BBC que se llevó un gran “susto” y sintió “horror” al ver este mensaje impreso en la parte exterior del vehículo debido a sus creencias cristianas,…Chauffeur Ron Heather hervatte maandag zijn werk, en kwam overeen met het busbedrijf dat hij zo veel mogelijk kan rijden in de bussen zonder de boodschap…Ma Ron Heather, 62 anni, conducente e fervente cristiano, colto da un dilemma religioso, si è rifiutato di guidare durante il suo turno un bus con tale scritta…Ron Heather fra Southampton reagerte med vantro og gikk fra jobben i protest da han oppdaget beskjeden som var klistret utenpå bussen han skulle kjøre…Január 10-én, aznapi munkájának megkezdésekor Ron Heather, meglátván a busz oldalán olvasható szavakat: „Valószín?leg nincs Isten. Ne aggódj, inkább élvezd az életet”, megtagadta a szolgálatot…Wie die britische BBC am Freitag meldete, sah Ron Heather bei Dienstantritt die Aufschrift “Es gibt vermutlich keinen Gott. Mach dir keine Sorgen und genieß dein Leben” auf seinem Bus…??? ????? (Ron Heather), ?? ???????????? (Southampton), ??????? “????????? ????” ??? ??????? ?? ??????????? ? ??????? ??????? ? ???? ????????…

(Florida link hat tip to Bulldada Newsblog)

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