Billboard Campaign aborted

Sydney Atheists and the Atheist Foundation of Australia Billboard was yesterday pulled from publication by the publishing billboard company on the grounds that in the current environment the billboard would "cause offence or be likely to inflame tensions in the community between religious, racial groups or ethnic groups"

The  sign had "the potential to create significant tension in the community given all the circumstances (including the political, social or environmental context)”

Another billboard company was subsequently approached and we thank that billboard company for going ahead with our campaign. Please see the post of the 3rd of February.

Another billboard company was subsequently approached.
We thank that billboard company for going ahead with the campaign.

Appointment

Jessica Nissan has been appointed to the committee of Sydney Atheists. Her role will be Sydney Atheists Young Adults coordinator.

On behalf of the committee and the wider Sydney Atheists community, I would like to congratulate and welcome Jessica to this very important role.

Steve Marton
President

A tale of two cities
In November 2014 The Guardian reported that "An Iranian-British woman jailed for trying to attend a men’s volleyball game in Iran has been released on bail, her family has said.

Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25,(pictured) was found guilty last month of “propagating against the ruling system” and received the custodial sentence.

She was detained in June at a Tehran stadium after trying to attend a men’s volleyball match between Iran and Italy.

Her brother, Iman Ghavami, 28, told the Press Association: “She has been bailed until her court appeal, when she hopes to be vindicated.

“She was bailed for £20,000 and now wants to spend time with her family.”

The following is a photo from Melbourne where Iran played Bahrain in the Asian Cup


Iranian fans celebrate Ehsan Haji Safi's goal on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

All the ladies in this photo are beyond the religious police of Iran. Not only have they attended a soccer match - prohibited in Iran - they do not wear a burqua or hijab and their faces and arms are bare. One in the upper far right of the picture is even in a tank top.

The secret lives of Galaxies: The Milky Way is a Cannibal - Geraint Lewis

The Universe is filled with a rich structure; planets, stars and galaxies. But where did all of this structure come from? In this talk we’ll take a look at the evolution of structure in the Universe, from its birth in the Big Bang to now, seeing how galaxies have grown over time. But in our search for our origin reveals some uncomfortable truths about our own Milky Way, showing it to be a voracious cannibal.These secrets are also showing that we don’t know as much about the Universe as we suppose, and we might need to rethink the actual nature of the Cosmos. 

About Professor Geraint Lewis: Geraint is Professor of Astrophysics and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow Sydney Institute for Astronomy. He is also an Associate Head for Research in the School of Physics at Sydney University




Slides can be downloaded from Meetup.