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Welcome to our First Edition • Friday 15 August 2008

Chairman’s Note

Hello everyone:

This newsletter, which was suggested by Jane Bernstein, is a way for members to keep one another informed about matters of concern to humanists. Every six weeks, we’ll issue the TT Humanist Notes to keep everyone updated on various statements and happenings relevant to our purpose.

Naturally, in order to do this properly, we will need notes. So it’s up to all members to email to Shane at being@humanist.org.tt notifications or links on whatever you think will interest other members. (See below for links.) This can be references to news events, commentary in media, personal experiences, relevant articles. You can send in two sentences or a whole article. The purpose is keep everyone aware of what’s happening in the country in relation to our humanist goal to educate people and promote rationality.

This will help keep the T&T humanist community (and, yes, there is one) informed and aware and, probably, entertained.

The life of this newsletter will therefore be as long as members wish it to be. Even if you send one reference/link a fortnight, this will provide sufficient material for an interesting publication.

Kevin Baldeosingh

What's New

We were finally officially registered under the Companies Act 1995 with Certificate of Incoporation No. T5673(95) on 01 July 2008 as the:

Trinidad and Tobago Humanist Association

Coming Soon

Topic Discussion Groups

We will be arranging a discussion on a specific topic at a date to be announced. This is an opportunity to have the kind of in-depth discussion which makes humanists distinct.

Starter kit for new members

A handy post card size document is being designed for members to distribute to prospective members and interested persons/groups you may wish to join us. The card will contain URLs to basic history and definitions of humanist thinking from the web site as a guide to initial reading (so not to daunt new comers with too much without a guide)

The TT Humanist Annual Irrational Awards

Our last meeting on August 9 was convened to discuss an awards programme to highlight irrationality in Trinidad and Tobago. A decision was taken to postpone this event until next year, however. Geoffrey Frankson expressed concern that the Association had not done enough in the past 12-18 months so that conferral of awards would not be greeted with a steups. His point was taken, so our challenge over the coming year is to create and keep up momentum so that, next August-September, the giving of awards (both mocking and commendatory) will be justified.

TT Humanist Notes 2008-2

Next issue ... in about 6 weeks!

Articles of Interest

The following are links to articles of either allied thinking or of material we have responded too:

More than prayer to fight crime - Express Report
"Prayer is not magical. Do not depend on it to solve your problems, the outspoken head of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad has warned. Writing in the latest edition of the Trinidad Presbyterian, the church's newsletter, Rev Elvis Elahie, who has on several occasions expressed divergent views on religion, had a word of caution to his colleagues in the religious fraternity on the value of prayers." Read the article …

Religious arrogance - Dana Seetahal
"Minister Dick-Ford did herself and her government a disservice in her outburst in the Senate, last week, when commenting on the implementation of the Equal Opportunity Act." Read the article …

Portrait of Trinidad and Tobago - Selwyn Ryan
"What the Trinidad figures indicate is that a substantial majority of the Trinidad and Tobago population believe that notwithstanding the fact that Trinidad is a secular state, religion cannot be separated from politics. Also important is the finding that contrary to what is assumed by some "humanists", two thirds of the population believe that Trinidad and Tobago would be better, and not worse off, if persons of strong religious beliefs were elected to office." Read the article …