The Atheist billboard campaign is off to a good start in the UK, with billboards now up in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
Further details about this campaign, with daily updates, are available on the official website. There is also coverage on the BBC News website and a full article, with a large – and fast increasing – number of comments and opinions, on the Guardian UK’s Comment is Free section.
A quick prediction on a market that caught my eye over on Hubdub:
(This graph will update live with each page load until settlement).
I have predicted h$500 at 47% that the Pope will not wear his cross when he visits the Western Wall in Israel.
It has been an interesting day for The Atheist Bus Campaign:
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ruled in our favour, decided not to investigate the 326 complaints about the Atheist Bus Campaign adverts, and closed the case. Hurray!
It’s a great day for freedom of speech in Britain. Atheists are officially allowed to be represented in public for the very first time (adverts are not pre-vetted by legal organisations before they go up) and a rational counter-view can now be visible at any point to balance out evangelical advertising.
Most people have recognised that ours is a gentle, philosophical advert aimed at non-believers and fearful agnostics. We’re really pleased that the ASA has recognised this too. At last, we have a truly free voice – and it feels good.
See the official post over on the ABC website.
And the official adjudication:
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has concluded that the “There’s probably no God” bus ad campaign by the British Humanist Association is not in breach of the advertising code. The ASA will therefore not launch an investigation and the case is now closed.
Here is the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority adjudication in full.
“George?”
“Yes?”
“This is God here …”
“Hi, God. What can I do for you?”
“I want you to stop this Iraq thing, George.”
“But you told me to do it, God!”
“No I didn’t, George …”
“But you did! You spoke to me through Karl, Rumsey and Dick and all those other really clever guys!”
“How did you know it was me talking, George?”
“Instinct, God. I just knew it!”
“Do you really think I’d want you to unleash all this horror and bloodshed on another lot of human beings?”
“But they’re Muslims! They don’t believe in You, God!”
“But, George, they do believe in me. Jews, Christians and Moslems all worship the same Me! Didn’t you do comparative theology at school, George?”
“No, of course not! You think I’m some sort of peace-waving dope-headed liberal faggot-lover, God?”…
Probably the funniest web page du jour: The Official God FAQ.
