. . . will you be able to understand my interview on Polish television this morning. I’m told the translation is good, and you can sort of make out the English words below the simultaneous translation, but I advise you not to try. If you understand Polish, go here to see the seven-minute archived interview.
It’s in the main square of Cracow, which is gorgeous. Here’s the banner:
a translation by my friend Malgorzata:
and a screenshot:
Promowanieum ateizmu.
Does this mean you can still try a piece of kremowka papieska before returning home?
I like it – even though I don’t speak Polish, but Czech – I pretty much understood the important points.
I’m Polish atheist and I really enjoy this interview! Thank you 🙂
So, now all we need is a translation from the Polish translation of the English back into the original English.
This is starting to feel loopy….
I guess the main question for Jerry is: have you been tarred and feathered? Extraordinarily renditioned? Will you make it back safe and sound to Chicago?
b&
Or possibly … Jerry carries a tape recorder, or a recording app on his phone? Very popular for International Media Stars, so that they can say “I did NOT say that!” when mis-quoted. Not that Liars for Jeebus and their affiliates have any reputation for doing that sort of thing.
Here comes jetlag for Jerry.
I wouldn’t be too worried about being misquoted by the overdub translator on Polish TV in a live interview — though, yes, it would be nice to have your own un-overdubbed version, even if you had to get it from your iPhone.
Of course, every “notorious” atheist should consider it a non-negotiable requirement before even smiling and nodding in the general direction of the Banana Man…and how a certain undergraduate professor at UM Morris could fail to understand that after prior experience would escape me had he not recently displayed plenty of other signs of mental decay.
Cheers,
b&
Well, it wasn’t that bad but I think the reporter should’ve asked more open-ended questions rather than trying to put prof. Coyne on the defensive. Maybe he felt defensive himself. The very first thing he says after hello is “I read your blog and what you say is that there’s compulsory religious education in kindergartens, that’s not true.” Prof. Coyne explains that in practice children are expected to attend. You are signed up by default unless your parents fill in a special form. BTW I think they must do it each year kindergarten through high school. The questions, or statements, show that the reporter doesn’t know where prof. Coyne is coming from. He doesn’t understand why anybody would want to promote atheism. He sort of challenges him to go and do it in a Muslim country and, as far as I remember, he says something about the significance of the Christian cultural heritage. He simply tries to debate him. Anyway, prof. Coyne responds gracefully and gives legitimate reasons for being an activist 🙂
It wasn’t bad at all. The reporter asked questions just like an average/simple Pole would, with English better than average. Nice answers, everybody relaxed. Well done!
Point taken.
Here are some of the comments (not in any particular order) following the interview translated by copying and pasting into Google Translate:
1) You have to be an idiot not to appreciate what Christ has done for humanity.
2) In reply to #1 above: “… terribly aggressive and vulgar are today’s Catholics.”
3) It is a pity that the meeting with prof.Coyne in Krakow was not publicized. I’d love to be chosen. By the way, how can you invite a man to format [sic] and do not care as much publicity!
4) Mr. Coyne is more a believer than all Catholics and Muslims put together 🙂
5) In reply to # 4 above: “utter rubbish!”
Mike
Let me help you with no. 3 🙂
“… I’d love to have been there… how can you invite such a prominent person and fail to publicize it properly!”
The verb “wybrać” means “choose” and “wybrać się” means “decide to go/ attend”.
🙂
From a little lip-reading, I could also make out Prof.C referring to the Golden Rule, and that that should be sufficient to live by. To paraphrase, he also says that he thinks the world would be a better place without religion. And if a believer becomes an atheist, that doesn’t mean they become an annihilist. Then the interview asks some crap about zombies and witches and shit… That question the interviewer asked about the Muslim countries was not kosher, to put it politely.
Looking forward to a proper translation of the whole thing.
I see the Discovery Institute noticed. I’d link to it, but it’s the predictable attempt to associate the Communist and Nazi atrocities in Poland with with atheism.
That and comparing blasphemy with critique of Darwin.
Are you talking about this? http://www.evolutionnews.org/2013/09/jerry_coyne_goe076671.html
By the truly deranged Michael Egnor who has his very own American Loons entry:
Some highlights:
As liars for Jeebus are wont to do, he also brazenly attempts to reconstruct history.
The term “egnorance” has been proposed to be defined as “willful ignorance”. Egnor is also a prime example of the notion of “crank magnetism”.
Ok – lets just cut straight to it. Michael Egnor hates science; Darwinism, medicine, climate science, physics, you name it. And as all good kooks, he is convinced that he is being persecuted for it (distinguishing criticism and persecution is obviously tough).
Diagnosis: Blissfully ignorant, total moron and dependable fallacy generator. He is relatively prominent among the Discovery Institute Crackpots, and might actually prove to be dangerous
Krakow has one of my favourite squares in the world. It’s big, beautiful, surrounded by cafes, and (during the week I was there) has something different going on every day.
Including a bike race. Whee!
Looking good sir! Poland has been good to you!
In the “religion poisons everything” dept., I came across this… and all I can say is: “Holy shit!”