Opinion

by Martin Boers People of a certain age will be familiar with the slapstick Warner Brothers cartoon series in which a hapless coyote repeatedly tries and fails to catch a roadrunner. In the above clip, Wile E. Coyote disguises a dangerous cliff at the end of a mountain road using a painted canvas that is intended to deceive The Road Runner into believing that there is no cliff, but rather that the road continues on and can be travelled safely. If he could speak, Wile E. Coyote would no doubt claim that he is committed to " world-class transparency ", and that " integrity comes first ", when of course the opposite is true. In this respect, Wile E. Coyote would be an excellent candidate to join the current "board" of Atheist Alliance International (AAI), where he would find colleagues who employ similar deceptive tactics towards their members, their supporters, and the general public. One of the canvases that the current illegitimate "board" of AAI

by Martin Boers Anyone who has received an email from Atheist Alliance International (AAI) over the past few years may have noticed that their email footer looks something like this: This article explains what the phrase "Platinum rated by Guidestar" actually means, and compares that with what Atheist Alliance International would like you to think it means. GuideStar is a charity information-sharing website owned and run by Candid . Charities can "claim their Candid profile" and then earn a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum "Seal of Transparency" by giving Candid various pieces of information about their organisation. Candid then makes this information available to fee-paying subscribers. As indicated in their email footer, Atheist Alliance International has claimed their Candid profile, which you can see here: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/45-2944213 That profile has been populated with information like AAI's " Strategic Plan " and their

by Martin Boers The latest illegitimate "Annual General Meeting" of Atheist Alliance International was held on Sunday the 12th of November. Current supporters and potential donors - none of whom received an invitation to the "AGM" - might have expected that by now they would have been informed of some important outcomes of the meeting. For example: What were the results of the board elections? Who is running the organisation now? Given the organisation's commitment to transparency, where can supporters see the financial details for 2022? What were the results of the motions that were put to the members at the "AGM"? For example, in the future, will emails be sent as plain text, HTML, or PDF? And, current supporters and potential donors must still be wondering when they will get answers to critically important questions like this:  Why did the board knowingly submit false financial information to the California Attorney General, only days after the &quo

by Martin Boers Atheist Alliance International (AAI) has just made their Annual Report 2022-2023  available to their Affiliate Members, ahead of their next illegitimate Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 12. Here are ten questions that any Affiliate Member who attends the "AGM" might want to ask the so-called "board": The California Secretary of State website  lists the current status of AAI (file number 3398233) as "Suspended - FTB/SOS", with an "Inactive Date" of 05/25/2021. The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) website states that " If your business is suspended, you cannot legally do business. " This means that, under California law, AAI has not been legally allowed to do business since May 2021. However, the latest Annual Report admits to a great deal of business being conducted by AAI during 2022 and 2023. On what basis does AAI claim to have been operating legally in California, or in any other jurisdiction, since May 2

by Martin Boers Atheist Alliance International (AAI) has just published their " Fall Newsletter " (sorry Southern hemisphere), which contains more lies and deception from the so-called "board" of that illegitimate organisation. The newsletter thanks readers for their "trust" while AAI has been on its "administrative journey". Anyone reading the section of the newsletter titled "REGISTRATION: CALIFORNIA, USA" would be inclined to think that all AAI's corporate governance issues are behind them. After all: "All paperwork essential to recognize AAI as a non-profit organization registered in California has been diligently completed and submitted ... we have made dedicated efforts to rectify any past oversights. This includes tirelessly resolving specific registration and tax concerns ..." What the reader is not told is that, under California law, AAI has not been legally allowed to operate since 2021, and nothing that the &quo

by Martin Boers We are all subject to the laws of the countries in which we live, or visit, or do business. We might not like some laws, but most people understand that every law is there for a (hopefully good) reason. In some cases we might forgive law-breakers - think of a parent who runs a red light while driving their critically ill child to a hospital. But those cases are exceptional, and claims by any individual or organisation that they are above the law should be treated with scepticism. A well-known example of an organisation that claims to be above the law is the Catholic Church. For many years, secular campaigners have been raising awareness of the Church's attempts to avoid accountability for decades of alleged law-breaking. For example, in a 2021 article titled " Vatican Smokescreen: Canon Law Changes & Sexual Abuse ", historian and writer Jason Sylvester states: "The Vatican princes, and indeed religious leaders across the faith spectrum, think them