1. Islam's Silent Moderates

Comment #96146 by Dutch_labrat on December 10, 2007 at 4:08 am

I must say my respect for this woman is growing. She has made some ill-advised decisions in the past resulting in the problems with the Dutch Immigration service. This should not be used against her when is right though.

Having grown up under Islam, as a woman, and having fought her own way out she is a voice to be heeded. I totally agree with this piece!

Go Ayaan!

2. Daniel Dennett Debates Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #92758 by Dutch_labrat on December 1, 2007 at 12:04 pm

First time I witnessed Dinesh.

People fall for this contemptible little prick?

3. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #75202 by Dutch_labrat on October 2, 2007 at 3:28 am

He could have done it with even less words:

Dear theology department,

Make a testable claim or F**k off from my university.

Cheers,

4. Honest Mistakes or Willful Mendacity

Comment #68156 by Dutch_labrat on September 6, 2007 at 9:03 am

Lying for Jesus. Someone really should write a book with that title. Either a very vitriolic atheist or an honest christian apologist (if such a thing exists.)

5. Mysteries to Behold in the Dark Down Deep: Seadevils and Species Unknown

Comment #43863 by Dutch_labrat on May 23, 2007 at 2:29 am

About the pressure, there is a much more common misunderstanding here.


Everybody repeat 100 times:

Liquids do not get compressed under pressure!

This means that a liter of water at 10km depth is still a liter, it also still has a mass of 1kg.

A creature living so deep has no problem with the pressure because it is mostly water anyway.

Mamals like us have gas filled cavities (lungs, sinuses) and gasses disolved in our body fluids. Those are the ones that kill you.

One point for the creationists: How come all new species found still fit in the taxa and phyla biology already had defined?

6. Study: Religion is Good for Kids

Comment #34993 by Dutch_labrat on April 25, 2007 at 9:11 pm

Even if this study and its conclusion were 100% correct that still would not make religion true.

7. Militant atheists: too clever for their own good

Comment #30074 by Dutch_labrat on April 6, 2007 at 11:10 pm

Or maybe:

Faith Heads: Too Deluded for Their Own Good.

8. Neil Peart cites The God Delusion in new album's liner notes

Comment #27959 by Dutch_labrat on March 27, 2007 at 12:37 pm

Great music, some awesome lyrics, free of popular trash, a real musicians band [b]and[/b] they read Dawkins.

Must love them.

9. God, sex, drugs and politics

Comment #22603 by Dutch_labrat on February 20, 2007 at 12:12 am

wendelin wrote
"Amazing", because it was recently reported that 100% - yes, *100%* - of ALL clinical trials EVER, of ALL drugs, when sponsored by the company manufacturing it, have been resounding successes. Go figure.)"

Oh dear. Us people working in the pharmaceutical industry wish this was true. In fact most, far most, new medicines never see the end of their trials because they do not work good enough. (ie. risk/benefit too high or they do not work at all.)

It is true the final trials don't fail as often because of the extensive (exPensive) trials beforehand.

Now herb infusions, homeopathetic cures and energy crystals can all hit the market claiming whatever they want. We are the ones supplying proof as well.

10. In praise of Darwin this Sunday ... in hundreds of churches!

Comment #21947 by Dutch_labrat on February 12, 2007 at 1:03 am

Sigh

11. Do stop behaving as if you are God, Professor Dawkins

Comment #21007 by Dutch_labrat on February 7, 2007 at 9:12 am

No arguments, dismissed.

12. Taking the fight to Islam

Comment #20612 by Dutch_labrat on February 5, 2007 at 5:08 am

"It is a shame - not only in the Netherlands but probably in all countries - that forced marriages are not seen as a reason to claim protection.
"

A very valid point. The problem here is that the marriage had not happened yet, it was prior to the fact. Combined with the fact that she was moving to Canada, a country with proper laws that would protect her made things difficult. Of course, at time Hirshi Ali could not be expected to know all this.

Since forced sex within marriage is considered rape in most western countries, and a forced marriage could of course be anulled there were ways out, but how many women know/realize this? Education of women is still the best way to fight this problem.

13. Taking the fight to Islam

Comment #20600 by Dutch_labrat on February 5, 2007 at 12:16 am

I can't help feeling very ambivalent towards this woman. Being Dutch I watched this story unfold and there are a few things that I want clarified.


First of all there is the fact, the true, confirmed in court, admitted by her, fact that she comitted fraud when she applied for Dutch citizenship. I am not sure how things would have played had she pulled that stunt off in the USA but I doubt the result would have been that different.

Then there is her chosen political affiliation. It is said in this piece she was with a liberal party. In truth the VVD is a right wing conversative patry. They are liberal only about economical issues. This party is of the main stream parties here the most opposed to immigration and immigrants.

She is right about many, many things and as such, and because of her background, she is a very important voice in the liberation of muslims, male or female. Because of her political choices, and the way she expresses herself she managed to alienate herself from those she purports to help. This is why she achieved so little here.

Her choice to work with Theo van Gogh fits right in with this. This man was also right about many things but his lifelong hobby of making enemies only made serious dialogue impossible. When he called muslims Geitenneukers (goatfuckers) he slammed the door shut not only to muslims but to anyone not wanting to be associated with such a foul-mouthed hate mongerer.

Her fleeing to america has as much to do with the real danger she was in as with her self-created isolation here.

As such I don't see Hirshi Ali as a proper figure head in the battle against the Islam. I can't take her serious, she is behaving more like a 4-your old throwing a tantrum then like an intelligent adult (she is that too) arguing a case.

14. In defense of atheism

Comment #19282 by Dutch_labrat on January 26, 2007 at 4:40 am

"..any minute now, the professor is bound to see through the miserable shallowness of being a bestselling author, holding a chair at the world's greatest university, and enjoying marital bliss with a beautiful television actress."

Oh, brilliant!

15. Guest Host Bill Moyers with philosopher Daniel Dennett

Comment #18784 by Dutch_labrat on January 23, 2007 at 2:06 am

Zappi is on the target here, it was in fact reading Breaking the Spell that made me read The God Delusion.

Now Dennet and Dawkins have the same goal and are going at it basically the same way. I understand they are even friends. There is a very great difference in style though that means they can target different audiences.

Dennet is a painstakingly thorough thinker who will rarely say anything in a book without attacking and defending it from any possible side. As an upside this makes him very hard to dismiss .

As a downside I suspect his morning note to the milkman runs into four pages at times :)

Dawkins on the other hand talks in a no nonsense, in your face way that may offend some people sometimes. This may drive some people off but Dennet can round them up later. For the masses I think Dawkins is more approachable and easier to understand

This can be easily understood if you remember where they come from, Dawkins is a biologist, raised in hard science. Dennet is a philosopher, a very non-conformist at that, who survived by making thoroughly grounded statements.

16. God's Enemies Are More Honest Than His Friends

Comment #15245 by Dutch_labrat on December 29, 2006 at 10:46 pm

atheistic jihadists?

Am I the only one seeing the irony here?