1. Loyal to Its Roots

Comment #191834 by jeroen on June 12, 2008 at 12:44 am

>"No one's asked how all that information is integrated in a plant, partly because we've convinced ourselves that it isn't," Dr. Brenner said. "People have been intimidated from asking that question." The mention of the possibility of plant neurobiology elicits such visceral responses that Dr. Brenner said he had at times worried that it could harm his career.


... looks like it's time for a new film about suppressed plant scientists... "Expelled - no plant brains allowed"

2. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #181778 by jeroen on May 18, 2008 at 8:36 am

Here in the Netherlands we now pay 1,629 euro per liter - that's 9.60 USD per gallon.

I 'pray' that US prices will match ours, as it's the only way to make them really realise the necessity of economic use of the limited resources we have.

3. Mecca should become core to measure time zones: scholars

Comment #165587 by jeroen on April 21, 2008 at 6:25 pm

>"the West imposed on us the invisible Greenwich line"

Just like we forced electricity on them. And technology. And air conditioning. Yeah, what did the Romans ever do for us?

4. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145672 by jeroen on March 18, 2008 at 1:14 am

>They're like the man who perishes in a fire because he refuses to believe the net below will hold.

... so religion is like jumping off a building? Let's see all the true believers do just that.

5. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #141430 by jeroen on March 10, 2008 at 12:07 pm

So now we can pollute the environment and the church will forgive us for it as long as we pray enough?

That's immoral.

6. A natural phenomenon

Comment #138136 by jeroen on March 4, 2008 at 1:34 am

I was 8 when DA's Life on Earth was broadcast, and he's been a hero of mine ever since, I've seen all his series.

I think the best reason to have children is to sit and watch his programmes together, stunned in amazement at the world.

What a difference DA's programmes are to the sensationalist crap that the Discovery Channel and NatGeogr channels put on - all they want is Shark week or other nonsense to keep the viewer numbers up.

7. Don't blame Islam for terrorism, expert says

Comment #132138 by jeroen on February 24, 2008 at 9:37 am

>also doesn't let off the hook those atheists who like to blame religion, whether Islam or Christianity, for inciting much of the planet's violence. He notes that the "principal horrors" of the 20th century "came almost exclusively from strictly secular regimes: Leopold II of Belgium in the Congo, Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin and Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot.


OK, here's that old argument again. I know that we like to counter by saying it's never been done in the name of atheism, but why not also counter it by naming a few other 20th century events?
I'm surprised that nobody ever uses Spain's Franco as an example of a religiously-inspired regime that was aided actively for years by the clergy. Then there's Japan's emperor who, despite the myth of having had no power, actually was heavily involved in the war planning and acted completely from his sense of being a God-king with a lineage that needed to be saved.
A few more of these examples would be great to counter the usual 'you atheists killed millions' mantra.

8. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #128117 by jeroen on February 16, 2008 at 8:27 am

BBC writes: "...because the Dutch government had stopped paying for her security."

Um... but she decided to leave the Netherlands on her own account. She is welcome to stay in the Netherlands as a Dutch citizen with full protection paid. I can see the point of my government that if she goes abroad, apparently a permanent move, they shouldn't have to pay for security there. I'm pretty sure the US also would not pay for the protection of private individuals who choose to move abroad. Especially as she's working for this wealthy thinktank now.

I admire her work and hope she'll come home to the Netherlands again. No reason to go and become French.

9. 'Christian God is not to blame'

Comment #105885 by jeroen on January 2, 2008 at 4:31 am

>Do not mention the Inquisition, Witch burnings, The Crusades, many past aggressions and the current world situation that has been directed by "God," by Bush's own admission.

We should also keep reminding Catholics bringing up these dead dictators about their own cuddly Franco, who killed in the name of catholic morals.

10. Wisdom From The Founding Rationalists

Comment #105877 by jeroen on January 2, 2008 at 3:55 am

>I do not believe that the US is found on the highest ideals of democracy, yet it is the freest country in the world today.

... how can you claim to live in a free country if your government does not allow you to visit countries like Cuba, Libya and North Korea to make up your own mind about dictatorship?

11. Jesus ad angers church groups

Comment #100666 by jeroen on December 19, 2007 at 4:44 am

>Whilst agreeing with all above, I think we should acknowledge a double standard here. Makers of this kind of advertisement would not give Islam the same treatment and we all know why. In that sense I think the Christians have a right to get sniffy.

... perhaps so, but that's not really relevant here.
We live in countries with a Christian Xmas tradition, so advertisers will use these images to sell their products. If these easily offended people say we live in places with a Christian tradition, they should handle the fact that the legends will also be used in wider society. Who cares that some other religion would have been more offended?

12. Jesus ad angers church groups

Comment #100632 by jeroen on December 19, 2007 at 2:47 am

There's a similar row in the Netherlands at the moment about cartoons in a brochure of the Dixons electronics chain, showing the 3 wise men using GPS systems to find their way around.
Our local Christians are outraged as usual.

Here's the image: http://www.depers.nl/beeld/w440/2007/200712/20071218/dixons.jpg

(This year, the three wise men were wiser... 'turn right, destination reached after 300m')

13. Believe it or not

Comment #97443 by jeroen on December 12, 2007 at 4:58 am

Any other supporters for 'Realists'? I like it - not the dogmatic problems of definitions, easy to grasp, and I just can't wait to hear church leaders use the word in discussions! (..."However, all you Realists think I'm wrong"...)

Hey, we're the New Realists.

14. Believe it or not

Comment #97363 by jeroen on December 12, 2007 at 12:52 am

He has a point about the branding - atheist is a negative definition, and "brights" makes me think of happy-clappy sessions with the Teletubbies.
Perhaps 'Realists' is the best term (as used by the CoR), short, snappy and easy to understand for the brainwashed.

15. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96210 by jeroen on December 10, 2007 at 7:02 am

I'm shocked that so many Americans are circumcized for no apparent reason. I love my foreskin, and think it's attached to me for sound evolutionary reasons.

16. Holy Nonsense

Comment #96203 by jeroen on December 10, 2007 at 6:50 am

Every time I see him on TV, I just envision the Mormon underwear he has on, and end up giggling.

I propose a simple photoshop campaign to put an end to his political aims.

17. Mitt the Mormon

Comment #92181 by jeroen on November 30, 2007 at 2:44 am

>There's a nice picture here.
>http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_garments.html

Oh my FSM. Is Mitt wearing that sack under his suit?

18. Turkey probes atheist's 'God' book

Comment #91693 by jeroen on November 29, 2007 at 1:45 am

I bought my copy of the God Delusion in Malaysia. I was very surprised to see it on sale there, as it's as backwards a country when it comes to 'protecting religious and ethnic sensibilities' (read: upkeep the privileges the Musims get over the minority Indian and Chinese population) as any Arab state. This is a country where Spongebob Squarepants is banned as he's perceived to be gay.
So I'm surprised that Turkey would make a problem of TGD - much less tolerant countries have no problem with it (or forgot to read it properly).

19. Dutch lawmaker planning film criticizing the Quran

Comment #91688 by jeroen on November 29, 2007 at 1:34 am

Interesting times here in the peaceful Netherlands. I'm no fan of Wilders, but I guess he's pretty representative as the voice of moderately right wing man on the street people here and can't be ignored.
He's perhaps quite brave to take on this project as he will land himself in trouble, but he seems to be doing it for the right reasons, the ones most of us agree on on this website - fighting the roots of terrorism. I just wish he'd apply the same logic for other religions.

20. Mitt the Mormon

Comment #91313 by jeroen on November 28, 2007 at 2:43 am

Pity, no picture on that website of what the magic underwear actually looks like, just in the plastic bag.

21. Bankrolling Ali's Asylum

Comment #90829 by jeroen on November 26, 2007 at 1:23 pm

Calling her a refugee from Western Europe seems a little strange - she was well guarded by the (my) Dutch government but left (not 'fled') for the US in September 2006 for understandable reasons - personal freedom. She returned recently as the Dutch government didn't want to keep paying for her security abroad (at first by Dutch security people in the US, later a private agency) which is quite reasonable as she had been abroad for a long time, and the American release of her biography increased the risk. They guaranteed a good transfer of security tasks and wouldn't just stop the support.
She's apparently back in the Netherlands now in a secure location provided by the Dutch government, still working for her American employer. (Does that make her the first political remigrant since the holocaust?)
I'm all for Ayaan and what she stands for, but this funding campaign exaggerates some facts.

22. Logical Path from Religious Beliefs to Evil Deeds

Comment #90158 by jeroen on November 23, 2007 at 8:13 am

>>Humans actually have an almost astounding capacity to forgive. To prove this, just be an American tourist in Germany or Japan, and notice how hardly anyone tries to kill you, even though you will undoubtedly encounter many people who lost relatives to American bombs. For an even more remarkable example, visit Vietnam, where many victims of American carpet-bombing are still alive, and yet from what I have read, the Vietnamese have largely put that all behind them. To incite and sustain large-scale organized hatred requires a specific ideology dedicated to that end.



I'm a bit late in this discussion, but this is interesting...
Would you say that certain religions have a longer memory of historical events?
Do countries with catholic and orthodox christians make more of a fuss about lost battles and territory, thereby determining what's on the political agenda? My experience in places like Romania, Serbia, Kosovo etc seems to indicate this - they are national and nationalistic churches that mingle with politics in a most nasty way.

Do Vietnam's bhuddism and Japan's taoism mean that the hell the normal people went through was not nationalised/politicised? Did Germany's lutheranism/calvinism do the same after WW2 for them? (Noting that the catholic south seems to have a longer tradition of spawning nazis and defending them and their values).

Can we actually single out orthodox and catholic christianity as being less forgiving than they say they are?

23. Sir David Attenborough on God

Comment #87810 by jeroen on November 13, 2007 at 8:02 am

Ironic that the EO, the Dutch evangelical broadcasting company, 'shortened' DA's programmes by cutting out all things referring to evolution.