1. Citing Faith, Bush Defends War Actions

Comment #177412 by Ole on May 9, 2008 at 3:48 am

If you go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush

you will se that "this article is semi-blocked". ;-)

Ole

2. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #175273 by Ole on May 5, 2008 at 4:33 am

I think it is a bit unfair to hope that a TV journalist like Ms Shaw should be on the level of our own Paula Kirby or that the talk should be like the one RD had with Krauss.

Ms Shaw gave RD a lot of "space". All, in all I think people who saw this show got a very good first view of "The God Delusion" topic.

Ole

3. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #172440 by Ole on April 29, 2008 at 2:58 pm

Peter McKnight, if you sat down with Richard Dawkins, I think both he and the rest of us would prefere to read the exact questions you asked him and then what he replied to that.

This way of presenting the conversation is really bad. Your constuct "the two Dawkins" is a joke.

Bad journalism!

Ole

4. Evolution fray attracts top scientist

Comment #163048 by Ole on April 17, 2008 at 10:36 pm

There is a good (and recent - March 28) interview with Kroto on Point of Inquity:

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/

Ole

P.S.
If you scroll down a bit you'll also find a talk with RD from December 2007

5. Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss

Comment #161420 by Ole on April 15, 2008 at 9:28 am

Richard,

Great!

This new public method of conversation. I think many people long for this.

When I saw you with Paula Kirby I thought - yes this is good! A person interviewing you that have really read your books.

And now this.

Let the media know about the new method!

There has been such long good talks in the past in the radio and when TV was "filmed radio". We also find it in more recent long interviews by Jonathan Miller (and a few other of his caliber).

Thanks to both scientists for a great program!

Ole

6. Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday

Comment #154933 by Ole on April 4, 2008 at 2:16 am

In a way we see evidence all the time that religion is man made. Quite often by mentally ill persons with so called "charismatic" abilities.

But, go back to the bronze age in the middle East's deserts, then suddenly it was not "man made".

(Btw, perhaps Moses used acacia tree extracts, when he went up on Mount Sinai. See Professor Benny Shanon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Ole

7. Should Galileo's tomb be opened for DNA tests?

Comment #141421 by Ole on March 10, 2008 at 11:33 am

There is a great book about science called "Galileos Finger" by Peter Atkins. One of the chapter is about DNA.

http://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Finger-Great-Ideas-Science/dp/0198606648

Over here in Norway they have recently DNA-analysed the remains from the Oseberg Grave (where a viking ship was discovered in 1903). What they found was that one of the women, the old (probably a Queen) had DNA trace pointing to Iran.

Let's hope they can do this study with Galileo. As the father of modern science, he would not have opposed that.

If you ever get to Florence, be sure to visit the St. Croce! Many famous people are buried there (Gioacchino Rossini, Guglielmo Marconi, Enrico Fermi, etc.)

Ole

8. DLD08 - Life: a gene-centric view

Comment #140997 by Ole on March 9, 2008 at 2:29 pm

It was great comming back from a holiday (in Egypt) and discovering this nice talk between R.D and J. Craig Venter.

I had just finished Venters book, "A Life Decoded".
(When the days are filled with great historical things like the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Karnak, etc - it is great to read something very different)

Btw, here is a good interview with Craig done on his boat, Sourcerer II:
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/289-craig_venter.html

Ole

9. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126350 by Ole on February 13, 2008 at 3:51 am

A Swedish paper, Sydsvenskan, will also publish the cartoon by Kurt Westergaard.

The editor, Peter Melin, states that the cartoon "is tasteless", but if they don't publish it now, it can be seen as a cowardice act.

(Swedish text here)
http://sydsvenskan.se/varlden/article300796.ece

Ole

10. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126305 by Ole on February 13, 2008 at 12:33 am

11 newspapers in Denmark will print the cartoons today, February 13.

Jyllands-Posten, Berlingske Tidende, Politiken, Information, Kristeligt Dagblad, Nyhedsavisen, B.T., Ekstra Bladet, Ã…rhus Stiftstidende/Amtsavisen Randers and Fyens Stiftstidende.

Ole

11. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #125976 by Ole on February 12, 2008 at 10:45 am

Richard and Josh!

Why not publish all the cartoons here on RDN?

Ole

12. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #125971 by Ole on February 12, 2008 at 10:39 am

Several Danish newspapers plan to print the cartoons tomorrow as a protest.

In due time.

Get other newspapers to do the same!!

Ole

P.S.
Here are the cartoons (PDF):

http://multimedia.jp.dk/archive/00080/Avisside_Muhammed-te_80003a.pdf

13. Help Build The Reason Project Archive!

Comment #123317 by Ole on February 7, 2008 at 12:22 am

Sam,

Is this really how the net work? I have a feeling this is a bit like the old "dot-com" thinking:

Building a "portal".

Do we really need a "Reason" portal?

Ole

14. Putting Candidates' Religion to the Test

Comment #121766 by Ole on February 4, 2008 at 5:35 am

Good questions!

USA sure is a strange place in regards to presidential candidates and the need for these types of questions.
Pity - they probably never will be asked. :-(

John Paulos "Irreligion" book was a good read!

Ole

15. Are Darwin's Theories Fact or Faith Issues?

Comment #120585 by Ole on February 2, 2008 at 4:12 am

After listening to this debate, I can see why Richard Dawkins do not want to waste time discussing with ID people. But, I also admire PZ for taking his time with people like Simmons.

In a local newspaper over here, I've debated an ID guy and I had a bit of "deja vue" when I heard what Simmons said about whales.

Yes, how do you debate ignorance?

When my ID'er attacked Dawkins, I asked him if he had ever read any of RD's books. No answer to that.

I also gave the newspaper some critique for giving this ID fellow so much space. I asked if they would have done the same with a "flat earther" attacking Copernicus and Gallileo?

No answer from the editor and the ID'er used the same tactic as Simmons (He said that I was unpolite, etc.)

PZ - you made my day!

Regards,

Ole in Norway

16. Happy Birthday Josh Timonen!

Comment #118760 by Ole on January 31, 2008 at 12:18 am

Gratulerer med dagen, Josh!
(Norwegian for Happy Birtday!)

You do a great job!

Ole

17. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #117509 by Ole on January 29, 2008 at 2:13 am

Dennett is a respectable intellectual.

You got that right, Mr. Day - but what about yourself?

Ole

18. Scientists want rewrite of Earth's time line

Comment #117497 by Ole on January 29, 2008 at 1:28 am

What about going back 10 000 year?

In other words to the the transition from hunter-gatherer life into agriculture - the origin of civilisation.

(Civilization or civilisation is a kind of human society or culture; specifically, a civilization is usually understood to be a complex society characterized by the process of state formation, the practice of agriculture and settlement in cities. - Wikipedia)

Ole

19. A Letter From Hell

Comment #116663 by Ole on January 27, 2008 at 2:13 am

Thanks for the link Paula!

Some info on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehenna

(+ links in those articles)

Ole

20. A Letter From Hell

Comment #116661 by Ole on January 27, 2008 at 1:55 am

As I posted (many pages ago), Hell is a place over here in Norway, in the county Trøndelag. There is also (or used to be) a railway station in that village.

A joke we used to tell about that station was the freigh/goods traffic office there. In Norwegian that is "godsekspedisjon"

At "Hell Station" they have "God's Expedition" !

It would be interesting if anyone here who really knows religions could say more about what religions have ideas and fantasies about hell.
(Gehenna, etc.)

Ole

21. A Letter From Hell

Comment #115921 by Ole on January 25, 2008 at 3:59 am

Funny this word "hell".

In Norwegian it means "luck" or "success".

There is also a place called Hell over here.
One example - info about a Blues Festival at Hell:

http://www.adressa.no/tjenester/konkurranser/article553541.ece

Ole

22. The real danger in Darwin is not evolution, but racism

Comment #115343 by Ole on January 24, 2008 at 3:45 am

Velkommen til RD-net Ole. Godt å se nordmenn med internasjonale interesser. :p

23. The real danger in Darwin is not evolution, but racism

Comment #115313 by Ole on January 24, 2008 at 2:00 am

I did a search in all the 6 editions of Origin that are online: http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html

Could not find any sentence resembling this: "the negro and Australian peoples,"

Ole

24. Minnesota Atheists Interview Richard Dawkins

Comment #113770 by Ole on January 20, 2008 at 1:37 pm

If you only want to listen to the interview with RD, scroll to the midle of the audio.

Ole

25. Good God! A politician who doesn't believe...

Comment #101953 by Ole on December 21, 2007 at 9:02 am

Religion and politic what a pair!

You don't have to be Freud to see why Akhenaten (as the pioneer of a monotheistic religion that later became Judaism) saw the benefit of having one primary deity.

Much easier to control than having many rivaling deities.

When Constantine realised this fact, he held a meeting in Nicea in 325. The rest is histroy ;-)

The Viking kings that removed Odin and Thor and placed Jesus on the Valhalla throne, also gained better political control.
Luckily they never managed to remove the Yule winterfest.

God Jul !

Ole

26. This Week's Flea

Comment #100620 by Ole on December 19, 2007 at 2:15 am

PZ wrote:

Someday, I'm going to have to get John Wilkins to explain to me why we still have universities with theology departments, and haven't razed them to the ground and sent the few remaining rational people in them off to sociology and anthropology departments where their work might actually have some relevance.

27. CBC News: Sunday - Richard Dawkins

Comment #100119 by Ole on December 18, 2007 at 9:03 am

Richard was great!

The sad thing to meet all the time are people like this interviewer who never gave any quality time to understand Darwin and evolution.

It is not enough to know a few words, like natural selection etc.

A great paradox - Darwin's dandy idea is possible to grasp with some intellectual efforts, while Einstein's theory of relativity is much harder to understand.

I'm sure this interviewer would not start talking about the "horny" mass-energy equivalence, E = mc2. ;-)

Ole

28. Ayaan Hirsi Ali versus Timothy Garton Ash

Comment #98125 by Ole on December 13, 2007 at 5:42 am

If you have a wife that is 9 years old - that is a child (or a child-wife if you will).

Here is one (out of several) definitions of Pedophilia:

A disorder in which a person has fantasies, urges or behaviors that involve sexual activity with a pre-pubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger).

Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad. She stayed in her parents' home until the age of nine, when the marriage was consummated.

29. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #97040 by Ole on December 11, 2007 at 10:21 am

Richard. Now that you rightly have earned yourself the title of leader of the neo-atheist, secular activists

30. Richard Dawkins - Science and the New Atheism

Comment #96194 by Ole on December 10, 2007 at 6:30 am

Paleolithic Diet in Medical Nutrition
– incorporating evolutionary biology in nutritional science. Staffan Lindeberg raises this question:

Why do we need an evolutionary perspective?

More here:
http://www.staffanlindeberg.com/

Ole

31. Richard Dawkins - Science and the New Atheism

Comment #95426 by Ole on December 8, 2007 at 10:06 am

There is an interesting theory that human brains require certain fats that are present in seafood for full development, which is highly suggestive of an aquatic, or at least seaside phase in our ancestry. Of course, with our current knowledge of nutrition, vegetarians need not suffer from this deficiency.

32. A New Flea in Town!

Comment #91798 by Ole on November 29, 2007 at 10:53 am

Synopsis
The writings of Richard Dawkins challenge Christians (and people of other faiths) to think more deeply about their beliefs and shake them out of any complacency. Christians need to hear some of the uncomfortable things he says and to know how to answer his alluring claims. Here is a robust and informed challenge to Dawkins' gospel of atheism.

33. 2006 Charles Simonyi Lecture: 'Can the Internet Save The Enlightenment?'

Comment #91040 by Ole on November 27, 2007 at 4:15 am

Rotblat:

Remember your humanity and forget the rest!

34. AAI 07

Comment #83152 by Ole on October 29, 2007 at 4:57 am

Chapman raised many good points. He's a good "chap" ;-)

The next president in US should be a person who understand science and critical thinking!

I'm not shure Hillary is the one. She probably agree with her husband Bill, when he said (June 26 2000 - Human Genome Project):

"Today, we are learning the language in which God created life." ... "we are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, the wonder of God's most divine and sacred gift."

35. Sam Harris at AAI 07

Comment #82250 by Ole on October 25, 2007 at 11:46 pm

Josh wrote:

Sorry about having to take down the AAI videos. Politics!

36. God's honest truth?

Comment #79933 by Ole on October 19, 2007 at 6:21 am

Here is a quote from, Council of Europe, Committee on Culture, Science and Education (Doc. 11297 8 June 2007)

"The dangers of creationism in education"

Creationism in any of its forms, such as "intelligent design", is not based on facts, does not use any scientific reasoning and its contents are pathetically inadequate for science classes.

37. Deep in the Sea, Imagining the Cradle of Life on Earth

Comment #79635 by Ole on October 18, 2007 at 2:02 am

Fascinating!

How little we know about life on earth. (E. O. Wilson says only 10 % of life is known - so far).

I like these scientific posts. It is a good counter balance to all the posts from/about those deluded people (like the recent one from Brian Fisher from Coral Ridge Ministries, etc).

Cindy Lee Van Dover, you made my day!

Ole

38. Critical Analysis of Case for a Creator

Comment #72428 by Ole on September 21, 2007 at 3:32 am

discipline said (quote):

I'm reminded of the sorry case of Bjorn Lomborg, the Norwegian professor of statistics

39. The Flea Circus moves to your iPod!

Comment #67648 by Ole on September 4, 2007 at 5:36 am

I have just read the Preliminaries. Here is a quote from that text:

That takes us to the quality of our own thinking. We must learn to be good critical thinkers, and one of the key features separating good thinkers from poor thinkers is that good thinkers are counterfactual: that is to say, they are constantly looking for information which would tend to disprove the point of view which they already hold, as opposed to what people typically do, which is seek out information that tends to confirm a previously held view. If you are a theist, then "congratulations", because in buying Dawkins' book, you took the counterfactual road. And if on the other hand you are an atheist, also "congratulations", because by acquiring this learning program, you will see the problems in Dawkins' thinking from Dawkins' own rationalist perspective. Hopefully, after concluding this learning program, your thinking about atheism and theism will be more sophisticated, and you will have improved your ability to think critically, which is the real goal.

40. Cartoons from Evolution: a journal of nature 1927-1938

Comment #67267 by Ole on September 3, 2007 at 1:54 am

Speaking of cartoons... did anyone see this?

Artist Lars Vilks has made three drawings ridiculing the prophet Mohammed. The prophet is portrayed as a "roundabout dog".
So far three art exhibitions have declined to publish his pictures. The Art Association in Tällerud said no. Then the school Gerlesborgsskolan in the county of Bohuslän said no. Now the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm has also said no.

41. The Sacrifice of Reason

Comment #66699 by Ole on August 31, 2007 at 3:13 am

Hi Veronique ("down under")!

Here is one pointer:

http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/ctlessons.html

"Critical Thinking Mini-Lessons" on the Sceptics Dictionary.

Ole
(from Norway "up above")

42. The Sacrifice of Reason

Comment #66439 by Ole on August 30, 2007 at 2:15 am

And I believe history will remember their names.

43. Send In the Clergy!

Comment #65373 by Ole on August 24, 2007 at 12:24 am

When Constantine chose Christendom as the state religion it was of course based on what Paul wrote. Romans 13 etc.

Ole

44. CNN Request for 'I-Reports' on religion

Comment #65249 by Ole on August 23, 2007 at 10:38 am

I did not save what I wrote to CNN, but I startet (like another here) with this sentence:

Grow up!

It seems that CNN are influenced by Bush & Co when they choose their words: "under attack". They are thinking in primitive war like terms. (like "war on terror", etc.)

Btw, I think CNN helped us make this a nice tread. Good to read all those nice little essays you wrote. I do not suspect that we will see these responses on CNN's website, but we have it here!

Ole

45. Poll: Which religion do you associate with?

Comment #64825 by Ole on August 22, 2007 at 1:58 am

Right now:

Atheism 71% 12788

46. The Out Campaign: Interview with Josh Timonen

Comment #63952 by Ole on August 17, 2007 at 1:44 am

Josh,

Nice to listen to you in the interview!

You do a great job running this website.

Regards,

Ole in Norway

47. Richard Dawkins, TV evangelist

Comment #62859 by Ole on August 12, 2007 at 1:46 am

Gordon Lynch, do you care about the truth?

Last nigh over here in Norway, princess Martha Louise was interviewed (she has contact with angels). Sad to listen to. In one section of the interview, she mention quantum physics. That is a trend among new agers. Do they know anything about it? No, not a "quanta" ;-)

Another new-ager over here, has been given a lot of space in a newspaper. He is telling people that evolution is just a theory and that Intelligent Design is a better theory. Luckily one of the few science journalists in Norway has taken time to debunk him. I also wrote a few articles opposing him.

Even if ID is promoted much more over in US, it is still popping up here. Promoted by new-agers. Should we care about it or not?

Ole

48. The Gullible Age: Review of 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #61465 by Ole on August 5, 2007 at 8:46 am

We need to get this on TV over here in Norway!
As some of you may know, princess Martha Louise is talking to angels.

Btw, recently, I tried to give a local news paper some critique. (But they did not publish it.) They gave a "con artist" from UK a lot of free publisity, but did not follow up with any critical comments. This guy, Phil Phillips, is talking to dead people, healing, reading tarot cards, etc. etc. I'm sure it was the timing with the princess that made the local newspaper give him all that free publisity.

This Phillips guy has his own web: http://www.phil-phillips.com/

Ole

49. The Flea Circus Invites a Newcomer!

Comment #60545 by Ole on August 2, 2007 at 7:28 am

Hi David,

I saw you on the video clip. Nice. There was one thing you said that I'd like to comment on.

Maybe some people read RD's book and changed their mind and became atheists, BUT, I'm sure many of us already was in that postion.

As I told you a long time ago, I never really believed and when my grandmother tried to explain her christian faith to me (I was 9), I felt sorry for her. I did not believe in Santa Claus, but I felt that she was trapped in a belief of that kind.

As a teenager, I decided to go to the source. I first read the new testament and then started with the old. That was shocking. How can anyone really believe that "stuff"?

As you know, many people of faith never took the time to really read the "source". They only "cherry picked".

Later, I've read many of Bertrand Russells books and now lately Dennett, Dawkins, Onfray, Harris and Hitchens. I have also read your letters (posted on the web) and discussions here. I'm still an atheist. I think the reading has given me more arguments, but my first reading of the "source" made it for me ;-)

Maybe some posters here are rough and impolite to you, but I also find many who argues very well - people who are educated.

Ole

P.S.
I agree with a poster here: David, learn to quote better, (only a little bit of HTML)... then your posts will be easier to follow.

50. The Out Campaign

Comment #60240 by Ole on August 1, 2007 at 11:18 am

Hi David,

Thank you very much for your response! I agree with you - "..I think that her beliefs are nuts ..".

Can science study religion?
Should science study religion?

I think so. We also need to look at the "new age" stuff (where some even try put science into the mix).

Regards,

Ole