1. Scarlet Letter Campaign Update: A Victory

Comment #62329 by Phaderus on August 9, 2007 at 9:53 am

Clappers,

Having grown up in Brownback's state of Kansas, I can say that, although he will not be elected, he will receive far more votes that he should. He is and has been a state senator for several terms which shows a significant support base there.

2. All the mistakes of the godly are merely metaphor

Comment #57627 by Phaderus on July 20, 2007 at 10:03 am

Quetzetcoatl,

I've got a t-shirt with the "Science, it works bitches" quote from xkcd.com , an excellent webcomic for the science inclined. On the back is a picture of the exact curve fit between the theoretical and actual readings from the COBE microwave anisotropy satellite, which is one of the biggest nails in God's coffin if you ask me.

3. Look Forward to Anger

Comment #52211 by Phaderus on June 26, 2007 at 1:31 pm

"W" may be willing to face the muslim threat, but for all the wrong reasons and most definitely, in the wrong way.

His excuses for invading Iraq have, predictably, proven false; resulting in total distrust and hatred from the rest of the world. His total failure at achieving any significant objectives proves that he doesn't know what he is doing, even if the original plan was correct.

History is proving him inept, and his justification and execution of the war a complete failure.

4. Woman - Blame devil for infant in microwave

Comment #44840 by Phaderus on May 25, 2007 at 11:33 am

That was a really bad idea.

For best results, pre-heat a conventional oven to 350 deg. F. Insert offspring and pray for a miracle.

(keeps them crunchy that way)

5. The Art of Handling Thetans

Comment #44752 by Phaderus on May 25, 2007 at 8:54 am

I had a similar but shorter experience with them in Hollywood, CA. This was about 7 years ago, I was in town on a business trip and decided to walk around and look at the sights. Well, there weren't any, it was a slow week night, so when the friendly guy asked if I wanted to take an intelligence test, I figured what the hell.

I take the test, which was fairly easy and multiple choice (which I have always done better at than other types of tests). It really was more of an intelligence test rather than personality. Some questions tested critical thinking and reading comprehension, that sort of thing. I apparently finished quickly because he seemed surprised at the short time, and while he graded the test he said I could watch a video.

The video was just basically testimonials by Kristie Alley and other celebrities saying it had changed their lives for the better but with no specifics. I got tired of the repetition of the show so I walked out of the viewing room and found the guy and asked him how I did. He said, "Uh, you did pretty good, um, I guess you could buy this book if you were interested," and showed me a copy of Dianetics. Not much of a salesman.

I could see my test and from his grading marks it looked like I had nearly aced it. I didn't have any reading material for the flight home the next day so I told him I would give him five bucks for it after he had initially offered it for eight.

I read the first two chapters and went from interested, to amused, to disturbed at the thought of people buying into all of the garbage.

I thought that it was a brilliant idea for getting cult members. Give them a test so you know which ones are really stupid and easy to brainwash. Don't waste your time on anyone with any intelligence.

All in all, it was still more interesting than anything else I saw in LA, except for the La Brea Tar Pits.

6. Statement of Concern about Impact of AIG's Creation 'Museum'

Comment #40998 by Phaderus on May 15, 2007 at 10:03 am

I would think that laughter would be the best solution. Either outside at those entering or, if you sneak in, just laugh loudly every time you see a blatant falsehood (i.e. everywhere).

7. Disney daughter calls Muslim Mickey evil

Comment #39610 by Phaderus on May 11, 2007 at 9:36 am

Not only was he anti-semitic, he apparently also enjoyed eating small Cuban children.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13s5_gE092s

8. Lou Dobbs w/ Hitchens on Al Sharpton's Bigoted Remark

Comment #39558 by Phaderus on May 11, 2007 at 6:08 am

While advanced science may allow god-like powers by our standards, it is still a long way from acting as god on this planet and answering prayers and peeking in on our sexual practices. And anyway, it doesn't mean that they created anything. They probably evolved the same way we did.

Regarding Romney and Battlefield Earth, he said that it was his favorite book, then later someone called him on it, since even by sci-fi standards its pretty crappy, and he said that it was just his favorite novel. The Bible was actually his favorite book, due to its riveting, edge of your seat suspense no doubt.

9. Lou Dobbs w/ Hitchens on Al Sharpton's Bigoted Remark

Comment #39365 by Phaderus on May 10, 2007 at 12:21 pm

The clanging sound you hear is all of the pots and kettles laughing at reverend Al "Imus is a racist" Sharpton and Mitt "Mormonism isn't racist or misogynist" Romney.

10. Disney daughter calls Muslim Mickey evil

Comment #39274 by Phaderus on May 10, 2007 at 8:49 am

It is very simple, Bugs Bunny is the embodiment of all that is good, pure, and righteous in the world. Therefore, the opposite of Bugs (Mickey and by extension Disney) must be pure evil.

Bu-b-b-bu-bu-b-b-b, That's All folks!

11. Cardinal: homosexuality a form of prostitution

Comment #39203 by Phaderus on May 10, 2007 at 6:56 am

Bonzai and Justme,

I have been to Singapore and while chewing gum, spitting on the sidewalk, smoking in a public building, picking fruit from trees on public land, and any number of other minor infractions are punishable by large fines, prostitution is completely legal and regulated by the government.

I was told by a local that it was believed that if prostitution were not allowed, rape would become rampant. Not sure if I buy into that logic, but Singapore is a country of many strange contradictions and a blending of many diverse cultures.

12. Intellectual Diversity or Intellectual Insult?

Comment #39192 by Phaderus on May 10, 2007 at 6:43 am

Logicel,

My sympathies as well. Cletus (the slack jawed yokel) and Darlene are the hillbilly characters occasionally seen on The Simpsons.

I am from Missouri and plan to call my state Senator to recommend that he vote against this bill. The sad thing is that Missouri's motto is "The Show-me State". One would think that our history of skepticism would help to fight off the credulity rampant throughout the U.S. midwest, but alas, we are occasionally at the forefront of pro-religious issues like same-sex marriage and stem cell research. And not on the good side.

13. Fortune-telling no longer in the cards in Philly

Comment #39185 by Phaderus on May 10, 2007 at 6:23 am

Of course, all the fortune tellers have to do is get together and say that they are priests in a religion, accepts tithes instead of charging for services, and Voila! They are just a legal as all the other churches.

Mormonism actually fits the law very well. John Smith started out as a gold hunter and used lucky seer stones to help treasure hunters. He was actually convicted of this before his revelation. The mormon church also requires documented proof of tithing to allow members to "enter the temple" and become saints.

14. Massachusetts Proposes Stem Cell Research Grants

Comment #38915 by Phaderus on May 9, 2007 at 1:29 pm

epeeist,

Unfortunately, in the U.S., most scientists wouldn't touch the subject of abortion with a 20 foot pole for fear that it will hurt their funding from private or public organization due to bad press either way.

Now that ESCR has become more of an issue some are starting to speak out, but most of the public debate is being conducted by politicians and extremists, with little deference to our medical ethical committees.

15. Atheist offers to send letters post-Rapture

Comment #38909 by Phaderus on May 9, 2007 at 1:00 pm

I like the subject, by I have a major problem with the article itself. I also noticed this in the press release about the debate between the RRS and Cameron:

Why are atheists always labeled as "self-described" in news articles?

Are they implying that we aren't really atheists, but are just pretending to stir up trouble, or do they think that we are just deluded? Or do we need to prove we are atheists by some other means than just saying it?

The only other time I see this added to someones description is when they are a total nut job, like a "self-described prophet", or "self-described psychic". I plan to start complaining to the writers when ever I see this condescending term attached to an atheist.

16. Massachusetts Proposes Stem Cell Research Grants

Comment #38902 by Phaderus on May 9, 2007 at 12:38 pm

Another extract from the article linked by devolved:

"By any objective, scientific standard, the embryo qualifies as a member of the human race. From the moment of conception the embryo is an individual. The zygote is distinct from mother, father, and other living things, having her own unique genetic fingerprint. "

A bit of an overstatement I think, I have read very solid objective scientific standards that state that an embryo is NOT a member of the human race. Another example of the oversimplification made by the article.

I do agree, though, that if one is pro-choice, there should be no moral objection to ESCR. But I am honestly unaware of any one seriously arguing pro-choice and anti-ESCR.

The real problem, IMHO, is that Pres. Bush made a decision based on his religious views regarding ESCR, not on scientific debate or study. And his views are not even the same as the majority of Americans on this issue. I think that it is a violation of separation between church and state.

17. A Bunch of Monkeys

Comment #38451 by Phaderus on May 8, 2007 at 6:17 am

I agree completely, we shouldn't be arguing about pronunciation.

BTW, it's pronounced "Nietzsche", duh.

If you are still unsure, just imagine that your are a 19th century German monkey and then the pronunciation should be obvious.

18. Atheists go on the political offensive in God-fearing US

Comment #38005 by Phaderus on May 6, 2007 at 4:12 pm

I have a question for Bizarro Dawkins. How can I get to your Bizarro world? Since Bizarro world is opposite in many ways, there must be about 13% religious people and everyone else is atheist, sounds like paradise to me!

With no religiously motivated wars and dogmas to set back human kind, science and technology will have advanced to the point of a pollution free world with no lack of food or energy for all of the disease free, well educated, and intelligent people.

Did you take a bus or an inter-dimensional portal?

19. Christians and Atheists to Debate Existence of God in First-Ever 'NIGHTLINE FACE OFF'

Comment #37117 by Phaderus on May 3, 2007 at 12:21 pm

With all due respect to the RRS, and I am sure that they will do well, the problem with this debate is that the opponents are not mainstream enough to get the respect needed to raise this debate to broad public awareness. With no degree behind any of the names involved, it will be too easy for opponents or proponents of either side to disavow whatever mistakes or accomplishments are made by the participants.

BTW, what's with "self-proclaimed" always proceeding the word atheist? It seems to imply that the person is deluded, like a self-proclaimed prophet.

20. When Seeing Is Disbelieving

Comment #36849 by Phaderus on May 2, 2007 at 1:57 pm

Evolution is falsifiable, show me a fossil of a modern man in the same strata and the same age as a T-Rex and evolution is out the window.

Show anything that contradicts some tenet of religion and the answer is "God works in mysterious ways" or some other weak excuse.

21. The Damned

Comment #36824 by Phaderus on May 2, 2007 at 12:55 pm

The sad thing is that this will do little to convince true believers otherwise. They are perfectly happy to condemn those named in the video and every human not following their specific brand of faith to eternal torment, and feel self-righteously smug about it.

22. When Seeing Is Disbelieving

Comment #36822 by Phaderus on May 2, 2007 at 12:40 pm

Based on the similar inanity of their arguments, I suspect devolved is "FlyingSpaghettiMonster" who I haven't seen post for a while and was probably flagged as a troll too many times.

Ignore his Ignorance.

Brian C., excellent flow chart.

23. Convention ends with Satan and immigrants

Comment #36184 by Phaderus on April 30, 2007 at 12:38 pm

Wow, I don't feel so bad about being raised in Kansas anymore!

24. Believe in God Spray

Comment #36173 by Phaderus on April 30, 2007 at 12:13 pm

Sigh... If only there was a "Think for Yourself" spray.

25. Study: Religion is Good for Kids

Comment #34871 by Phaderus on April 25, 2007 at 1:37 pm

It appeared to me that the impact of religion was that the parents did a better job of raising their children, they had a larger support group and could learn to be better parents with feedback and help from the social group provided by church. That doesn't mean that religion has anything to do with it. I would like to see a comparison with parents who are not religious, but who have other large social groups to provide that support. They will probably have the same result.

This is a case of the benefits of having a large group of friends and family to help raise children is being confused with brainwashing children into believing fairy tales are real.

26. Potentially habitable planet found

Comment #34867 by Phaderus on April 25, 2007 at 1:29 pm

Great idea, let all of the Xians colonize the new planet and leave us alone. Come to think of it, that's what England did, all the crack pots left for the new world and all of the low key Xians stayed behind and religion almost died out. Of course, now I think the crackpots over here are starting to cross-polinate back to the UK and stir things up there again.

27. Potentially habitable planet found

Comment #34845 by Phaderus on April 25, 2007 at 12:39 pm

So, I wonder how far the Xians will have to bend over backward to explain life on other planets when it is confirmed?

28. NEXT MONDAY: Bill O'Reilly interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34274 by Phaderus on April 23, 2007 at 5:37 pm

Just watched it, O'Reilly doesn't have an original thought in his head. The usual BS, I sure hope RD didn't make a special trip for that 60 second interview with O'Reilly yammering through most of it. I'm not even sure why he has guests on his show, he likes listening to himself too much.

29. Sam's Flea!

Comment #32734 by Phaderus on April 18, 2007 at 6:13 am

I think Pi Guy has the right idea. I travel a lot and usually just find the nearest book store and sit down with a stack of books that catch my eye. Just think of it as a library with a coffee shop.

I typically only buy the books like TGD and End of Faith that I will want to re-read or loan to others. As has been noted, it usually only takes a few minutes with the religious books to determine if they are worth a closer look.

I actually read Thomas Harris' last book "Hannibal Rising" over two evenings last month. But somehow I doubt I'll be able to do that with the new Harry Potter this summer.

30. For God's Sake

Comment #31626 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 2:21 pm

drbreakfast,

I agree with your post, especially about Vonnegut. Cat's Cradle was one of the first books that started me looking at the reality of religion. He was the Mark Twain of the 20th century.

Excellent points against Spaghetti Monster's ramblings by everyone above but I fear it is all for naught. Whether he knows it or not he is apparently a follower of Eris and enjoys sowing chaos for chaos' sake. He contributes nothing of value and constructive efforts directed toward him are wasted. I recommend ignoring his ignorance.

31. For God's Sake

Comment #31617 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Bremas,

I won't spoil anything important, but Dagny is a hottie. I WISH I was John Galt.:)

32. For God's Sake

Comment #31606 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 1:07 pm

People should be able to believe what they want, and people should be able to peacefully present their point of view in order to persuade others to follow that point of view. But when the government is controlled by people who think it is acceptable to force others to follow their point of view, that is the end of freedom.

33. For God's Sake

Comment #31591 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 11:49 am

As to the "danger", just look at any country now or in the past controlled by a theocracy: anywhere in the mideast now, spanish inquisition, etc. and you will see that the danger of a theocratic government is that they burn heretics like us at the stake. If you don't think that could happen here and now, you must not have read the article at the top of the page.

If I may let my inner geek out and quote:

Luke: I'm not afraid!

Yoda: You will be. You will be.

34. For God's Sake

Comment #31588 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 11:26 am

Spaghetti Monster,

Your right, evil is only a personal bias, but then again, we are people, so personal bias is a valid reason.

As a society, we get together and decide what is moral and acceptable behavior and expect everyone who benefits from the society to follow those rules. I think that many of the people on this forum just don't want make believe gods and questionable literature to have such a strong impact on that decision making process.

35. For God's Sake

Comment #31586 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 11:17 am

AtheistAcolyte,

NZ sounds like a good idea, I'd like to think that there are too many of us to fit on any one of the Hawaiian Islands, but I'd take them as well. In fact how about the entire south Pacific. We could set up our own cargo cults, become benevolent dictators and finally use religion for our own ends.

In fact, from the point of view of control, religion sounds like a pretty good idea.... Oh wait, I guess thats why it sucks.

36. T. rex tissue shows they are related to chickens

Comment #31568 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 9:45 am

There was an article in Scientific American sometime last year about the discovery of the soft tissue in the T. Rex femur. Apparently, the scientist working on cleaning and preparing the bone accidentally spilled some water or some other liquid on the fossil and it was absorbed by some parts and resoftened. Definitely one of those Eureka moments.

37. For God's Sake

Comment #31565 by Phaderus on April 13, 2007 at 9:32 am

I've got to admit I have considered moving on too. But the right course is not always the easy course. I am going to stay and keep voting and boring my friends and family with my opinions and trying to convince them that just because most people get brainwashed as a child doesn't mean that they are right.

On the other hand, if anyone wants to set up a meeting point ala Atlas Shrugged, it might not be a bad idea to have a plan B. Canada should be considerably warmer in a few years so that sounds like a good idea.

38. Religious bias colors doctors' views: survey

Comment #31149 by Phaderus on April 11, 2007 at 6:56 am

Regarding my vasectomy, I was 27 and my wife and I had decided to remain child-free before we got married. The first doctor I went to tried to talk me out of it, then when I insisted and told him that we were members of "No Kidding" a social group for child-free adults, he just refused to do it and said that it was hospital policy. I then got a referral from someone who had already gotten one and that doctor, who worked at the same hospital, said no problem, but we had to do it at a different clinic that wasn't associated with the hospital.

39. Religious bias colors doctors' views: survey

Comment #30977 by Phaderus on April 10, 2007 at 1:41 pm

When I went to get my vasectomy, my doctor had to perform it at another clinic that wasn't part of the catholic hospital he works at. I also remember going to a podiatrist (thats a foot doctor in the U.S.) when I was a teenager to get a planters wart removed. Afterward, the doctor told me to imagine Jesus taking away the warts to keep them from coming back. Those are the only two times I have had any significant medical procedures done in my life, and both times religion came up. That catholic hospital is the only emergency room within 50 miles, will they respect my Do Not Resucitate wishes, or will my family have to fight them? This, even more than terrorism, is how religion affects us all on a daily basis.

40. The Most Hated Family in America

Comment #29724 by Phaderus on April 4, 2007 at 1:12 pm

I went to college at Kansas State University in the early 90's, right up the road from their home turf in Topeka. They would come to the campus and stage sermons in front of the student union. It usually attracted a large crowd of people laughing uproariously at them, we just thought it was a big joke. That was before they started getting national attention. I did see Fred get nailed in the face with a raw egg one time, it's one of my fondest memories of college. I probably had better times, I just can't remember them because they usually involved kegs.

41. How Many Scientists?

Comment #28737 by Phaderus on March 30, 2007 at 2:39 pm

Just FYI, we discussed the validity of the originally referenced Swindle video by Scooter on the forum for the article "if only gay sex caused global warming" last week. Here is the link:

http://richarddawkins.net/article,775,If-only-gay-sex-caused-global-warming,Daniel-Gilbert-LATimescom

I posted my own rather lengthy rebuttal to the video at comment #31 and there are several good links to other articles further down the list.

As to GW being like a religion: Just because most people, some of them fanatical, believe in God or Global Warming doesn't mean either of them exist. You look at the evidence and just like RD says in his book, even if you can't say absolutely, you can say how likely something is based on this evidence. Based on the scientific papers and articles I have read, I'd say that there is about a 1% chance that a personal God exists, and about a 95% chance that GW exists. Anthropogenic GW may be slightly less certain, call it 80%, but more info is coming in and the percentage keeps getting higher. But that just my opinion, I could be wrong.

42. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27190 by Phaderus on March 23, 2007 at 1:12 pm

MartinSGill,

Cool car, the also have an excellent electric vehicle you can see at www.revaindia.com I just wish I could get either of them in the U.S.

43. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27179 by Phaderus on March 23, 2007 at 11:31 am

Graham,

Thank you for the back up as well, your sources are excellent.

44. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27178 by Phaderus on March 23, 2007 at 11:24 am

nickthelight and nine9s,

Thank you for both of your responses,you both make good counterpoints and ask some exceptional questions. I'm afraid I can't answer all of them, I'm not one for remembering lots of facts and remembering where to cite them. I will say that I am not a complete "believer" in GW either, it is and increadibly complex issue that most scientist who study it concentrate on specific aspects of. I can say, however, that the vast majority of the information I read that appears to be valid indicates that GW is real. I would say slightly less but still significantly positive evidence supports humans having some impact on it as well. To paraphrase RD from his book, we may not be able to say with absolute certainty that there is no God, but we can say that it is extremely likely.

The most convincing arguments I have heard say that if humans did not create excess CO2 by burning fossil fuels, the intake and outtake of CO2 by natural forces like volcanoes, plants, and the ocean would reach equilibrium. We are releasing large quantities of previously sequestered CO2 from our fuels which are throwing the system out of balance. It may find a new balance, or it could start a self reinforcing cycle that will make things worse.

My main problem with the video was that it appeared to be coming from a distinctly biased viewpoint in its own right and rather than addressing the huge amounts of data already out there, dismissed most of it as lies and bias by selfish scientists with no proof of this claim. It is also possible that they lied for their own selfish ends. I have the same amount of proof either way.

45. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27153 by Phaderus on March 23, 2007 at 9:50 am

I know this is a long post, but I had written this out last night in response to a family members insistence that I watch the same video.

I watched the video on YouTube and took notes of the various claims that
it made and my own responses to them. I haven't tried to organize them,
I just jotted down thoughts as they were addressed in the video. To save
some typing I will use GW instead of Global Warming. The main discussion
is about the IPCC report which I have not read, most of my knowledge
about this comes from dozens of other independent articles touching on
different aspect of science, climate, and GW.

Claim: The self interest of scientists and the media in keeping their
jobs and grant money is the main reason they continue to say that GW exists.
Reply: The implication is that the 80% of the scientific community
who agrees with GW is lying to keep their jobs. I find this extremely
unlikely. I would also wonder how many people and corporations have a
self interest in seeing GW disproved. Oil, Coal, Gas, and automotive
industries come to mind.

Claim: pro GW people want third world countries in Africa to remain
poor and unindusturialized and deprived of electricity
Reply: At the beginning of the video they give no proof of this, it is
simply an Ad Hominem attack, later they imply that it is the communists
with nothing to do after the Soviet State fell that took over the
environmental movement and are trying to keep Africa from becoming
capitalists. I think thats a bit of a stretch, once again no proof is
offered. Most environmentalists encourage conservation in already
industrialized nations much more strongly since they are the ones
polluting now. If we can develop cleaner technologies for us, the third
world countries will benefit as well and not pollute when they do get
around to modernization.

Claim: That the warming over the past 400 years is just a recovery
from the "little ice age"
Reply: Most of the GW articles and info I have read take this trend
into account and show that GW exists outside of this trend.

Claim: Great wealth was present during the "Medivial Warming" before
the little ice age, ex: the beautiful cathedrals. ergo: warming is good
Reply: People were poor and disease was rampant during this time, the
only reasons cathedrals were built was because the catholic church was
the most powerful social entity of the time and therefore controlled
most of the money.

Claim: True industrialization did not happen until after WWII with
cars and factories when the most recent warming trend started over 100
years ago.
Reply: Most man made CO2 comes from burning coal which was the main
energy source for heating and electricity since the late 1800's. Yes,
there was a dip in temperatures after the 40's, but overall temp trends
have been up since we started burning coal for power. They look at that
specific period of cooling and claim it means GW is false while the same
graph shows that the overall trend is still going up.

Claim: CO2 makes up only 0.054% of the atmosphere, it is so small it
can't be important.
Reply: small percentage doesn't mean small impact. A small amount of
cyanide can kill you, small amounts of lead can kill all the fish in a
lake, and small amounts of CO2 have large affects on the overall heat
retention of the atmosphere, thats what the "Greenhouse" effect is all
about.

Claim: GW predicts warming at the troposphere but the warming is at
the surface, therefore GW is false.
Reply: First, they admit that there is warming at the surface, second,
I have never heard this as a part of GW theory.

Claim: Cosmic rays meet water vapor and cause it to turn into water
droplets which turn into clouds.
Reply: This is completely false. Cosmic rays have so much energy that
they are rarely affected by matter. If they get through the Earth's
magnetic field, they almost always travel completely through the
atmosphere, and us, and the first 20 to 50 feet of earth before the
react with anything. If they did hit a molecule of water vapor it would
be split into hydrogen and oxygen as well as a few dozen sub atomic
particles, not turned into a water droplet. I have seen pictures from
an atom smasher showing a direct hit by a cosmic ray, it is much more
powerful than anything we can create artificially.

Claim: Solar winds deflect cosmic rays.
Reply: Wrong again, the earths magnetic field deflects most of the
cosmic rays as well as most of the solar wind.

Claim: A video clip of an apparently 70's era meterologists saying that
it is impossible to accurately predict climate.
Reply: True in the 70's before computers and the wealth of data we
now have from satellites, now we have gotten much better at it.

Claim: All climate models are unreliable and biased by the researchers
to give favorable results.
Reply: What a huge conspiricy. The entire peer review system that
science uses is set up to help avoid this, so they all must be in on
it. Once again, no proof is offered, just accusations of biased results.

Claim: Extreme weather like hurricanes and tornadoes are due to the
differential in temperature between the poles and the tropics.
Therefore claims that hurricanes are caused by GW are false and
therefore GW is false.
Reply: I have always heard that extreme weather was due to local high
temperatures and temperature differences. But either way, hurricanes
and tornadoes may not be a direct result of GW, it doesn't mean that GW
doesn't exist. I do agree that the media overhypes this particular
aspect of GW.

Claim: pro GW people warn of the spread of mosquitoes and diseases
due to GW
Reply: Unlikely due to modern medicine, but has no impact on whether
GW exists or not. Another case of taking the overhyped media claims to
mean that all GW claims are false.

Claim: The last big emotional argument is the african hospital with
one solar cell that can't run the lights and the refrigerator at the
same time. The claim is that pro GW movement is keeping them in this
condition.
Reply: Most of africa has no infrastructure like roads or electrical
grids, solar, wind, and water power is their only option right now.
Even if they started building coal burning power plants right now it
would take decades before the all had power and made as much CO2 as us.
If we develop cheaper distributed energy systems now like solar and wind
they could implement it quickly and benefit everyone. The implication
that the pro GW people are, even indirectly, preventing that hospital
from getting a second solar panel is ridiculous.

I also did a little reading about the documentary and found that the
scientist from MIT says that his interview was edited and taken out of
context and he wants his segments removed. The director of the video,
Derkin, has done other documentaries that were later retracted for the
same reason and the TV station apologized for airing it. I also found
that several of the charts and data presented have been directly
disputed by other scientific sources, all part of the conspiracy, I'm
sure. I find it ironic that one of the main claims of the video about
the entire GW movement is that it is all sensationalist lies to create
public excitement and increase interest and funding, when the show
itself was sensationally marketed to boost ratings with controversy. I
didn't have time to check the individual claims about money spent on GW
research and their data on temperature, CO2, solar activity, etc. But
even if all of those were correct and unbiased, their arguments still
lack merit from a purely logical point of view.

Well, that's my opinion, I could be wrong. Please let me know what you
think.

46. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27106 by Phaderus on March 23, 2007 at 6:47 am

I find it interesting that there were so many emotional reactions to this article, especially negative ones to the perceived insults to gays and kitten eaters. I thought that it offered an interesting evolutionary explanation for why humans in general will react more strongly to some issues which have no direct effect on their lives, but will largely ignore others which do because of how our minds have evolved to perceive threats in our environment. I think that it is also related to our middle size, we are used to how things act on our scale, but trying to understand subatomic particle physics or general relativity are much more difficult because we don't have an intuitive reference for how things act on those scales.

I would also like to question the stance of the original post by Tovio, if you really don't care, why bother posting, you seem to have broken your own code of apathy. Even if you don't care about the far future, how about the present. I changed the lightbulbs in my house, put in an automatic thermostat and a tankless water heater and have been saving money on my electric bills which benefits me now, and reducing consumption which helps the future. Not caring about the future doesn't mean you have to be actively destructive now.

47. Piecing Together the Clues of an Old Collision, Iceball by Iceball

Comment #26952 by Phaderus on March 22, 2007 at 2:04 pm

Finally, proof for all of you a-santa-ists out there, he does exist! Still no proof of God, keep looking through those telescopes!

48. Yanoconodon, a transitional fossil

Comment #26410 by Phaderus on March 19, 2007 at 6:41 am

I believe Michael's quote was in regard to the God of the Gaps argument and stated that the creationists should be happy every time a gap was filled with a transitional fossil because it created two more gaps on each side of the fossil.

49. Remote sheep population resists genetic drift

Comment #26062 by Phaderus on March 16, 2007 at 11:46 am

Here is a more complete version of the article:
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=f36e39f0-ffd6-4e9e-98db-0a27e5b6d207
It says "Haute Island, a six-square-kilometre patch of rocks and grass halfway between South Africa and Antarctica" I still can't find it on a map, but 6 kilometers square is pretty small.

50. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #21451 by Phaderus on February 9, 2007 at 8:41 am

This has got to be the best discussion of its type I have ever read. I was beginning to think that it was impossible to have an intelligent discussion on the topic of religion without it degenerating into name calling. Bravo to both Mr. Harris and Mr. Sullivan for allowing me to hold two opposing viewpoints in my head at the same time. I have to say that I agree with Mr. Harris, but I don't think that I have ever heard the other side argued so eloquently. Thank you to both.