1. UCSB study finds physical strength, fighting ability revealed in human faces

Comment #269497 by John Locke on October 23, 2008 at 4:18 am

#2 - dont mess with the Tooby...

2. A 'values' voter speaks her mind on Obama

Comment #267660 by John Locke on October 21, 2008 at 12:36 am

on a more intellectual note (well couldnt be less really);

i remember watching the 2004 election on bbc world and them interviewing bush and kerry supporters. democrats were saying reasonable stuff like "i think america needs to repair its international relations" etc

one bush supporter plucked up ( i remember it word for word);

"i am a hunter, and a christian. and i believe george w. bush to be a pious man."

priceless.

3. A 'values' voter speaks her mind on Obama

Comment #267657 by John Locke on October 21, 2008 at 12:32 am

sorry to lower the tone of it all....but who else here half expects this bint to start chewing on the cud at the end of every sentence...

4. Death for apostasy?

Comment #267318 by John Locke on October 20, 2008 at 12:31 pm

lol stafford...that just about sums it up.

on the taliban debate:

to really have a genuine perspective on that old chestnut i think i'd have to acually have been fighting in afghanistan recently.

the questions i would ask are:

what weapons/equipment do the taliban use?
what tactics do they use?
what support do they have and to what extent was it from the US/NATO at its source?

my guess would be that the evidence would not point to the US or NATO in any way.

in addition, where any of the suggestions pointing towards US training/equipment, knowing your enemie's capabilities is actually far more useful than not, naturally.

e.g. the Argentine dictatorship's army used US training doctrine, so British commanders in the falklands could use, knowing US tactics etc from NATO excercises, their knowledge to plan battles having a good idea what the enemy might do and how they would react. same applies to the pair of type 42 destroyers that WE had sold the argies a few years before. although the argentine fleet never got involved directly (particularly after Belgrano incident) sea harrier pilots were well prepared to take them on, after all they spent their time training to attack the very same weapons platforms.

back to the point: firstly i dont believe US aid to Mujahadeen fighters in the 80s would have much bearing on the Taleban of the 00s (not to mention how the taleban has evolved during that time). secondly, even if it was the case, it is useful to know how your enemy might operate and what equipment he has.

5. A 'values' voter speaks her mind on Obama

Comment #267223 by John Locke on October 20, 2008 at 10:55 am

liking the avatar overwhelmed ;P

6. The Retirement of Richard Dawkins: Reflections on a Stewardship

Comment #267196 by John Locke on October 20, 2008 at 10:34 am

firstly Bonzai:

bit of an ignorant dismissal of a discipline that
has given us most of our greatest political and social concepts...assume it was just a jest about people who have read a bit and then come out with crap the whole time.

Steve(y):

i agree with RainDear on this. this article and some of your comments help illustrate what i believe to be science's underlying problem. it will never get the serious public attention, respect or (crucially) trust that it deserves until it cuts the arrogance.

in the same way that someone with a science phd isnt a stranger to going out, socialising or having sex with a real being, anyone without one isnt necessarily a window-licker.(too) many scientists cant seem to understand that there might well be highly intelligent, nay more intelligent people from outside of their own disciplines, which as a statement in itself, is a criticism of their own intelligence.

with regard to scientific method: to use 2 close friends of mine as examples, one with an MA in physics the other a BA in biology and zoology, although both close friends of the scientific method, cant explain details of the others disciplines in a satisfactory manner, at least to the level you and this article implies. does that mean they are exempt from any intellectual discourse/debate/opinion on matters outside of their subject? no.

understanding the principles of a process, and importantly the result is anormal human method. it would be impossible and absurd to apply such in-depth investigation and empirical analysis to everything we did; the important part is a concept of the process and the answer.

what dawkins does, exceptionally well, is to introduce (in some cases reintroduce) science to people. not even because it is easy to digest but mostly because it doesnt have the intellectual arrogance of science. he doesnt assume that non-scientists are idiots.

science has a terrible (on the whole) public image and i genuinely believe it has a lot to do with such snobbery. people who might want to learn are put off, those who may already understand or have an interest roll their eyes and move on. science at college (UK) and university loses A LOT of intelligent students through the arrogance of some of its staff.

this applies all the way up to industry and business. if people understood the true beauty and potential of science, research grants and funding would be a lot easier. the trouble is the general public opinion of science at all levels isnt as high as it should be. science turns its noses up at people who it sees as intellectual inferiors, and as a result, particularly when the insulted party is equally intelligent and (or) rich (importantly for science) they in turn will turn their noses up back. both lose.

7. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #246789 by John Locke on September 13, 2008 at 7:17 am

id like to add that i hope :

a) im mistaken thats what you mean and im taking it out of context.
b) you're joking

or both.

8. Anglicans back Darwin over 'noisy' creationists

Comment #246786 by John Locke on September 13, 2008 at 7:09 am

noticed the adds "sponsored by google" are all creationist ones!? is that on purpose? do they fund that?

9. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #246784 by John Locke on September 13, 2008 at 7:07 am

wtf? fanusi?!

i havnt time or energy to read all posts, but are you seriously advocating the killing of people on european soil for "a war on islam"?!?

did i read that correctly?

10. Anglicans back Darwin over 'noisy' creationists

Comment #246781 by John Locke on September 13, 2008 at 7:00 am

yes but no but yeah but sigmund...

love thy neighbor is stop abortion. what neighbor loving christian would let someone kill an innocent? love thy neighbor means applying your same nutjob values to them and forcing them to adhere to please cod...dont want their neighbors in hell now? geddit?!

11. Anglicans back Darwin over 'noisy' creationists

Comment #246772 by John Locke on September 13, 2008 at 5:50 am

someone using the phrase "secular atheism" already has problems. whats next "fanatical religious extremism", "left-wing marxism", "right wing facism". i agree with him i mean those religious atheists are fine, its those secular ones that are the problem... ;)

12. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #246363 by John Locke on September 12, 2008 at 8:22 am

hmm you are right. i just think that political people are too prepared and too briefed to make that mistake and say such absurd things. in bush's case he is always very sharp on one on one less-public retorts (see his repostes to michael moore for example) and that made me think hes pretending. if footballers can be briefed, and my chair has a better IQ, so can politicians.

whats more its no coincidence that the reasons people give for voting for the likes of bush and piggy are for them being "normal". ie its the cuture of mediocrity. churchill a great leader, but probably a c**t to have a pint with. i would want a leader to be superb, not have the same faults as me. i think people like a mediocre leader becuase they think its comforting

13. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #246356 by John Locke on September 12, 2008 at 8:14 am

indeed she could be.

i havnt seen enough of her to decide. but paradoxically i dont want to see more of her in many many ways.

14. Science lessons should tackle creationism and intelligent design

Comment #246351 by John Locke on September 12, 2008 at 8:09 am

sorry larry

yes teach a controversy but in this case there is none. by any academic or intellectual standard. so throw it out.

i agree if you attempt an assault upon their sensibilities they will clam up and its game over, so dont.

you can teach the science as it stands, without referring directly to religion and most students will get the idea, if not all of them

15. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #246349 by John Locke on September 12, 2008 at 8:05 am

i hope for everyones sake that palin isnt as popular in reality as she is being portrayed in the media...as a saviour as turning mccains campaign round etc...

is this really happening? are you guys actually going to vote in an even stupider person? didnt you learn?

(on a side note i think bush's apparent low intellect is veneer, he know's his target audience, i.e. those who are now going loopy for miss piggy from alaska)

16. Science lessons should tackle creationism and intelligent design

Comment #246330 by John Locke on September 12, 2008 at 7:34 am

hmm now it becomes clear. a reverend.

i wonder if he is the steriotypical (a word i stress) academic who may be great at applied knowledge (these types often reside on more scientific and mathematic roads) but has difficulty tying his own shoelaces or conversing with humans?

EDIT: his post would suggest the answer is yes, yes he is.

17. Science lessons should tackle creationism and intelligent design

Comment #246317 by John Locke on September 12, 2008 at 7:04 am

no no no no no.

no. i dont care if this guy is officially far more academically proficient than me, he is clearly a cretin. along the ranks of a friend of mines university proffessor who, whilst teaching logic, was adament that if you tossed a coin and it landed heads, the next time you tossed it it was less likely to be heads again. clearly a cretin.

no. utter bollocks should not be taught in a science class. science should be. socio-religious views and teaching should be left outside. it has nothing to do with science. you dont teach the history of middle earth in history (although due to tolkeins anglo saxon scholarship it is closer to the reality of history than creationism) nor do you teach phrenology in sociology or psychology.

good science, and general better teaching of its principles, should be taught at younger ages. if children of 16-18 think that the world was created by something akin to a paul daniels trick then let them think it, f**k em and let them fail. they should be capable of some degree of independant thought at that point.

18. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #243064 by John Locke on September 5, 2008 at 4:00 am

to revert back to topic:

she named her child after an olympic discipline...that says enough.

19. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #243031 by John Locke on September 5, 2008 at 2:14 am

on a side note:

the doc. gets a mention in this weeks mock the week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24oBeFNy6o

20. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #243021 by John Locke on September 5, 2008 at 1:52 am

just to clarify;

although robertsons reasoning behind the quote was wrong, i meant the quote itself was wrong concerning henry ford.

21. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #243016 by John Locke on September 5, 2008 at 1:38 am

mysogynistic? how exactly? read sam's reply? or did you just skim-read the first paragraph or so.

it seems your comment ranges from the petty "mysogynistic" to the false "you can have any colour...etc"

sort your quotes out.

22. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242745 by John Locke on September 4, 2008 at 12:13 pm

light at 4am? heavy drinking? sounds like newcastle...

23. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242550 by John Locke on September 4, 2008 at 3:39 am

maybe as a terrorist threat they should be taken seriously. and they are.

to compare them to nazi germany? im sorry you lose a lot of credibility there. there ideaological even sociological similarities but thats where it ends.

the islamic nations do not form any cohesive group, are often just as happy fighting each other as the west for ideological discrepancies within their own religion. they are neither unified, nor highly industrialised, nor capable of any form of sustained warfare with the west outside of their own countries.

contrast that to germany in 1939: highly industrialized, armed with the latest in conventional military hardware, well-trained troops and in numbers rival any other european power, both politically and ideologically unified under one leader with total control, allied with other ideologically inclined industrialized and militarised nations; spain, italy and japan.

the moment all islamic nations pull together under one leadership, with one shared doctrine of faith, and unite to start an arms race with the west, you might hear my bowels twitch but that is an absurd a prospect as your ridiculous doomsday claim as if all muslims were united under one aim.

to put it in further perspective: iraq in 1991 was by far the most militarised arabic nation, with a huge army and relatively advanced weaponry. look how long it lasted.

24. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242541 by John Locke on September 4, 2008 at 3:16 am

the threat of jihad is an overblown trumpet for bigotted twonks that are often every bit as bad as the muppets who call it in the first place.

sure its not something to dismiss completely, but until a carrier battle group flying the flag of allah sails into the atlantic, the actual physical threat it presents to US sovereignity is limited.

sorry to repeat my mantra, but sort out problems back home, then we can address other issues.

25. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242538 by John Locke on September 4, 2008 at 3:12 am

Bonzai:

Comment #242531


i agree. its not fucking lord of the rings. you dont have to ally yourself with gandalf to free ourselves from the dark threat in the east. funny enough the real world isnt so simplistic.

26. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242184 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:54 pm

dirtyape

hahahahaha! brilliant!

and farewell for now all xx

27. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242174 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:48 pm

please do come!!

youre most welcome. we need more and more clear thinkers.

if the unspeakable would happen and america fall even deeper into neo con christian wilderness, do all of you come over, i'll put up as many as i can, and we can set about making sure europe is heading in the direction of clear thought...

same applies to anyone from anywhere...come and make europe an areligious utopia... :P :D

28. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242171 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:45 pm

sleepy:

that sounds like a disgusting case of keeping her options open. wouldnt want to narrow it down for fear of losing votes from other denominations...

argh democracy annoys me sometimes...but it isnt its fault, its everyones fault for not seeing through bullshit like that.

29. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242164 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:39 pm

to be infantile and cheap:

nobody would have blamed blair for a spot of over-time felatio...i mean cherie?!

30. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242156 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:34 pm

brandy:

was just looking for tips. im lookign a bit wane and pasty these days
<---------------

jabber:

couldnt agree more. one of the reasons martin luther is a big hero of mine. very before his time with his application of rational thought. i would even speculate that he would be an atheist if born today.

31. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242146 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:26 pm

botox or coligen brandy?

32. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242140 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:22 pm

well written jabber

particularly like the caliban reference.

also a very good point about pandering to the emotions of people in bereavement: we arent just scared of death ourselves, we fear that both ours and our loved ones lives will prove meaningless. a mothers son dies aged only 19 and she would be naturally open to the idea that he didnt just cease to exist before living to his potential, that he had a purpose and is now serving it elsewhere. also seductive the idea of still being able to influence their fate and speed on a dead ones path to heaven via purgatory (see medieval catholicism).

33. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242131 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:12 pm

cococabana has a point:

to attempt to address it from a fellow fence sitter:

i think in cases where it is clear that the cause was as a result of the individual then that would be the cut off. eg: hmmm you have lung cancer...you smoke 60 a day...we have reason to believe....

obviously its not as easy as that and there will be many grey areas so maybe it would be too hard to say when. some people get lung cancer from smoking 5 a day, others not at all from smoking many times more. its a bit hard to discern as you say.

34. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242126 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:07 pm

show them an atheist candidate then brandy and be useful....oh wait they can only vote for 2 choices? hence a debate about who would be the better president and VP.

welcome to reason.

35. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242125 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Al

i think the government cant justify (at least in the UK) dropping healthcare when it is autocausal, when it taxes cigarettes and alcohol so heavily.

36. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242122 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 11:59 am

yes quantum :S

37. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242112 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 11:50 am

sorry diacanu

missed your reposte

of course its worth discussing on this post as it is what many people think. furthermore i felt it was worth bringing up. if you dont want to discuss it with me you odnt have to. nor does anyone. still worth discussing even if no one here is party to that view.

telling me youve never had a discussion about cretinists without any being present?

case and point.

(EDIT: "many people think" as in many people outside of forum)

38. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242084 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 11:21 am

i do get very annoyed by people being so blindly anti armed forces (not acusing anyone in particular)

yes, agreed it is their choice of job. but its the politicians resposibility, not theirs, where theyre sent and for what purpose. to make an example:

a soldier might have joined the UK armed forces in 2000, having seen that the operations undertaken in the last 9 years had been peace keeping or interventionary roles, building schools, repairing infrastructure, clearing mines etc. generally good things and honourable things to be doing (bosnia, kosovo, sierra leone)

then theres iraq and afghanistan...

cococantare:

even if the war on terror is wrong/misguided, it bares no change upon you husbands work. the fact is the government would have gone to war with or without your husband. the fact he is there means that he is able to do what he can, even if its relatively small a change, in a fucked up situation. for that i believe it is worth it every bit.

39. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242061 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 11:01 am

no diacanu

patriotism only rots the minds of idiots and even bigger idiots who let that happen and then let them get in power.

the best analogy i can come up with is this:

its quite acceptable, even healthy, to have a degree of self esteem. not acceptable once that turns to arrogance and worse.

im uncomfortable with the word "patriotism" myself, but what i mean by self esteem is the wish to better my community, by extension my country. on what principles you wish to 'better' it discerns whether youre a nationalistic even racist warmonger, or merely trying to do the best for your immediate place of living.

to quote, i believe garibaldi the man who unified italy: i am a tuscan, i am an italian but above all i am a european.

40. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242054 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 10:53 am

accept my appologies Al

had it on (seemingly) reliable information from my US-based sibling that there was no minimum wage, and took her word for it. will check next time.

im not a complete ignoramus on the US - i can name all 50 states! (can i have a badge?!)

41. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242047 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 10:45 am

42. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242037 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 10:34 am

you have healthcare for the poor?

are there any roads to having anything like a minimum wage? or are the supremacists and neo-cons growing fond of paco the gardener and wouldnt want to have to fire him for giving him a passable wage?

43. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242033 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 10:32 am

aaaaah it all becomes crystal clear....

thank you lucas.

id always wondered why none of the neo-con christian wackos in the US didnt seem to worried about oil. now that makes sense.

if you think the earth is only 6000 years old you probably think its growing underground all the time...

ah we're even more fucked than i thought.

woden have mercy upon us...

44. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #242020 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 10:20 am

dumbdumb:

real deal? foundation? knows what she believes in? making a huge difference in her state?

none of the above are necessarily good things. Ahmadinejad could tick those boxes, just for the sake of argument...

EDIT: arent they all reasons that many voted for bush? like the point of the article, its people voting for average. so just because she sounds like she means what shes saying, it makes whatever she's saying, even if it is insane, ok?

a mental patient might say from their heart what they want and that would agreeably make them more honest than most politicians, but i doubt it would be beneficial to vote for them solely on that princple

45. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #241847 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 6:39 am

mordacious

i would hope so, but i dont believe so.

i think a lot of hilary supporters' overriding reason for supporting her was the want for a woman in power. the same for obama and possibly his colour.

some may therefore switch over to palin and mccain becuase she appeals to the same faculties.

again as i say i wish it wouldnt be true, but i think it just may well be.

EDIT i dont think it is a coincidence that mccain admited shifting his tactic to winning over disiliusioned clinton supporters around the same time as appointing palin.

46. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #241804 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 5:04 am

Fanusi

yes we were focussing on the presidential campaign, but also mentioned as a concept sorting out domestic issues in the west as well, to which i refered, and highlight my case and point again; europe.

i think the american will to not go for such an overtly christian president will be far stronger now than in 2004. in addition to this many borderline people will vote democrat for many reasons, but above all for a change of scenery. like the fact that it is almost certain that the UK will be conservative next time round once the big unelected scottish bear has served his time.

47. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #241778 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 3:59 am

fanusi

you may be right in an american context but far from it in a european one.

also i would add, that should obama get in for now, that is a more rational operator in charge for at least another 4 years. thats 4 more years less of christian fundamentalist pap.

i have a certain degree of faith that the american public wouldnt make the same mistake they made in 2004, the same the UK made in 2005.

48. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #241777 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 3:53 am

sorry if i miss the point here but an outsiders point of view:

the two VP candidates are picked for obvious reasons:

mccain wants to win over middle-class, middle age female voters who were previously for hilary. so he picks a middle-aged middle class female VP.

the main criticism of obama is that he lacks experience, so he calls in one of the democrats most experienced operators

there may be other factors but these are the main ones.

am i wrong? or is this overly simplistic an analysis?

49. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #241770 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 3:41 am

fanusi

i think thats an absurdly negative and innaccurate view.

the main reason for atheist literature's popularity is because of religious fundamentalism. in europe that is (nearly completely) fundamentalism of an islamic ilk. sure some borderline religious types will justify their swtich to more extremist christian or maybe jewish views with it, should the middle east situation flair up further, but the vast vast vast majority would see it as just another problem with religion.

many people in europe blame bush and the US and his own brand of religious fundamentalism for all the problems in the middle east. its not true i might add, and far far far more complex than that, but any worsening of the situation would see most people distance themselves even further from religion i believe and not instantly side with the polar opposite of islam. this isnt lord of the rings for obewan kenobi's sake.

50. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #241760 by John Locke on September 3, 2008 at 3:21 am

godspot

sorry. i see if you take my post above it sounds like im scare-mongering about iran. my previous posts are part of a running discussion with fanusi about what is more important: addressing problems at home or tackling iran.

i am for the former. in context i was responding hypothetically about iran going "balistic" (both literally and figuratively) that it would be better to have things sorted at home, with a less fanatical and aggressive government in place, in order to deal with it better SHOULD his doomsday scenario arrive.