Comments by severalspeciesof

1. A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash

Comment #239250 by severalspeciesof on August 29, 2008 at 10:08 am

Long weekend for me too.

I've also enjoyed this,

Again, keep it nice...
(lowers voice to a growl)
whahahahaha..ha..ha...

2. Atheists: The Last Political Outcasts

Comment #239175 by severalspeciesof on August 29, 2008 at 7:40 am

Fanusi,

IMHO, I thought MPhil's argument was of META-Physical notions of pure good and evil, not that there are no true notions of good and evil, but I've been wrong before....

Anything to add MPhil?

3. No atheist burials in Co Donegal

Comment #239154 by severalspeciesof on August 29, 2008 at 7:03 am

Comment #239148 by HandyGeek:

"She can go in with the Protestants." That's just comedy gold right there.

You are most certainly right!

4. A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash

Comment #239149 by severalspeciesof on August 29, 2008 at 6:56 am

Whoa!

Venn diagram talk on a thread about NOMA, will wonders ever cease?

Again, play nice.

5. Channel 4 announces return of Undercover Mosque

Comment #238589 by severalspeciesof on August 28, 2008 at 11:50 am

h4d,

Skylark would settle for that.

6. A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash

Comment #238587 by severalspeciesof on August 28, 2008 at 11:48 am

R2s, Smith, et.al.
Play nice now,
Thanks.

7. Channel 4 announces return of Undercover Mosque

Comment #238582 by severalspeciesof on August 28, 2008 at 11:41 am

Skylark will try his best to wretch the thread back off topic. He appoints himself "devil's advocate"

8. Channel 4 announces return of Undercover Mosque

Comment #238524 by severalspeciesof on August 28, 2008 at 10:17 am

Rats....

Came too late...

Looks like the court appointments are over with...

Skylark is very disappointed.

9. A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash

Comment #237852 by severalspeciesof on August 27, 2008 at 10:05 am

I don't think you can (1) disprove the existence of something claimed to exist.

If left in that context, with no other information, you are correct. But with a specific enough context, with enough information, you CAN disprove the existence of something.

[Edit] Maybe the word 'information' should read 'description'

10. Channel 4 announces return of Undercover Mosque

Comment #237850 by severalspeciesof on August 27, 2008 at 9:49 am

When I started reading this site, I began to realize that multiculturalism can also mean adjusting society and the rules of law to fit imported values not conducive to individual freedom and the rule of law. I think this definition should be resisted diligently.

Amazing, I've thought that way too!

11. A flea we missed?

Comment #237778 by severalspeciesof on August 27, 2008 at 6:40 am

...The earth is flat, and angels stand at the corners of the earth and direct the wind. Most of the wind directed these days comes from D. Robertson, and is quite malodorous.

and just like the wind, D.R. comes and goes without much substance, yet can cause much damage (though not around here!).

12. Porn pastor's wife vows to stand by him

Comment #237772 by severalspeciesof on August 27, 2008 at 6:16 am

Comment #237766 by scottishgeologist

Shame, shame on you ;}

13. Porn pastor's wife vows to stand by him

Comment #237556 by severalspeciesof on August 26, 2008 at 5:56 pm

I don't see why him "expoing his own fraud" makes him any less culpable for that fraud.

I didn't say it makes him less culpable, just our remarks should take that into account with regard to the severity of mocking and ridicule towards him.

14. Porn pastor's wife vows to stand by him

Comment #237545 by severalspeciesof on August 26, 2008 at 5:31 pm

Comment #237539 by Don_Quix

That being said, there's nothing wrong with pointing out, deriding, and making fun of hypocrisy and fraud, and the people who engage in it. Especially when the hypocrisy is engaged in by a supposed "moral" authority figure such as a well-known priest or preacher.

I'm not too sure 'bout that in this case, since it was the pastor himself who exposed his own fraud. I'll give him credit for that. And in my eyes, that makes a big difference.

15. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #237169 by severalspeciesof on August 26, 2008 at 6:21 am

229. Comment #236810 by J Mac:

YOU say they were miserable. But you are saying that they were miserable because they were miserable. Its all your view. There is nothing objective about it.

Are you really saying this? Are you really saying there is NO objective part of misery? I'll agree that some of it is subjective, but truly you must see that there are objective parts of misery.

Just had to get that off my chest.

16. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #236778 by severalspeciesof on August 25, 2008 at 10:05 am

al-rawandi,

Actually, racism is rational to a degree.

It may be rational, but not moral...because of lack of information which you allude to later:

This is racist, and it is rational. I don't make such judgements habit when other methods are available, but if I am followed to an ATM I don't have the luxury of determining another person's life story, and superficial judgements based on race, among other things, are rational and probably will aid me in remaining safe.

And that's where the problem is: lack of information and the ability to get to that information.

Morality is tough man!

17. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #236727 by severalspeciesof on August 25, 2008 at 7:52 am

Another two cents worth (please excuse the horrible grammar):

Morals are value driven. If that was all morals were then yes, there can be no absolute morals, unless we were all identical. But there is more to morals than just value. If you were the only human being left on this planet, then you couldn't have a moral code in the sense that we are all talking about here. Yes, you could know of a moral code, but it would be useless.

So. . . beyond the fact that morals are value driven, there is interaction. Interaction among other value driven humans. I should have said that when I had mentioned that morals need a situation or context (thanks Sciros). And again, information must be used along side the value part of the moral code. This is obviously not an easy thing to do, when it's rightly pointed out, 'whose value do we choose?'.

I think Fanusi is on the right track when he points to the pro-life/anti-life values, yet J Mac & Sciros are also right when they point out that those terms may be too broad and simple.

We need to narrow the focus, but just a little. So maybe the values should be pro-human life/anti-human life. Then it keeps the focus on 'what is human life' say, with regard to abortion. It forces the questioner to define what is human life, the 'information' part of the moral situation.

I'll rephrase what I said in comment #234956: "unfortunately we may never know what the right information is, but that doesn't mean it isn't out there to get at" to: 'unfortunately we sometimes don't have enough information, but that doesn't mean we should give up looking for it' (again, thanks Sciros).

18. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #234959 by severalspeciesof on August 22, 2008 at 9:57 am

I must go now, feel free to rip my above comment to shreds, or to just go "HUH?"

19. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #234956 by severalspeciesof on August 22, 2008 at 9:55 am

Damn, late to this party (the party of 'absolute morality' that is).

I'm kinda with Fanusi on this topic. And here's why... There seems to be confusion over the definition of moral here. Something can only have morals within a context, a situation. For example: the ten commandments are NOT the ten morals, though it would seem that many people view them as such. They are just commandments. Morals are situational, and here is where it gets dicey. It would seem that saying morals are situational is the same as saying morals are relative. But it is not. Given enough information on the situation or context, I believe we can find an absolute moral right/wrong within that situation/context. The problem is determining what information is pertinent/correct to the situation/context.

In this regard religion is not very good at determining what the right information is. And, unfortunately we may never know what the right information is, but that doesn't mean it isn't out there to get at.

20. Supernatural science: Why we want to believe

Comment #234930 by severalspeciesof on August 22, 2008 at 9:04 am

Hawt4dawk,

Your avatar always brightens me up a bit, thanks for the welcome...

Also from the article:

...why [do] so many people buy into hazy evidence...
The bottom line, according to several interviews with people who study these things: People want to believe

is just soooo true. Just this past Tuesday I had a friend who, several months ago, was written off as good as dead, several times, until a specialist came up with the true source of the ailment. She was then able to recover through the use of that knowledge, modern medicine in other words. She believes it was the fact that she was placed on a 'prayer line' that saved her life. Isn't prayer tapping into the paranormal? What's the difference between that and consulting a psychic?

But this article never brings up the real fact that Christianity IS belief in the paranormal.

And that bums me out.

21. Supernatural science: Why we want to believe

Comment #234916 by severalspeciesof on August 22, 2008 at 8:12 am

Hey everyone...back from a rather crappy vacation...

I found this part of the article quite frustrating :

… but studies point to an interesting conclusion: People who practice religion are typically encouraged not to believe in the paranormal, but rather to put their faith in one deity, whereas those who aren't particularly active in religion are more free to believe in Bigfoot or consult a psychic.

Just what the fuck are most religions, but that of a belief in the paranormal, i.e. GOD!!!??

22. What's wrong with science as religion

Comment #223023 by severalspeciesof on August 1, 2008 at 9:23 am

151. Comment #223006 by Bonzai

Religion do make claims, but what those claims actually consist of depends on intepretations.

And therein lies the problem. Religion makes claims based not on observation (generally) available to ALL, but on non-verifiable observation, i.e. 'it feels good', 'it's what god tells me', 'I can't believe otherwise'...

As a method for finding out the truth, those kinds of observations just aren't reliable. In the method of science, at least the observations can be verified, though one could come up with different conclusions.

Religion: Garbage in-Garbage out, with no way to even verify that the 'Garbage in' is the same for everyone, and that indeed it's even 'Garbage in'. There are times in science when it's Garbage in-Garbage out, but everyone has access to the 'Garbage in' and sooner or later it can indeed be classified as 'Garbage in'

I'm being too verbose and my head hurts... this is what religion does to me.

23. What's wrong with science as religion

Comment #222967 by severalspeciesof on August 1, 2008 at 6:59 am

I can't help but to butt in:

Old Sarum,
I think what you're doing here is trying to redefine what most people define as religion. I'm not sure, but I think I kind of understand what you are trying to do. I think. And that's the trouble I think you've gotten yourself into. This has become a private notion trying to become public. I hope it works out so that we can all then begin to understand just what it is you're trying to say. But until you can do that, make it public so that all can 'test' it as it were, you've just painted yourself into the corner that religions have created, that of 'personal' feeling being the 'truth' that cannot be verified by anyone else who looks for it. Seems like you're trying to define religion out of the religious realm, and you won't get away with that here, as you can see;)

(Edit: I meant EVERYone who looks for it, not anyone else who looks for it.)

24. To beat extremism we must dissolve religious groups

Comment #222373 by severalspeciesof on July 31, 2008 at 10:03 am

The article was interesting, but I'm most troubled by this from the article:

What follows inescapably from this is that religious people and their views should not be officially recognised in groups. Religion should not be allowed a public space or public representation.

because I don't agree with this:

Forced into the private sphere, denied the oxygen of publicity, power and influence, highly politicised religious groups will wither on the vine.

I believe that when forced into the private sphere, these groups tend to feed off the idea that they have been victimized. They boil within themselves, festering. We need to expose them in the light of the public sphere so we can lance that boil. The problem is how we go about lancing it.

25. Faith is not the answer

Comment #222342 by severalspeciesof on July 31, 2008 at 7:51 am

99. Comment #221829 by hawt4dawk

On the other hand, children whose parents stay together despite their mutual hostility also suffer, though less visibly to society at large.

Excellent point. Much 'suffering' that children go through because of their parents' bad marriage isn't recognized as 'suffering because of a bad marriage'. It's only noted as 'suffering' when noticed at all, and rarely as suffering caused by bad marriage because the 'bad marriage' can be very invisible. If the child is suffering and the parents are divorced, the divorce is easy to point to and blame because it's a public ordeal (everyone can know about the divorce) but a bad marriage can be quite private and hard to pin down. So cause and effect are harder to see.

[Edit: the above seems to be a garbled mess, so I'll try to explain better if you experience a 'Huh?' moment. let me know]

26. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221308 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 1:49 pm

Oh all cats then?

Apartment living had its' restrictions, and though we have our own home now, cats are still easier to deal with, in our current situation. Besides, I think Skylark (and Matisse, snif, snif)think he's a dog. He will fetch...when he wants to.

Got to go now, but am glad we've appeared to be getting out of smutville talk...;)

27. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221290 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 1:36 pm

TWP,

Just got in more of the message (Comment #221269). Making a little more sense now.

Used to have four: Porsch, Matisse, Gypsy Monet & Kanga. Two died within a day of each other (Porsch & Matisse)and then Skylark came along (had to get him out of my Buick Skylark, hence the name) and Gypsy died two months ago. (All the cats reached at least the age of 15 or more) Now it's just Skylark and Kanga.

And in case there are eye rollers out there, I could be talking about the delicasies that have been described in the past few hours or so...

28. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221275 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 1:25 pm

TWP,

Something's happening here, you've lost your Avatar, and aren't coming across effectively.

29. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221267 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 1:20 pm

275. Comment #221072 by thewhitepearl

I think Skylark is very cute and nobody that cute can be so evil

dont know he was saying some pretty rude things yesterday

You can read minds? Or speak cat? ;)

Today I think I've learned more things that I didn't really want to know, more than the past few weeks anyway.

30. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221063 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 10:02 am

How 'bout those Rocky Mountain oysters? MMmmm...

Damn, I'm feeling both hungry and queasy at the same time.
Well, gotta go now, off to lunch...I think...

31. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221061 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 10:00 am

hawt4dawk-

I think Skylark is very cute and nobody that cute can be so evil

You wouldn't say those things if you had to brush him like I do!! ;)

although he does look like he has supernatural powers.

Well...He thinks he has...

32. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221051 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 9:52 am

...But I have two dogs already, I don't think it would work out.

I grew up in a household with two dogs and a cat, so I suppose it could be possible with a meerkat and two dogs, but Skylark (my kitty cat) doesn't agree, he's so evil you know...

33. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221043 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 9:43 am

Jealous or in love? ;)

Not too sure as I am now thinking maybe hungry?

34. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221025 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 9:22 am

I suspect maybe hawt4dawk's avatar (meerkat) has something to do with the degeneration of this thread. It's just too damned cute, and Skylark is jealous.

35. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #221020 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 9:18 am

249. Comment #221006 by Quetzalcoatl

Is this discussion going to end any time soon?

I've tried to pray to Skylark to end this, but no response yet. Guess he's too evil or something.

36. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #220966 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 8:31 am

230. Comment #220963 by Ishruul-

Tip of the hat to you!

37. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #220961 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 8:25 am

Opinion is divided as to what sort of biscuit it should be. Certain heretical sects are said to prefer the Jaffa Cake, which legally isn't a biscuit at all.

Sigh...will the heresies ever end?

38. Catholics To Pope: Lift Birth Control Ban

Comment #220940 by severalspeciesof on July 29, 2008 at 7:57 am

187. Comment #220894 by Quetzalcoatl

I didn't want to type his name out loud in case by doing so I summoned him to the site (or more likely, one of his lackeys). Ah well, too late now. I feel a disturbance in the force.....

Please feel free to pray to the evil kitty cat (AKA Skylark) to keep the unmentionable away.

Also: Catholics aren't the only nutters who have an 'official' ban on contraceptives. 20 years ago my cousin joined some quasi 'mennenite' (sp?) group, got married, and now has 13 kids (no twins either) to show for it. She's finally had enough and has left her family for her own sanity. Sad.
(EDIT: I meant sad that she was more or less forced to have all thse kids at the expense of her sanity, not that she left, which was/is good)

39. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220331 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 10:13 am

242. Comment #220323 by denoir-

While somewhat better than socialist systems (which self-destruct pretty fast anyway), it's hardly the ideal one.

I think al said it worked 'the best' not it's 'the ideal one', a Big difference.
Hope I'm not putting words into your mouth al. Chastise me if I am (though I shouldn't worry that you wouldn't chastise me if that was the case!)

40. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220324 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 10:07 am

240. Comment #220319 by al-rawandi

A mixed economy which respects the rights of its citizens seems to work best. The amount of social services provided will depend on the representatives elected.

What? No hyperbole? Did you read that in a book (ala irate)? ;)
In other words, well said.

41. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220303 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 9:32 am

Comment #220295 by thewhitepearl on July 28, 2008 at 9:29 am

That deafening silence you just heard was the sound of everyone falling over from shock. :)

Are you saying that I'm crazy? :)

If Quetz won't say it, my kitty cat will, that evil thing.

42. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220294 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 9:28 am

203. Comment #220277 by al-rawandi-

So I fail to see how I should put 3,000 deaths in Chile, however awful and regrettable, on the same plane as Socialist related deaths.

I see it like this: ALL those deaths are on the same plane. They are the result of too much power, they All are the result of dogmatic thinking, something that we should all be wary of.

So you're both right, now get over it!

43. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220247 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 8:50 am

171. Comment #220239 by Quetzalcoatl-

The kitty cat appears to have demon eyes- perhaps it is an agent of evil and therefore should be harmed?

Yes, I did warn about exposing the real self and then all hell breaking out. But not to worry. The cat is owned by me and is only a secondary agent of evil.

44. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220236 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 8:40 am

al,

Are you saying that Dr. Doctor is wrong and will use extreme words to prove the point?-

So in short... fuck off with your haughty, and misplaced intellectual elitism.

Remember the kitty cat, don't harm it! ;) ;)

45. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220214 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 8:14 am

138. Comment #220196 by irate_atheist-

There are no winners in this sort of debate. Only collateral damage.

So that's why I'm feeling a bit put offish today while I read this.

So I'll lob a few back to everyone involved:

Al, (et.al.)
Are you saying that the welfare system isn't perfect, and will use extreme examples to prove the point?-

So if this horrible event takes place and people are out of work all over, where will the state get the tax money to fund the portion of people who are out of work?

It will run itself into debt and destroy its financial system.

The social welfare depends on people working their asses off so the government can dip in. Any of these disasters you speak of would destroy the welfare system itself.

Irate, (et.al.)
Are you saying that the capitalist system isn't perfect, and will use extreme examples to prove the point?-

I'd rather have a few leeches and a few quid less in my back pocket than walk over rotting corpses in the street because society decided against caring for it's most vulnerable members.

I'm bracing myself here for the attack from both sides, so I've changed my avatar. Now who would want to harm this poor kitty cat?

46. A third of Muslim students back killings

Comment #220161 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 7:09 am

al/irate,

If this comes to fisticuffs, and blood is spilled, does the one with better health insurance win this debate?

47. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #220147 by severalspeciesof on July 28, 2008 at 6:29 am

Diacanu

The ark was a TARDIS!
More Jesus magic, y'see?

And Armageddon will be brought on by a pissed off cosmic empowered Rose Tylor.

ooo..I can't wait. Rose has been my favorite Dr Who companion!

48. MnIndy interview: Unrepentant science-heathen PZ Myers still intends to prove 'this cracker is nothing'

Comment #218374 by severalspeciesof on July 25, 2008 at 10:28 am

Comment #218369 by Dr Doctor

The McGrath emulator works best if the head is tilted slightly to one side. I think tilted to the right is best.

49. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #218360 by severalspeciesof on July 25, 2008 at 9:54 am

I live an ADD driven frantic lifestyle.

While I post and read, I switch over and run trades, field phone calls from brokers and back offices, and manage databases in Access and Excel.

It takes a strange kind of person....

That explains oh so much, but in a good way;)

50. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #218350 by severalspeciesof on July 25, 2008 at 9:44 am

Comment #218346 by thewhitepearl