1. Intelligence Squared debate: Catholics humiliated by Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry

Comment #425786 by windweaver on October 22, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Mr Darcy wrote:
What "race" do the Irish belong to that most of Britain doesn't? How is this "race" defined? Red hair and freckles? Plenty of them in Scotland and England and Wales too."

The belief that Scotland, Ireland and Wales are celtic countries and that England is predominantly a germanic country is widespread. It is,however, false:
http://www.perceptions.couk.com/celtsall.txt
Edited for clarity.

2. Science writer Simon Singh wins ruling in chiropractic libel battle

Comment #424064 by windweaver on October 16, 2009 at 2:46 am

The entire underlying theory of chiropractic is BOGUS, pure and simple.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirosub.html

3. LDS Apostle Compares Anti-Mormon Backlash To Blacks' Civil Rights Struggle

Comment #423834 by windweaver on October 15, 2009 at 6:14 am

For those not familiar with the racist/bizarre beliefs of the LDS check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nwEGsQM5CQ

4. Richard Dawkins on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #422491 by windweaver on October 8, 2009 at 4:57 am

Anyone reading this thread who belives that the US is a benign influence in the world and doesn't engage in terrorist activity should read this:

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/17209

5. A note about the 'Richard Dawkins Award' being presented to Bill Maher this weekend

Comment #422458 by windweaver on October 8, 2009 at 1:51 am

Daftness, I believe you will find the answer to your chiropractic query here:

http://www.chirobase.org/07Strategy/goodchiro.html

6. Richard Dawkins on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #422239 by windweaver on October 7, 2009 at 11:37 am

I agree with Roman Bridger that the reasons for the hatred of the USA in the Middle East are principally political. Certainly, religion plays a role but this is exaggerated. Palestinian MP Hanan Ashrawi has pointed out that prior to the Israeli occupation of 1967, suicide bombings by Palestinians were unheard of.
The US has a long history of supporting corrupt dictatorships in the Arab world. It has also plotted to overthrow democratically elected governments (eg Iran in 1953) in the region. For an excellent analysis of US foreign policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, check this out:

http://www.chomsky.info/articles/200205--.htm

7. A note about the 'Richard Dawkins Award' being presented to Bill Maher this weekend

Comment #420337 by windweaver on September 30, 2009 at 9:31 am

Reading this thread has made me think that maybe it's time to ditch the term atheist:

http://www.skepdic.com/essays/notanatheist.html

8. Dawkins' evidence for evolution

Comment #418199 by windweaver on September 23, 2009 at 2:56 am

Chris Mooney has written an interesting book(I don't agree with his criticisms of RD) about the huge gulf between scientists and the general population in the US. Here's an interview with him:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2009/2693486.htm

9. Libel laws silence scientists

Comment #417899 by windweaver on September 22, 2009 at 7:36 am

Anyone who doubts the bogus nature of chiropractic should read this:

http://www.skepdic.com/chiro.html

10. Libel laws silence scientists

Comment #417868 by windweaver on September 22, 2009 at 3:44 am

This case has certain parallels with the Faurisson Affair of 1981:

http://www.chomsky.info/articles/19810228.htm

To paraphrase Voltaire, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

11. Frank Schaeffer on Rachel Maddow

Comment #417306 by windweaver on September 20, 2009 at 11:27 am

gbooster wrote:
"JFC it is getting scary here in the USA, I'm freaked out after watching the teabaggers rally and seeing constant comparisons of the Pres to Hitler and all the other ignorant shit they were spewing. Now we find out 1/3 of republicans in NJ think Obama is or could be the antichrist. WTF is going on?"

gbooster,I think you'll appreciate this rant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3XZb02g0TM&feature=popular

12. Frank Schaeffer on Rachel Maddow

Comment #417019 by windweaver on September 19, 2009 at 7:16 am

Here's an interesting analysis of the Obama/antichrist meme by The Guardian's Michael Tomasky:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/video/2009/sep/17/barack-obama-anti-christ-republicans

13. Onward Christian Soldiers: The Health Care Wars & the Religious Right

Comment #415669 by windweaver on September 16, 2009 at 9:18 am

Arjen wrote "I hope Obama can get it together and introduce the States to some aspects of the 21st century, because if he fails, I’m afraid it is going to be a long story."

Jimmy Carter has waded in to the debate on Obama:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/16/jimmy-carter-you-lie-racist

14. Onward Christian Soldiers: The Health Care Wars & the Religious Right

Comment #415660 by windweaver on September 16, 2009 at 8:42 am

I've posted a link to this op-ed by Johann Hari on another thread but it's just as relevant to this discussion:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-republicans-religion-and-the-triumph-of-unreason-1773994.html

15. Onward Christian Soldiers: The Health Care Wars & the Religious Right

Comment #415652 by windweaver on September 16, 2009 at 8:22 am

Every year, 18000 Americans die because they lack healthcare. This is equivalent to SIX 9/11s EVERY 12 months. In any other industrialized democracy this would be a moral outrage. To paraphrase the pudding, libertarian Americans scare the shit out of me.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/healthcare/2002-05-22-insurance-deaths.htm

16. Onward Christian Soldiers: The Health Care Wars & the Religious Right

Comment #415591 by windweaver on September 16, 2009 at 1:51 am

"...if someone wants or needs health insurance they should get a fucking job and pay for it themselves. If it doesnt work out, tuff shit."
-russkid
Nice guy....

17. Onward Christian Soldiers: The Health Care Wars & the Religious Right

Comment #415576 by windweaver on September 16, 2009 at 12:28 am

For an intelligent and informed analysis of the US healthcare system check this out:
http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/3233

18. 'The Greatest Show on Earth' released today in the UK!

Comment #412351 by windweaver on September 4, 2009 at 4:57 am

I note that the above post by ApocalypseTank is his/her first. It seems he/she has created an account solely to criticize RD. Small things.....

19. 'The Greatest Show on Earth' released today in the UK!

Comment #412344 by windweaver on September 4, 2009 at 2:50 am

River Out of Eden was my first Dawkins book. Like Douglas Adams, I had a "road to Damascus" experience. The Greatest Show on Earth will be the icing on the cake for me. So looking forward to getting my hands on a copy!

20. Majority of Americans Believe Health Care Reform 'Myths'

Comment #409755 by windweaver on August 27, 2009 at 3:52 am

I recommend readers of this thread read the following op-ed by Johann Hari. It's highly relevent to this discussion:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-republicans-religion-and-the-triumph-of-unreason-1773994.html

21. Homeopathy & Nutritionists vs Real Science!

Comment #399297 by windweaver on July 24, 2009 at 7:10 am

Thanks for the various responses to the reiki article. RDs interview with Nicholas Humphrey seems relevant to this discussion:

http://richarddawkins.net/article,3484,Richard-Dawkins-interviews-Nicholas-Humphrey,RichardDawkinsnet

I note in the comments section for this interview, Morbo states "People who tend seek alternative medicine do so either due to the failure of real medicine or due to a mistrust of doctors I would think that this mistrust would negate any placebo effect."

Is Morbo correct to assume that the placebo effect is negated with regard to Alt Med?

Does anyone have any info on just how powerful the placebo effect is?

22. Homeopathy & Nutritionists vs Real Science!

Comment #399230 by windweaver on July 23, 2009 at 6:31 pm

Here in Australia, alternative medicine, especially homeopathy, is a multi billion dollar industry (sigh). I have a friend who's a big believer in reiki. The other day she sent me an article on a Tour de France rider (see below) who was supposedly cured of a life threatening heart ailment by a reiki practitioner. She's challenged me to explain what happened from a scientific (or non believer) perspective.Be interested to hear what RDnet readers have to say about this.

Alternative route back for Roulston
21 July 2009 |
A chance meeting in a pub with an alternative healer is the last place you would expect a Tour de France rider to pin-point as the moment he got his career back.
Having been diagnosed in 2006 with a rare and incurable heart disease known to cause sudden death in athletes - Hayden Roulston's cycling career was over at just 25 years old.
After a handful of seasons competing for professional teams Cofidis and Lance Armstrong's Discovery Team, Roulston was diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) in 2006 and told to stop competing.
Bad news for a professional cyclist with ambitions to succeed on the Tour de France's 3,500 kilometres.
Yet three years on 28-year-old Roulston is an Olympic silver-medallist and last Saturday he claimed third on stage 14th of the Tour.
And before March's Tour of California, he got the confirmation from a doctor telling him what he already knew: he has a healthy heart.
"Three years ago, I was diagnosed with (ARVD), but before the Tour of California a doctor told me I have a healthy heart," said the 28-year-old.
"It's like a second life and I have got my dream back as a cyclist."
Four months after he was first diagnosed with ARVD, he met alternative healer Julie Reid in a Christchurch pub. Their conversation disrupted his beers with mates but it put Roulston back on the path to the Tour.
A quick five-minute session of reiki - an ancient Japanese healing practice which is said to channel negative energy out of the body - failed to produce any obvious results until his next bike session.
"I had finished with cycling, all my dreams were gone. I had nothing to lose," he said.
"Next day I went training and felt something different.
"I wasn't missing a heart beat and I was getting 300 beats per minute on a heart-rate monitor.
"A 300 rate means virtual death - my normal heart-rate is 170 to 180 - so, for me, 300 was a massive, massive issue.
"I had another treatment, but what is amazing is that Julie was still learning about reiki herself and the energy she has which is super powerful.
"I was totally sold after that - it blew me away to see her response: her hands were shaking and she was sweating from taking the bad energy out of my body."
Regular reiki sessions saw Roulston improve to the extent he returned to competition, and left him standing on the podium in Beijing after winning silver in the individual pursuit and bronze in the team pursuit.
But a return to the Tour de France was his ultimate ambition so when Cervelo, with 2008 winner Carlos Sastre as their leader, offered him a contract last September he jumped at it.
"Going from having to retire from the sport to come back and get both Olympic success and be back in the pros again has been incredible," he said.
"It's hard for a New Zealander, or anyone outside of Europe, to get a shot at the pros, but I am very lucky to get a second chance.
"It was only nine months ago I was at (New Zealand's) Tour of Southland questioning whether I could win that race, now I am at the Tour de France and fighting for a stage win a few days ago."
He finished third on Saturday's stage behind Katusha's Sergei Ivanov after the Russian made a stage-winning breakaway move 11 kilometres out to hold off Ireland's Nicolas Roche, who came second, just ahead of Roulston.
"It was a great achievement, I was initially disappointed and I still fully believe I can win a stage, but third is pretty good," he said.
As a domestique, Roulston's role is to give support to Cervelo's leaders Sastre and Thor Hushovd.
"My job is to support our two leaders whenever they need it, whether it is to try and lead out or get water bottles," he said.
But with a new lease of life and a second chance at Tour glory, Roulston refuses to waste a single opportunity.
"I am just beginning now, this time I will use all my potential," he said having now studied and become qualified in reiki.
"I have changed, it has fully changed my attitude to life, everything happens for a reason.
"I could have accepted the first diagnosis and said 'that's it', but I kept my mind open for a second alternative and I started to learn about the real me."
And with his partner due to give birth next Tuesday, Roulston is hoping for plenty to celebrate when the Tour finishes in Paris on Sunday.

23. RDF TV - The Baloney Detection Kit

Comment #390632 by windweaver on June 23, 2009 at 8:33 pm

An excellent video! I'll be using this in my critical thinking class. Thanks Josh.

24. Two related articles

Comment #388307 by windweaver on June 16, 2009 at 11:19 pm

Reading these articles reminded me of a great lecture on openmindedness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI&feature=channel_page#

25. Daniel Dennett - The Genius of Charles Darwin: The Uncut Interviews

Comment #384586 by windweaver on June 4, 2009 at 2:54 am

At around 15:45 Dennett points out that "we are drowning in information about the planet." Check this out to see how true his observation is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

26. Two articles on mice

Comment #383862 by windweaver on June 2, 2009 at 12:08 am

The capabilities of mice and their near cousin the rat are truly amazing. Check out this video of a rat brain at work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QPiF4-iu6g

As for chimps, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVlJv7ZkvGA

27. Atheism And Its Critics

Comment #383555 by windweaver on June 1, 2009 at 12:05 am

Great to see Richard give Hedges' quote the slam dunk it deserved. It reminded me of Hitchins' debate with a rabbi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wQbHT8PDuE&NR=1

Religion poisons everything!

28. Why People Believe Invisible Agents Control the World

Comment #380234 by windweaver on May 22, 2009 at 9:16 pm

I highly recommend reading the following article which complements Shermer's piece:
http://www.csicop.org/si/9505/belief.html

29. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Paul Davies

Comment #379203 by windweaver on May 20, 2009 at 6:04 pm

I second Steve's view that this site is highly educational.Thank you Richard for taking the time and effort to answer the charges directed against you so comrehensively.

30. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Paul Davies

Comment #378951 by windweaver on May 20, 2009 at 1:20 am

What chance Richard contributing to this thread to answer WereGryphon's charges?

31. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Paul Davies

Comment #378113 by windweaver on May 17, 2009 at 9:31 pm

A great talk by Richard. His knowledge and understanding of evolution is second to none. BTW one of the best examples of epigenetics was the Dutch famine of WW2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongerwinter

32. Storm by Tim Minchin (with text)

Comment #362694 by windweaver on April 9, 2009 at 8:49 pm

Here's another excellent Minchin piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFO6ZhUW38w

33. The thing that made the things for which there is no known maker.

Comment #362227 by windweaver on April 8, 2009 at 7:26 pm

A great video.
Theists are always on the lookout for things that are difficult to explain and thus can be explained ie Goddidit. I had a debate with an IDer the other day. He challenged me to explain why beautiful faces follow the proportions of the golden or divine ratio. He thinks God's behind this. Here's the video he directed me to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1kqMk3jFD8&feature=PlayList&p=5FCCD2C2900FC725&index=6&playnext=3&playnext_from=PL

Be interested to hear if anyone has an argument to counter the IDer on this point...

34. Happy Birthday Richard Dawkins!

Comment #356478 by windweaver on March 27, 2009 at 2:47 am

Happy birthday to the man who confirmed my stance as an atheist and proud of it. Thanks Richard!

35. An Army of Extremists

Comment #355685 by windweaver on March 26, 2009 at 1:55 am

I'm surprised that Hitchens didn't mention Avigdor Lieberman in his article. He's of the same ilk as Baruch Goldstein and he's just been made the Israeli government's foreign minister. Here's an interesting op-ed on the man:
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/20980

36. Darwin 200

Comment #322226 by windweaver on January 16, 2009 at 8:14 pm

It's interesting to read the diffent views of Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous idea. Personally I thought it was excellent. Anyone care to comment on Bonzai's observation that general relativity is a magnificent skyhook? I note that RD has described skyhooks as a bit like magic spells.

37. Darwin 200

Comment #321451 by windweaver on January 15, 2009 at 5:39 pm

Why is there a picture of Zachary Blount sitting in the lotus position? You'd have thought his research would have led him away from mysticism/religion etc

38. For scholars, a combustible question: Was Christ real?

Comment #308570 by windweaver on December 30, 2008 at 4:10 am

A true believer gave me an article yesterday "proving" that chriet is real an establishing the accuracy of the gospels. Be interested to hear what people make of it:

http://secweb.infidels.org/?kiosk=articles&id=44

39. Archaeological Discovery: Earliest Evidence Of Our Cave-dwelling Human Ancestors

Comment #305108 by windweaver on December 22, 2008 at 4:28 pm

Mordacious1:
"The earliest known religious worship is thought to have begun roughly 300,000 years ago during the middle paleolithic period (burial rites, etc.). Some believe there were some practices during the lower paleolithic, but there is little or no evidence for this. H. habilis was therefore more advanced in this way than we are. hee hee "

Mordacious, assuming you are not joking, how was homo habilis more advanced than homo sapiens. Surely homo sapiens was more intellectually advanced than homo habilis and therefore had more sophisticated burial practices?

40. Most 'do not believe in nativity'

Comment #304454 by windweaver on December 21, 2008 at 3:00 am

Just when the British public are getting more and more rational about the nativity etc etc comes.....Apparitions, a BBC 1 drama:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fjgdg

To quote Freethinker15:

"Episode 1,

Father Jacob is approached by a young girl who believes her father is possessed by the devil. Although he is initially sceptical, Jacob is forced to take extraordinary steps to ensure her safety by staging a dramatic exorcism, despite the misgivings of his church colleagues.

...and guess what the father thought to be possessed by the devil has read: God is not Great, The God Delusion and The End of Faith, which of course Father Jacob has read."

To think that the British taxpayer has to subsidise this rubbish. And it's got the imprimature of BBC1 to lend it a certain credence with the gullible. I'd love to hear what RD has to say about this.

41. Cassini

Comment #280092 by windweaver on November 6, 2008 at 11:16 pm

A truly inspiring video.

Actually, on the subject of astronomy I've been having a debate with an ID proponenent who believes that orbital resonance supports his case. He sent me a wikipedia article which can be accessed here:

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



The IDer has challenged me to explain a number of (in his opinion, miraculous) aspects of orbital resonance from a naturalistic perspective. These are:



1.The remarkable resonance involving Io-Europa-Ganymede
2.The idea that mean motion resonances are an example of intelligent design (ie they are said to be a perfect resonance and perfection shouldn’t exist in nature)
3.The remarkable orbital correlation between Callisto and Ganymede, and between Hydra and Charon
4.The orbits of Earth and Venus, which arrive at almost the same configuration after 8 Earth orbits and 13 Venus orbits thus creating a pentagrammic precession sequence.(ie the golden ratio at work)
5.The fact that in the case of Pluto's satellites, the present near resonances are relics of a previous precise resonance


Any astronomers (or science buffs) out there care to comment on whether the above examples constitute evidence for an intelligently designed universe?

42. ELECTION DAY IN THE USA. GO VOTE.

Comment #278619 by windweaver on November 5, 2008 at 12:00 am

The most telling thing for me about the election victory was the reaction of the Republican crowd when McCain praised Obama for his win. All boos and hissing. Yet when Obama praised McCain during his speech the Democratic crowd was calm and respectful. It speaks VOLUMES about the type of people a lot of right-wing Americans are.

43. Evolution fine but no apology to Darwin: Vatican

Comment #249172 by windweaver on September 17, 2008 at 4:03 pm

Anyone who believes that the Catholic church hierarchy is "fine" with evolution should think again:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/07/opinion/07schonborn.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

44. The Afterlife for Scientologists

Comment #229917 by windweaver on August 14, 2008 at 5:19 am

Much as I laugh at Scientology, is it really any more crazy than Christianity:

You believe that an ancient Book of Myths filled with contradictions, absurdities, atrocities, myths, fables, and plenty of nonhistorical "history" is somehow magically the inerrant, infallible "Word of God".

You believe that a Magical Being magically brought the universe into existence by speaking a powerful magical spell from Nowhere approximately 6000 years ago.

You believe, concerning the origins of mankind, that a Magical Being magically made us by fashioning a doll from a mound of scooped up dirt, which he then somehow magically brought to life via His Spook who is also somehow magically Him.

You believe that Three Magical Beings are somehow magically One Magical Being, and that the Three Magical Beings who are One Magical Being are somehow magically Each Other.

You believe that mankind "fell from grace" and deserves to be BBQed eternally because two primitive people who lived in an awesome garden located somewhere in the Middle East listened to a lying talking snake and ate some forbidden magic fruit from a magic tree.

You believe that this Magical Being who magically created the universe and us is "all-knowing" even though He lost track of Adam in the awesome garden and that he is "all-powerful" even though He has trouble with iron chariots.

You believe that you possess some sort of magical inner spook that is the "real" you. You believe that this inner spook can be magically transformed by a Sky Spook and even lived in by an Invisible Sky Man via that same Sky Spook.

You believe that because the first two magically created people disobeyed the Magical Being due to the influence of a lying talking snake and some magic inner spook-killing fruit, that all men are born with their inner spooks killed and in need of a magical transformation courtesy of a Sky Spook.

You believe that an Invisble Man who lives in the Sky is going to kick a talking snake's ass by sacrificing Himself to Himself and then Magically Undeadening Himself. You believe that if we believe that the Invisible Man is Magically Undead, that a Sky Spook who is also somehow magically the Invisible Man will Magically Undeaden our inner spooks and magically live inside of us and at the same time will "seal" our inner spooks as His so that it is kept safe from the diabolical attacks of the Talking Snake and his evil spooks.

You believe that this enormous universe which consists of approximately 125 billion galaxies was created specifically for mankind, and that human history reflects a cosmic battle between an Invisible Man who lives in the Sky and an evil spook who enjoys manifesting as a talking snake. You believe that humans are divided into two groups - those who serve the Invisible Sky Man and those who serve the Talking Snake.

You believe that since we "fell from grace" because of some magic fruit and a lying talking snake that we need redemption, and that to accomplish this the Magical Being sacrified Himself to Himself to save us from Himself. But, you also believe that the Magical Being's sacrifice somehow magically doesn't count unless we believe it and accept it.

You believe that a Magical Being somehow magically became a man, and that this Manly Magical Being murdered Himself and then Magically Undeadened Himself three days later via the Sky Spook version of Himself so He wouldn't have to toss us into an eternal flaming torture chamber because of the unfortunate incident involving the lying talking snake and the magic fruit.

You believe that a Sky Spook who is somehow magically the Magical Being raped a woman named Mary who somehow magically remained a virgin after being raped, and that this glorious union produced a child who was somehow magically the Magical Being embodied.

You believe that after the Manly Magical Being magically Magically Undeadened Himself, He somehow magically blasted off and flew up into the clouds to live in the Sky Kingdom with His Father who is also somehow magically Him.

You believe that at literally any moment you could find yourself magically floating up into the clouds to join an Invisible Magically Undead Sky Man in a long-awaited event known as "The Rapture". You are so convinced of the imminent nature of this absurd event that you have placed a bumper sticker on your car that reads, "WARNING: In the even of Rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned." Assuming that you are not driving a convertible with the top down most of the time, the issue of how you would float through the roof of your car has never concerned you. You have just left it up to the magic of the Magic Sky Man.

You believe that the sky can somehow magically be rolled up like a scroll, and you believe that a Sky Dragon can somehow magically toss a third of the stars down upon the earth, and that the earth will somehow magically survive this assault.

You believe that the universe is magically being held together by an Invisible Man who lives in the Sky.

You believe that the Magic Sky Man is preparing to ride His Sky Horse down from the Sky Kingdom very soon. You find yourself filled with joyous anticipation at the thought of the senseless torture and slaughter of billions of non-Christian people who will then be tossed into a flaming torture chamber forever to be BBQed without mercy and without any hope of reprieve because when these horrific events occur it signals the end of the line for the Talking Snake and his evil minions (including those pesky rational, thinking people) and the beginning of a wonderful magical eternal life for you up in the Sky with your Three Invisible Friends who are somehow magically One Invisible Friend.

45. Charles Darwin investigated whether blondes have more fun

Comment #228992 by windweaver on August 13, 2008 at 1:44 am

Here's an interesting article on blondes:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/531531/are_blondes_really_less_intelligent.html

46. Thousands Flock to Revival in Search of Miracles

Comment #209326 by windweaver on July 12, 2008 at 3:08 am

Reading stuff like this makes me ashamed of the human race. Why are there SO MANY gullible losers in the world? I can't help thinking sometimes that the world would be a wonderful place without human beings.
Here's a video of this criminal in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUTCWLoD4-4

47. Susskind Quashes Hawking in Quarrel Over Quantum Quandary

Comment #207689 by windweaver on July 10, 2008 at 5:42 am

Susskind's holographic universe ideas have been pounced on by the New Age movement. This article is typical:
http://www.richardalanmiller.com/holography.html

48. Obama Wants to Expand Role of Religious Groups

Comment #203534 by windweaver on July 3, 2008 at 5:21 am

Obama is turning out to be a major disappointment for many of those with a progressive political perspective. Here's what John Pilger had to say about the man in a recent op-ed:

In The Great Tradition, Obama Is A Hawk by John Pilger

In 1941, the editor Edward Dowling wrote: "The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it." What has changed? The terror of the rich is greater than ever, and the poor have passed on their delusion to those who believe that when George W Bush finally steps down next January, his numerous threats to the rest of humanity will diminish.

The foregone nomination of Barack Obama, which, according to one breathless commentator, "marks a truly exciting and historic moment in US history", is a product of the new delusion. Actually, it just seems new. Truly exciting and historic moments have been fabricated around US presidential campaigns for as long as I can recall, generating what can only be described as bullshit on a grand scale. Race, gender, appearance, body language, rictal spouses and offspring, even bursts of tragic grandeur, are all subsumed by marketing and "image-making", now magnified by "virtual" technology. Thanks to an undemocratic electoral college system (or, in Bush's case, tampered voting machines) only those who both control and obey the system can win. This has been the case since the truly historic and exciting victory of Harry Truman, the liberal Democrat said to be a humble man of the people, who went on to show how tough he was by obliterating two cities with the atomic bomb.

Understanding Obama as a likely president of the United States is not possible without understanding the demands of an essentially unchanged system of power: in effect a great media game. For example, since I compared Obama with Robert Kennedy in these pages, he has made two important statements, the implications of which have not been allowed to intrude on the celebrations. The first was at the conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the Zionist lobby, which, as Ian Williams has pointed out, "will get you accused of anti-Semitism if you quote its own website about its power". Obama had already offered his genuflection, but on 4 June went further. He promised to support an "undivided Jerusalem" as Israel's capital. Not a single government on earth supports the Israeli annexation of all of Jerusalem, including the Bush regime, which recognises the UN resolution designating Jerusalem an international city.

His second statement, largely ignored, was made in Miami on 23 May. Speaking to the expatriate Cuban community - which over the years has faithfully produced terrorists, assassins and drug runners for US administrations - Obama promised to continue a 47-year crippling embargo on Cuba that has been declared illegal by the UN year after year.

Again, Obama went further than Bush. He said the United States had "lost Latin America". He described the democratically elected governments in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua as a "vacuum" to be filled. He raised the nonsense of Iranian influence in Latin America, and he endorsed Colombia's "right to strike terrorists who seek safe-havens across its borders". Translated, this means the "right" of a regime, whose president and leading politicians are linked to death squads, to invade its neighbours on behalf of Washington. He also endorsed the so-called Merida Initiative, which Amnesty International and others have condemned as the US bringing the "Colombian solution" to Mexico. He did not stop there. "We must press further south as well," he said. Not even Bush has said that.

It is time the wishful-thinkers grew up politically and debated the world of great power as it is, not as they hope it will be. Like all serious presidential candidates, past and present, Obama is a hawk and an expansionist. He comes from an unbroken Democratic tradition, as the war-making of presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton demonstrates. Obama's difference may be that he feels an even greater need to show how tough he is. However much the colour of his skin draws out both racists and supporters, it is otherwise irrelevant to the great power game. The "truly exciting and historic moment in US history" will only occur when the game itself is challenged.

49. Hints of structure beyond the visible universe

Comment #191901 by windweaver on June 12, 2008 at 4:41 am

great teapot,
I highly recommend the 2005 NOVA documentary Einstein's Big Idea. You can buy the DVD online.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/about.html

50. John McCain: America a Christian nation, needs Christian president

Comment #190431 by windweaver on June 9, 2008 at 5:01 am

NAFTA has resulted in trillions of dollars of trade between Canada and the United States, in addition to creating a significant number of jobs and contributed to economic prosperity in both countries. This is just one FTA that Obama wants to get rid of.