Comments by Quetzalcoatl

1001. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #183456 by Quetzalcoatl on May 22, 2008 at 6:40 am

Anna-

that's a very strange picture! I didn't realise you were so short.

Al-Rawandi-

we shouldn't bomb Romania. It might make Dracula angry.

1002. What is science for?

Comment #183407 by Quetzalcoatl on May 22, 2008 at 4:15 am

To anyone who is still bothering to debate AS Marques, some of these links might be useful:

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

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Holocaust_denial#Use_of_gas_chambers

1003. Missing matter found in deep space

Comment #183398 by Quetzalcoatl on May 22, 2008 at 3:30 am

JeremyH-

Dark matter isn't the "god" of astrophysicists, not by a long shot.

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13362-giant-ropes-of-dark-matter-found-in-new-sky-survey.html

1004. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #183375 by Quetzalcoatl on May 22, 2008 at 2:19 am

Clearmind said:

Sorry Pal I watched beavers a lot with my students to show how God's creation is.

What kind of school is this? Classes at my school never did any beaver-watching. It was strictly an extra-curricular thing. :-)

1005. What is science for?

Comment #183370 by Quetzalcoatl on May 22, 2008 at 2:12 am

Epeeist-

do you charge for introducing deluded people to each other, or is it a service that you perform for free?

1006. In God's Name

Comment #183234 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 2:49 pm

Mark Smith-

Aisha being the girl Muhammad married at age six and had sex with at age nine.

Edited because I am apparently unable to spell the name Muhammad.

1007. In God's Name

Comment #183228 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 2:37 pm

Mark Smith-

and don't even think about mentioning the whole Aisha issue.

1008. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #183210 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Peacebeuponme-

I've edited my earlier post with the info. But bear in mind that development of nervous system in no way equals consciousness.

1009. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #183203 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 2:06 pm

Peacebeuponme-

Al said well-spoken. You're getting confused.

1010. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #183197 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 1:59 pm

Peacebeuponme-

development of consciousness is late in the process. I don't think the nervous system develops until 26 to 28 weeks (I'll check that).

EDIT- 28 weeks is when the nervous system has developed sufficiently for it to control some of the foetal body functions.

1011. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #183182 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 1:45 pm

Fides-

We are digressing though. Late term abortion is wrong

That's a very definite statement. Define "late term". What about in the case of rape? Domestic violence? The discovery that the foetus is developing abnormally, ie with half its brain missing?

1012. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #183038 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 9:06 am

Clearmind-

I'm going to try reasoning with you, for all the good it will do.

Your Prophet's life has been written about in holy books, and has been historically documented. His actions are held up as an example to Muslims everywhere.

Anna, to my knowledge, has not been written about in any holy book (although if I ever get around to writing my own sacred text, she and many other RD.netters may get a mention). There is no parallel between your prophet and Anna.

Notice that Al-Rawandi has not insulted your wife. Don't insult Anna.

1013. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #182965 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 6:55 am

all-windi-

where's your logics? You can't pee in Quetz's ear when bananas has your nose. evolins not see what eagle sees. He sees from high up on his cloud. he sees you crazy, not listen to prophets, think he talks about meatballs. BUT MEATBALLS ARE NOT PURPLE. Haha, wibble.

blackwolf-

where antworld come from, not from evolins, nor, russell not know. come from snake, worship snake.

1014. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #182955 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 6:42 am

all-windi-

why you not listen to story of Bertrand Russell and Mona Lisa. She say to him, listen with nose, not with eyes. Russelssay you crazy, I wait for this orange to change into nose, then I use it to listen with. But orange have meatball inside? Mean what? Evolins not know. Evolins think human come from water worm, ha, but where water worm come from. Not from Mona lisa, she think you all crazy. Where your nose, all-windi, maybe bananas have your nose in hole in ground.

1015. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #182941 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 6:27 am

Clearminds say evolins smear, but not know prophets wrong about blindwatchmaker, haha where is Mona Lisa's meatballs? Not come from water-worm, children in my class think evolins crazy. A mouth belongs to its owner, but not his nose. How old is oranges?

1016. Missing matter found in deep space

Comment #182912 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 5:47 am

Everyone-

this article has a lot more detail:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520152013.htm

1017. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #182869 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 4:27 am

CraigB-

relax. Nobody said that you can't be an atheist and disagree with aspects of abortion.

1018. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #182845 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 3:21 am

Seriously? How has Clearmind not been banned by now? Now he's suggesting Al-Rawandi is a paedophile/involved with Fanusi, and has mentioned Anna again. What the hell?

Al-Rawandi- I think you struck a nerve.

Clearmind- what religion do you believe in? What nationality are you?

1019. What is science for?

Comment #182822 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 2:42 am

Peacebeuponme-

AS Marques' claims have been tackled on the original thread (Richard Dawkins On The Big Questions). Offhand, Cartomancer had some things to say, so did others.

1020. MPs reject calls to cut abortion limit

Comment #182784 by Quetzalcoatl on May 21, 2008 at 1:11 am

I've said it on my own blog and others, and I'll say it again: this is excellent news, and a victory for science, rationality and women's rights. The reduction campaign, most prominently the 20 week campaign, was funded by a raft of fundamentalist Christian groups, who obviously didn't pray hard enough.

1021. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182565 by Quetzalcoatl on May 20, 2008 at 1:55 pm

Freethinker79-

have you gone through the entire thread? There were numerous posts dealing with the movie's claims. I see that you are a new poster. Will you be sticking around?

1022. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182479 by Quetzalcoatl on May 20, 2008 at 8:12 am

Bert the magic penguin's next opponent is the serpent of Midgard. Bert readies himself.....in an ironic twist, the penguin slips on a patch of ice and falls down! The serpent seizes its opportunity and devours the penguin. A sad end for the magical bird.

1023. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #182407 by Quetzalcoatl on May 20, 2008 at 1:43 am

D'Arcy-

Quetz, my view is that there have been no communist / socialist countries. The idea is an absurdity. Countries don't exist in isolation, and countries are political constructions, e.g. India, Pakistan, Israel, Serbia, Russia, England, Scotland, USA to name a few.

You seem to be using the "No true Socialist" argument here. Thanks for listing the countries, by the way.

While it's true that countries don't exist in isolation, I fail to see why that should be a barrier. This is especially true when you consider Russia and China, very large countries with large populations and significant natural resources. If they can't implement it successfully, who can? Russia had over 70 years to do it, and failed miserably. To me that says something about the viability of the system as a whole. Saying that socialism will only succeed if implemented worldwide is a way of attempting to gloss over its abject failure in every country that it has been implemented in.

The idea of socialism is that the resources of the world should be used for the benefit of the whole population and not to support a privileged elite and an under privileged majority. It's an idea I agree with.

You seem to have ignored the point, made by both Al-Rawandi and myself, that the implementation of this ideal would require massive bureaucracy and centralised control. Once again, how likely is it that the central authority will be willing to let go of the power that they hold, the power to literally control people's lives? Human nature again.

Also, as I said before, what is to stop the central committee investing in projects to the detriment of the people- NK's nuclear program being a prime example. The committee would have control of the army and the police, so precisely what would the people be able to do about it?

Another point you've omitted: central control will never be dissolved, since there would be no mechanism for stopping individuals from using alternative capitalistic finance systems, which people would flock to.

1024. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182269 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 2:49 pm

Goldy-

yes, but I drive a car every day. So I'm not going there.

1025. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182263 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 2:36 pm

I'll jump in on this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxyLdsgnL8c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_YvqhJ22Ow

1026. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #182257 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 2:23 pm

D'Arcy-

I'm aware that it probably repeated what has already been said, but any response to my comment 499? If you've addressed those points before, can you point me to the comment in question?

1027. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #182254 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 2:17 pm

D'Arcy-

I would say that China is becoming increasingly capitalistic precisely because it realises that Communism doesn't work.

1028. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #182095 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 8:09 am

Clearmind-

the only thing "self-evident" is that you have nothing to contribute. People have made efforts to engage in dialogue with you only to be met by ridiculous assertions, wholesale cut-and-pasting, and grammar and spelling of a standard that would shame a blind one-armed chimpanzee.

If you think this site is so closed to your special brand of logic then take your babbling about Mona Lisa, Bertrand Russell and the blind watchmaker elsewhere. I'm tired of having to scroll past your drivel to get to the decent posts of others.

PS- I did have a comment up earlier which I deleted. I decided a little more detail than "Sod off" was needed.

1029. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #182064 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 7:15 am

MaxD-

whoever Clearmind is, it's getting bloody irritating.

1030. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #182044 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 6:43 am

Al-rawandi-

I read a Newsweek article where they spoke to an evangelical guy who provided aid to people who escaped from North Korea. When he started telling them about Jesus, they said that this Jesus sounded a lot like what they were told about Kim Jong-Il, and they'd prefer just to have the food. Telling, don't you think?

It also seems to me that central committees tend to throw money at things that in no way benefit the people of their country, and sometimes act to their detriment ie NK's nuclear program. Money that could have gone into providing food for the people went into a program that was shit anyway compared to any other country's. In a socialist system, what exactly would the people be able to do about such abuse. Not a lot as far as I can see.

1031. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #182022 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 6:02 am

D'Arcy-

apologies if this has already been pointed out, but the idea that once socialism is established the state will "wither away" is incredibly unrealistic.

To switch a country over from capitalism to socialism would require a massive state effort, and a great deal of control and regulation. It would take years and years. How likely do you think it is that, after so long with so much power, the "committee" would simply give it all up? Not very likely at all. We have seen that in EVERY country where socialism/communism has taken over. In addition, socialism could only be maintained if everyone participated in it. But there will always be those who could take advantage in a socialist country by using different systems of finance. Without a central committee, there would be no mechanism to stop them. Another reason why the central control would never be dissolved.

1032. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #181990 by Quetzalcoatl on May 19, 2008 at 4:07 am

Txpiper-

I would enthusiastically agree with both of these points. That does not make me shy away from asking questions. It should not inhibit anyone from doing so

Perhaps, but your questions hold less weight if you refuse to acknowledge the answers that posters go to the trouble of providing for you, instead opting to ignore most of them and cherry-pick the points that you think support your case.

1033. These dim-wits believe in anything but God

Comment #181729 by Quetzalcoatl on May 18, 2008 at 4:53 am

What makes everyone so sure that it's the same David Robertson as he who frequents this site?

1034. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181170 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 2:11 pm

Oh but Diacanu, he didn't mean it that way, we just took it out of context. Or so we were told.

1035. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181167 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:59 pm

David Robertson once made a crack about having to leave a thread to go visit the parents of a baby who had just died. A terrible time, he said, "for those of us who believe that we are more than throwaway survival machines". More polite? Hardly.

1036. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181163 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Sauveterre-

Amen. I suspect, though, it's less to do with atheist bad morality and more him not finding what he was looking for here and jumping to the next potential source.

1037. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181154 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Black Wolf-

I think it was a woman, but I can't find the damn report now!

1038. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181147 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:21 pm

Sauveterre-

PM en route.

1039. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181138 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:16 pm

Ah, the caste system. One of the wonderful things about Indian culture. Self-righteous fucktards.

1040. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181133 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Diacanu-

I managed to miss most of the sock-puppetry, so I can only go by what others have written. But I certainly don't think it was a smart thing to do.

Speaking of the cult- did you hear that the remaining cult members have come out of the caves? Apparently one of the other "leaders" has said that their actions have now postponed the Apocalypse by thirty years. How very convenient.

1041. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181126 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 1:03 pm

Caudimordax-

I've flagged him as a troll a few times, I just ignore his posts now. Whether I flag people as trolls depends on the circumstances.

1042. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181122 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 12:57 pm

You sure about that? Personally, I think he would tell us.

1043. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181109 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 12:40 pm

From his martyred tone when discussing his departure from RD.net, I suspect that he does genuinely think that we drove him away from the site.

Anna, don't forget: it's not just scripture, but his new personal feelings as well. Entirely subjective, and not something that anyone else can use to determine whether it's true or not. But feelings change.

1044. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181057 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 11:14 am

MaxD-

We do. That's why I'm saying thanks!

1045. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #181048 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 11:01 am

MaxD-

thanks for putting my name in the same line as Mao, Stalin, Hitler and Saddam!

HungarianElephant-

PM for you.

1046. Malaysia woman scores rare legal win to quit Islam

Comment #180943 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 7:34 am

AshtonBlack-

it's new to this site, I think.

1047. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #180896 by Quetzalcoatl on May 16, 2008 at 3:31 am

Black Wolf-

Take a Dharma wheel, attach scythes to the hubs, roll at your enemies. Job done.