101. Ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of memes

Comment #212396 by black wolf on July 17, 2008 at 6:58 am

clearman,
what happens when you subject letters in a book to an electrical current? do they change?
molecules change when subjected to electrical fields, magnetism, and different forms of energy like heat. letters in a book don't.
that's the difference.

102. The Return of Religion

Comment #212191 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 7:35 pm

ConsciousMachine,
you are right, it could work that way. I wasn't thinking about the financial incentive. Perhaps they could start a model project with several schools and see how it works out.

103. Ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of memes

Comment #212121 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 4:19 pm

clearwhatever:
the universe is not a work of art.
nothing in the universe shows evidence that it is created.
if nothing can occur or come into existence without a cause, a creator must have a cause too.
to show that a creator creates things, you must show how that creator does it.
if a creator changes the universe in matters that already exist, you must show how and when he does it.
if everything has a reason for its existence, you must show what that reason is. this includes black holes, antimatter, pulsars, extinction of species, endogenic retroviruses and chromosome fusion from ape to human.

104. 'Condoms won't change HIV rates'

Comment #212103 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 3:54 pm

As a detailed report on the Ugandan policies I read a few hours ago states:
"The second phase of the Ugandan HIV epidemic ran from 1992 to 2000. During this period the HIV prevalence fell dramatically, from a peak in 1991 of around 15% among all adults, and over 30% among pregnant women in the cities7, to around 5% in 20018.

It is thought that the government's ABC prevention campaign was partly responsible for the decline in prevalence. However, as treatment was not widely available in Uganda during this time the high numbers of AIDS-related deaths also contributed to the reduction in the number of people living with HIV."

"Many experts have also speculated that Uganda's shift in prevention policy away from ABC towards US-backed abstinence-only programmes may also be responsible for an increase in risky behaviour, as comprehensive sex education and condom promotion are no longer mainstream."
"The approach used in Uganda has been named the ABC approach - firstly, encouraging sexual Abstinence until marriage; secondly, advising those who are sexually active to Be faithful to one partner; and finally, urging Condom use, especially for those who have more than one sexual partner."
http://www.avert.org/aidsuganda.htm
In saying that condoms were only issued to married couples, the Cardinal is lying (I don't think he can be so misinformed). As the report states, condoms were given to anyone in need as long as they were available.

105. Anti-Darwinists turned away by Israeli academia

Comment #212094 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 3:38 pm

The article doesn't name the Turkish side on this. The Dean apparently knows more, and if these are indeed people from a creationist organization, it is safe to assume that they would seize the opportunity to spread their false ideology. That's par for the course in their strategy book as we have countless examples for. They may start by discussing religious scholarship, but they will steer any debate or lecture towards un- and pseudoscientific attacks on evolution theory.

106. Darwinists for Jesus

Comment #212069 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Interview with Dowd on Infidel Guy:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qLR6Ss9Bll8

107. The Return of Religion

Comment #212048 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Speaking of schools I am interested - what do people think about Dennett's suggestion that religion become a mandatory part of public school curriculum? I think that this is a far superior idea to Dawkins'. Instead of branding the indoctrination of children into their parents religions as child abuse why not temper the teaching of the more corrosive forms of religion with some facts? If children are presented early with the undisputed facts of all or most of the worlds religions eventually those religions that depend on ignorance will slowly dissolve under the weight of truth.

108. The Return of Religion

Comment #211859 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 10:52 am

Thanks Steve. Brought to you by the letter oneparagraphofdrivelaftertheother and the number blandinconclusivemeaninglesswordstring.

109. The Return of Religion

Comment #211747 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 9:31 am

Roger,
I agree. Gapgod feelz gud, therefor iz tru.

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

Comment #211646 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 8:07 am

If it's true that ancient Hebrew so utterly lacked nuance of verbiage, that would explain a lot about the Bible and the various temper tantrums, killings and genocides described within.
So, the wisest imaginable being, creator of the universe, chooses an uneducated people in poor command of language in a backwater of a largely uncivilized world to fulfill his cosmic law. Moron.

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

Comment #211625 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 7:55 am

It's not nice that the woman lost her job, and I think I speak for most here in saying it doesn't make me happy or satisfied.
From Chuck Kroll's apologetic statement at breakingspells:
"The fact is, that this email to the so called professor, was sent by an angry male catholic, who was very upset after reading that some crazed person in a position of responsibility, charged with teaching children biology, had been encouraging people to steal and desecrate the body of CHRIST, which for Catholics is represented by the Eucharist."
I spotted five factual mistakes in that one sentence alone.

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

Comment #211592 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 7:33 am

mmurray,
the usual nonsense from the CC. In the interview, he states that "At the moment, if you go on a policy of condom distribution as the only solution to HIV and AIDS, you are telling people that they cannot take control of their own lives."
That is pure deceptive bullshit. Who ever said that throwing condoms around at uneducated people would solve anything? Of course it doesn't. What solves problems is raising awareness, educating the people about STDs, removing the stigmatization of HIV-infected people, eradicating superstitions about the healing powers of having sex with virgins or eating herbs the shaman gives you, and making proper medication available to everyone.
The cardinal even has the audacitiy to point at Uganda as an example. In Uganda, the infection rate rose until the death rate matched that of new infections, then decreased gradually because they started doing something about it. Today, the same faith-based groups participating in the abstinence-marital-sex-condoms program in Uganda want to insanely throw out the condoms part.
Cardinal Napier is an idiot. He says the people wouldn't listen anyway if bishops told them to use condoms. If they don't listen, why do you tell them to be abstinent instead, why would that work any better? The Cardinal's business is to secure his standing by pushing his dangerous ideology and stigmatizing rational initiatives, which he rightly suspects of undermining his churches' assumed monopoly on forming the people's worldview solely by what his ancient book of crock says.
Condoms work, medicine works, and education works. None of this is in the Bible, so why would anyone expect the Cardinal to be honest about it? His ilk serves mankind best when they shut the fuck up.

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

Comment #211459 by black wolf on July 16, 2008 at 3:26 am

Shuggy,
you post prompted me to look at the German Wikipedia article that's supposed to deliver an explanation. Well, it doesn't (that would have surprised me). It takes 800 words to explain that it's a mystery, and who and when explained best that it's a mystery, who made up new words and concepts to tell us it's a mystery and so on.
They have dug themselves into such a deep hole that they can't even see the surface anymore. The essential treatise is supposedly the 'Mysterium Fidei' (http://tinyurl.com/7yb7), in which Pope Paul VI declares that any treatment, handling and examination of the mystery that is a danger to belief is false. It should deepen the mystery and spiritual unity of those who believe it, and it's basically wrong to try to understand what it is they believe in.
In other words, it's made-up stuff, and don't you dare say that, because it's really important that you don't.

114. The Politics of God

Comment #210388 by black wolf on July 14, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Yes, it's been posted last year when it was first published.
I wonder what Lilla thinks about those who have attempted to and in the case of Louisiana/Jindal succeeded in breaking a few bricks in the Wall. I'd wager Huckabee hasn't finished playing his part yet either.

115. Weak US dollar hits papal profits

Comment #208846 by black wolf on July 11, 2008 at 9:51 am

Poor, poor clerics.
Average priest/pastor income per month in Germany (2004):
EUR 4,500.
Bishops and Arch-Bishops: EUR 9,000-12,000. <- these usually paid by the government, not the church, in full.

116. Weak US dollar hits papal profits

Comment #208815 by black wolf on July 11, 2008 at 9:23 am

The amount of money they receive from offerings and declaring that proof of their 'un-richness' is just obfuscation. Remember that its not only the Vatican, but each country's Catholic Church that receives money individually. For example, the German Catholic Church received an income of 4.16 BILLION Euros in 2004 from church tax (of which 20% or less were actually spent on charity and education, and additionally subsidized by federal and state governments). Pointing to a loss of a handful of millions of additional donations is ridiculous in comparison.

117. Religious bigotry upheld in court

Comment #208512 by black wolf on July 11, 2008 at 2:06 am

If this is about personal freedoms, could a gay person refuse to conduct ceremonies for a Christian couple? I would imagine that this naturally works both ways. :)

118. Thousands Flock to Revival in Search of Miracles

Comment #208489 by black wolf on July 11, 2008 at 1:36 am

A guy damages his brain with hard drugs for years and then hears a voice in his head one day...
Of course it must be a miracle.

He learned a good lesson from his past: you get sent to jail for committing crimes. If you don't like that, go find the next best job that gets the cash rolling in without actually working for it or learning anything. No taxes, official protection to fleece your fellow people with simple stage performance, no requirement to actually deliver what you promise - the best job in the world (and one of the oldest ever invented). If you're unscrupulous enough to do it. Almost as good as getting paid by the taxpayers via the government for transforming crackers into crackers.

119. Religious bigotry upheld in court

Comment #208410 by black wolf on July 10, 2008 at 11:40 pm

The bottom line is, if you don't like what you're supposed to do on your job, find any religious tenet to claim adherence to, and you're off the hook. Who cares if your co-workers have to do your duties now and work overtime, your right to pick your nose for an hour a day is more important (cuz your prophet says so).

120. Religious bigotry upheld in court

Comment #208400 by black wolf on July 10, 2008 at 11:25 pm

I just finished reading the judgment provided by Onebag.
There was no mentioning of harassment. Ladele won the case on the grounds that she was 'threatened' with losing her job, that two other members of staff violated confidentiality by talking to an activist group for counseling, and that she suffered detriments from disciplinary action taken against her, in which her employer didn't accomodate her religious beliefs.
The case relies on making special accomodations for religious beliefs not by protecting personal freedom but by providing a special right to refuse duty. In my opinion, the court turned the concept of religious freedom on its head in this decision, by making the case that someone with religious beliefs has more rights than those without such beliefs. Ladele succeeded in gaining additional privileges through special pleading overriding her employment duties.
I don't know how weighty the precedent concept is in the UK justice system. Based on this case, in my opinion a muslim employee could for instance refuse to sell or develop photographs of humans or animals and be protected from disciplinary action or termination of employment. This could lead to all sorts of ridiculous cases.

121. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206872 by black wolf on July 8, 2008 at 11:16 pm

'No, your honor, our exorcism didn't kill that man. We just transformed his soul into something else. His death was caused by purely natural malnutrition and injury. We are innocent.'

122. Atheist soldier sues Army for 'unconstitutional' discrimination

Comment #206865 by black wolf on July 8, 2008 at 11:00 pm

The proselytizers handing out tracts and other material to muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan are welcome allies to the Taliban, promoting the Crusades allegations. They are the ones killing people.
I found it ironic that Hall was sent home early. 'There are no atheists in foxholes, and when we find one, we make sure it stays that way.'

123. Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat

Comment #203137 by black wolf on July 2, 2008 at 11:57 am

Ok, many of us got a false impression. Until anything further ensues, I retract my statement above. It was apparently unwarranted.
I still find it curious that some apparently unverified complaints prompt a public statement to appease potential protests. I think it's already too much that a 'diversity advisor' would theoretically advise to replace such a completely harmless image. Diversity - ur doing it rong.

124. Evangelical Christians sign up to a 'Church within a Church'

Comment #203090 by black wolf on July 2, 2008 at 11:10 am

Ah yes, faith, the great unifier of humanity. Just keep splitting up, I say. How about a lobster schism next?

125. Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat

Comment #203076 by black wolf on July 2, 2008 at 10:58 am

What?
A minority feels offended. Nobody is infringing on their civil rights or their religious freedom. Nobody forces them to display the ads.
As many here and elsewhere have been saying for months and years, this particular minority is actively seeking out stuff to feel butthurt about. Keeping dogs has been a part of human culture for a time one hundred times longer than their holy book has been around. Dogs have probably saved more lives and made more people happy than Islam ever has. They are an integrated part of Western culture and of many others worldwide.
And the 'force' (one should be calling them the 'wimps' from now on) effing APOLOGIZE for showing a PICTURE of a dog. APOLOGIZE!?!
Within a few years or less, the wimps will be forcing people to keep their dogs indoors because walking them outside might cause some medieval-brained muslim to feel offended. I'm serious. It will happen.
Why not stick a crescent moon and a sword to the Union Jack while you're at it.

126. Can't Darwin and God get along?

Comment #202392 by black wolf on July 1, 2008 at 12:27 pm

I've read a very detailed paper about the evolution of the blood clotting system about a year ago. There are fewer gaps than Giberson may think. I understand that he can't keep up with every detail of evolutionary biology, but then he shouldn't be making such unwarranted claims.
It amuses me that he rejects the gap-god, but has compartmentalized his faith so utterly that he isn't aware of his own cognitive dissonance when he puts a wild guess handed down and adapted from the stone age on equal footing with a scientific extrapolation of factual data. Mr. Giberson, the universe does not owe us explanations, meaning or comfort - we have to find these for ourselves. Just because we don't like to die, it doesn't mean there must be a God who prevents it. Once you can prove we have a soul which survives physical death, you might have a case. Your theological colleagues have attempted that for centuries, even with modern scientific means, and failed completely. There is less evidence for a soul than even for much of the most 'esoteric' physics. The dusty God idea has less to stand on than string theory, antimatter, or bubbling multiverses. Just let it go, it makes no sense.

127. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #202025 by black wolf on June 30, 2008 at 3:57 pm

As negative as many of the methods and effects of an authocracy may be, it may be the best preliminary solution for some countries, e.g. the Turkish model. The problems start when democracy gets constitutionally implemented without a large majority of the population backing it and privileges of anti-democratic ideologues and tribalists are preserved for a superficial stability. Has any political scientist worked out how to find the best 'point in time' when a country is ripe for a true democracy, or how to best get to that point? The dilemma is, the longer democracy is enforced through not-really-democratic means, the more the opposition consolidates their efforts and drifts towards militancy - which in turn increases the crackdown from the government, and on and on. Pakistan is trying to support faith schools and encourage gradual developments to moderacy within them, but that directly increases the fundamentalists' radicalism.

128. Jesus and Mo on Militant Atheists

Comment #202019 by black wolf on June 30, 2008 at 3:45 pm

My favorite web-cartoon site. I check almost every day to see if they have a new one, and they're almost always spot on. It's as if the writer(s) check this site's discussions constantly and use them for material. If you're watching, jesus-and-mo-guys, thank you for your outstanding work!

129. Your Brain Lies to You

Comment #201092 by black wolf on June 29, 2008 at 2:27 am

FALSE beliefs are everywhere. Eighteen percent of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth, one poll has found.

Most likely they don't believe that but just got confused by the question.

130. Psychiatrists: Least Religious But Most Interested In Patients' Religion

Comment #200579 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 11:43 pm

Last December, a German woman killed her five children because she thought a demon was telling her it would harass her and them. She decided to take the children away from the demon by taking them to the afterlife along with herself. Her suicide attempt failed, she voluntarily went to get psychiatric aid and is currently in court, charged with manslaughter. She has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The irony is that the family's local church held a memorial service - the same church that doesn't like to admit it teaches that demons are real. This sounds insensitive from me, and we don't know if it was religious teaching that inspired her delusion, or if she got the religious delusions after her mentality started breaking down. But I still think these tenets are the elephant in the room.

131. Common New Atheist Fallacies

Comment #200576 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 11:31 pm

quik,
really? Wow. I'm interested, when you were a believer, how would you have responded to the standard theist counter "That's just silly, the FSM doesn't offer any hope of salvation or an afterlife, and it's also just made up, unlike our religion which is divinely revealed and inspired". And how do you respond to that now?
Have you posted on this site's 'Convert's Corner'?

132. I believe that there is no God.

Comment #200570 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 11:09 pm

TeraBrat,
you kept a male baboon in a petting zoo? I don't know how to ask this, but do you like children? ;)

133. Psychiatrists: Least Religious But Most Interested In Patients' Religion

Comment #200568 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 11:05 pm

Dr.: "What does God tell you when you speak with him?"
Patient: "You don't exist, so why would I tell you?"

How is that one?

134. Common New Atheist Fallacies

Comment #200566 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 10:49 pm

"Regard […] to occasions, control and restraint of our actual raillery, and economy in bon-mots, will distinguish an orator from a buffoon, as also will the fact that we people speak with good reason, not just to be thought funny, but to gain some benefit, while those others are jesting from morning to night, and without any reason at all." (De oratore: II, lx. 247) - Cicero, 55 BCE
"You may perplex reason by subtlety, or overrule it by imagination. [---] Reason is disturbed by sophism, by imagination and by passion." (1927, 28) - W. G. Hamilton, 1808

I've taken these quotes from:
"Problematics of Using Rhetorical Irony in Parliamentary Politics" by Taru Haapala, available at http://www.ruc.dk/komm/Ansatte/vip/kimsc/papers/Paper_TaruHaapala.doc/

To which I would add: Sophism is disturbed by sarcasm, reason and facts.

135. Common New Atheist Fallacies

Comment #200563 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 10:32 pm

Oh boy, he's gonna explain critical thinking. Ok, jokes, sarcasm and ad hominems aren't reasonable arguments, I agree. And here's the first mistake, as I expected right in his first argument: Christopher Hitchens knows very well that sarcasm is not an argument, and he never pretends it is. Thanks for the strawman, Greg. You've demonstrated the first fallacy without telling your audience it is one. That's called lying. On to part 2.
Apparently Greg tries to set up his audience to believe atheists have only fallacies or divertive arguments to offer. Oh, will they be caught on the wrong foot when attempting to debate an atheist older than 12. Hitchens presents an argument in this sample clip - and Greg obviously cuts it off right in the middle. No, we don't want this defenseless audience exposed to a real argument, would we Greg? And then Greg completely misses the point. Yes Greg, if your culture and psychology explains why you believe in God, and various sciences explain how the idea of God and religion developed, it doesn't tell us anything about God. Why does that amaze you? As the sciences you just chose to ignore well explained that your God is a man-made idea, there is absolutely no point in learning more about that God. He's in your mind, and we know a lot about why he's there and not real. It's not a fallacy, it's a reasonable, logical and plausible explanation, i.e. a real argument. It's not the atheist's fault that you can't understand this, and it's not a fallacy. On to part 3.
Oooh, be careful there Greg, you really don't want to tell your flock a good argument against the existence of God. I don't know who your audience is here, but do you really have to take minute after minute explaining what an argument is? Then again, looking at the visitors we sometimes get here on this site, you probably do. While you're at it, you might want to exlain what a sentence is and why spelling is important for your credibility in a written discussion. But I digress, and this wasn't an argument. Here comes the argument, can't wait. Hitchens interrupted your friend? Too bad. You just spent almost four minutes saying absolutely nothing. But you're getting paid for this, right? On to the last part.
Oh Greg, you're lying again. Assuming that science can tell us something about reality is not circular reasoning. You better leave your glasses on the lectern when you leave and wait for a miracle to improve your eyesight. Or do you want to lose your credibility by relying on science like that? The circular argument is assuming that God exists and therefore the resurrection is evidence for God's existence, which is the fallacy Hitchens pointed out, and which you didn't tell your audience about. Way to deceive. Go ahead. You pick TGD now, this will be interesting. Ah, there it is. You simply chose to omit part 4 of Dawkins' argument completely, implying to your audience that the parts you skipped over were meaningless. It states: "The most ingenious and powerful crane so far discovered is Darwinian evolution by natural selection. Darwin and his successors have shown how living creatures, with their spectacular statistical improbability and appearance of design, have evolved by slow, gradual degrees from simple beginnings. We can now safely say that the illusion of design in living creatures is just that - an illusion."
This little video series ends here, but I think I've seen enough. Lying by omission is still lying, Greg. And exploiting an audience which apparently needs to be educated about the basics of critical thinking - chanting "NOOO" in unison on your cue as if they were kindergarten kids - by deceiving them in such a way by not actually presenting a single fallacy like you promised, is despicable.
Come visit this site and discuss some issues if you think you're so versed in spotting and avoiding fallacies. You'll not find a gullible, ignorant audience here, I promise.

136. A secular world is a sane world

Comment #200553 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 9:45 pm

I'd wager we'll need neurological treatment before we out-evolve religion. Especially as most religions preach reproduction with a very high priority on their lists of what their brain-person wants, right next to bringing the little children to them. As they believe that there's a soul that corresponds to a deity independently of the brain, and perfectly able to outlive the body, they would surely have no problem at all to swallow that little pill, right? It would just prove that the soul exists and doesn't change (with all our morality, conscience and character contained within), logically being no matter what we do with our brains after all, right?

137. Non-voters: It's all in God's hands

Comment #200344 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 11:00 am

Robert Mugabe claims that God wants him to rule. So, he forces the people at gunpoint to go to the election and vote for him. Guess who his role model is?

138. Stop distorting young minds!

Comment #200137 by black wolf on June 27, 2008 at 1:16 am

Oystein,
how does the Norwegian public respond to that? Are they graciously ignoring 'just another nutty person from the genetically special nobility'? I mean, that would be ok if she wasn't abusing misfiring brain functions of defensless people, right? Does someone stand up and rightfully call what she's doing the same thing Mengele did with his physical experiments? The children aren't dying right away, but if she thinks it's ok to set them on a path of cultism, some of them will suffer and have a greatly increased chance of actually dying in a cave, waiting for the end of the world, or in bed hoping for an angel to heal their perfectly treatable bladder infection.

139. Stop distorting young minds!

Comment #200044 by black wolf on June 26, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Let's assume even that all anousic schools were significantly better in all areas of education. What will we get out of that?
In the end, we'll possibly have hundreds, thousands of excellently educated people in very high positions, with just that one anousic area of their brain functions compartmentalized - and that little area tells them to push the red button to make Jesus come back (or the Hidden Imam etc.)
CREEPY!
Maybe I'm too pessimistic, but I can almost hear the argument: 'No, we can't scrutinize and control the curriculum they teach - we're out of tax money to finance all that .

140. The Latest Wedge Document

Comment #200035 by black wolf on June 26, 2008 at 4:49 pm

Everytime I open this site, I wish I would see a headline 'Creationists Unite, Independent Nation-State Granted'. Sadly in the real world they keep trying to take over the states that already exist, irreversibly damaging the minds of thousands of intellectually unarmed kids and thereby reinforcing their kooky ranks. And I also know that my imaginary headline means that we'd have another country in which people would get and put into practice ideas about converting other countries to their moronity through any method, from UN blackmailing to terrorism.

141. Band T-shirt draws charge

Comment #199482 by black wolf on June 25, 2008 at 8:20 pm

I hung out with C.O.F. backstage when they did their first Germany tour, at the Berlin gig. You know what they do? They relax, drink something and smoke a cigarette (Dani smoked one of mine, yayproud ;) ).
Now what do you think the televangelists do after their shows? I bet most of us would not find it very pleasant to watch...

142. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198791 by black wolf on June 24, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Besides being immoral from our ethical standpoint, let's never forget that child marriage also greatly increases obstetric fistulae, prematurity, childbirth mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, including cervical cancer, and malaria. (wiki)

Jiten,
not exactly. Wikipedia gives a number of 39% for parts of Mali for instance (which has 90% muslims) married below age 15. I suspect most countries where the practice is relatively common would be reluctant to publish such figures, especially for prepubescent children, since they know very well how 'controversial' this topic is - or common and divinely sanctioned so that nobody even thinks of polling. As other posters have said, as an outsider you'll be told to shut up and not mention it before getting honest answers or open criticism from within those countries.

edit: I wonder how far Tony Blair's foundation will get in fighting malaria when he's told to shut up about some of the problems and causes.

143. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198728 by black wolf on June 24, 2008 at 12:01 pm

Wasn't it also Saudi Arabia where men can marry for one night to circumvent the ban on prostitution? So theoretically they could easily have child brothels without any legal problems. How about we deport all our pedophiles to SA. It's a win-win (except for Saudi girls of course, but they're supposed to shut up anyway).
Anyone else feel like no level of cynicism can top the barbarity of that culture?

144. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198723 by black wolf on June 24, 2008 at 11:57 am

We evidently need more (government subsidized) faith schools, so that the kids, especially the girls, can learn about their precious traditions as early as possible. Our morals will decay if we won't endorse pedophilia, and without it we will find no meaning in life.

145. Should We Rid The Mind of God? A Debate

Comment #198530 by black wolf on June 24, 2008 at 8:08 am

McGrath: 'please don't take the meaning out of my life'
Q: Well professor, what then is that meaning?
McGrath: 'it's very big and valuable and sentimentally pleasing...'
Q: What is it?
McGrath: 'there are a lot of books about it...'
Q: What is their conclusion, and why do you agree with them?
McGrath: 'it's very big and valuable and sentimentally pleasing...'

AAAARRRGHHHH!

146. On this Day: Galileo Sentenced for Believing Sun Is Center of Universe

Comment #198231 by black wolf on June 23, 2008 at 12:03 pm

LaurieB,
"After Galileo's death in Arcetri in 1642, his remains were deposited in a small room adjoining the chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian, in the basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, pending the construction of a monumental tomb. The project encountered the hostility of the ecclesiastical authorities, who pointed out to Grand Duke Ferdinand II (1610-1670) the inappropriateness of building a monument to a man condemned by the Church for "vehement suspicion of heresy." In the following decades, Vincenzo Viviani (1622-1703) campaigned strenuously for the memorial, but failed to overcome ecclesiastical resistance. Only at the end of the reign of Gian Gastone (1671-1737), in 1737, did circumstances permit the inauguration of the monumental tomb of Galileo, visible today on the left when entering the basilica. The sepulchre received the mortal remains of Galileo and of Vincenzo Viviani."
from
http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/museum/esim.asp?c=100359


Scientist:
Vincenzo Viviani


Italian mathematician (1622â€"1703)

"Viviani, who was born at Florence in Italy, was an associate and pupil of Galileo, although his chief interest was in mathematics rather than in physics. After the condemnation of Galileo's ideas by the Catholic Church it was unsafe for Viviani to pursue his work on Galileo's mathematics. Accordingly Viviani devoted himself to the thorough study of Greek mathematics, in particular geometry, and in this field of work he achieved wide fame. In 1696 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. Viviani was particularly interested in trying to reconstruct lost sections of works by ancient Greek mathematicians, such as the missing fifth book of Apollonius's Conics. He also published Italian translations of the works of classical mathematicians including Euclid and Archimedes. He was an associate of the physicist Evangelista Torricelli and collaborated with him in his work on atmospheric pressure and in the invention of the mercury barometer."
from
http://www.answers.com/topic/vincenzo-viviani?cat=technology

So, it was unsafe to pursue mathematical work? And the current Pope harps on about how logical and reasonable his faith is? Hypocrites.

147. Where do US lawmakers stand on science?

Comment #198227 by black wolf on June 23, 2008 at 11:57 am

It's obvious that looking at nature from a design and programming standpoint seems appealing to many engineers. Religious engineers think that fallaciously equivocating DNA with software is sufficient evidence for their worldview. I don't know if they willfully ignore the fact that the bio-chemical processes producing and caused by DNA produce errors of a sort that would simply not happen with properly programmed software, or if it just hasn't occured to them. As I said in a comment to a YouTube video, if their apologetics attributing these errors to sin was valid, they'd have to explain how and when sin does that. If they can't, it's just dishonest asstalk; just like stubbornly maintaining the phlogiston theory would be.

148. Award-winning comedian George Carlin dies

Comment #198122 by black wolf on June 23, 2008 at 8:51 am

Admirable, funny, entertaining. I'll miss him. Every time you think, 'I'd like to have some George Carlin to watch now', you know he's enriched your life.

149. On this Day: Galileo Sentenced for Believing Sun Is Center of Universe

Comment #197849 by black wolf on June 22, 2008 at 7:01 pm

The whole thing is moot anyway since the new pope has rescinded that apology, declaring the persecution of Galileo to have been "reasonable" given the evidence available at that time; apparently Galileo's reasoning and evidence was insufficient to warrant his claims i.e. the new pope has declared Galileo was a bad scientist and was just "lucky" he turned out to be right.

150. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #197624 by black wolf on June 22, 2008 at 11:50 am

As my observation of muslims in western countries shows, especially young people from muslim families are more often than not won over by western freedom and lifestyle. They're mostly apolitical, so not very conscious of democratic values and principles in general. A few will always drift to radical ideas and groups, but I'm still confident that a growing majority will embrace secularism as most do in Turkey. The immigrants who don't learn the language of their new home country and refuse to integrate will probably become a diminishing minority - unless certain governments provide them with more support for divisiveness like faith schools.
I'm off to watch the soccer game now, see ya later.