Comments by decius

251. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #226628 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 12:45 pm

Comment #226611 by al-rawandi

I already looked up your "quotes".

You provided the page number, this certifies that you have distorted and quote-mined on purpose, and not that you don't have the book at hand.

Read my post and you'll find the actual words.

I did not declare victory, I excused myself from the conversation.
You aren't interested to establish in earnest Chomsky credibility as an analyst of the Cambodian conflict, so there is no reason to drag this further.

YOU would have the nerve to defend Chomsky who had the nerve to defend Robert Faurisson... who spewed such vile hate for Jews in the Tehran Times, and then turn and criticize me for exposing what is obvious to any rational observer.

Since I don't know anything about this episode, not even Faurisson, I am obviously not qualified to comment, nor am I interested on Chomsky's personal tastes. Besides, the issue was Cambodia and Suharto.

n fact this is nothing but an ad hominem. Talking of rational observers...

252. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #226602 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 12:01 pm

Comment #226581 by al-rawandi

Al, I specifically asked you to not quote-mine Chomsky in order to score cheap rhetorical points.

And what do you do?
You quote yourself quote-mining Chomsky elsewhere, going as far as distorting the original quote with added words of your choosing.

Also, Chomsky extensively wrote on Cambodia in dedicated books. Yet you chose to quote from a manual specifically written for simpletons. Basically a transcript of a verbal interview, where he goes over all of contemporary history in a couple of hundred pages.

I have to say that I am surprised.
I find this method of arguing well below the standards that I am used to, and more befitting a Dershowitz than yourself, quite frankly.
Therefore - with your permission - I'll leave it here.

One last thing. I shall provide the actual quote for the benefit of the others.

MAN: You said that we support Pol Pot in Cambodia through our allies. Isn't there a chance that there could be another genocide there if the Khmer Rouge gets back in power? I'm terrified of that possibility.
Yeah, it's dangerous. What will happen there depends on whether the West continues to support them ...
MAN: But we may be heading for another genocide.
Well, look, the business about "genocide" you've got to be a little careful about. Pol Pot was obviously a major mass murderer, but it's not clear that Pol Pot killed very many more people-or even more people-than the United States killed in Cambodia in the first half of the 1970s. We only talk about "genocide" when other people do the killing. [The U.S. bombed and invaded Cambodia beginning in 1969, and supported anti-Parliamentary right-wing forces in a civil war there which lasted until 1975; Pol Pot ruled the country between 1975 and '78.
So there's a lot of uncertainty about just what the scale was of the Pol Pot massacre, but the best scholarly work in existence today estimates the deaths in Cambodia from all causes during the Pol Pot period in the hundreds of thousands, maybe as much as a million. Well, just take a look at the killing in Cambodia that happened in the first half of the decade from 1970 to 1975-which is the period that we're responsible for: it was also in the hundreds of thousands.61
Furthermore, if you really want to be serious about it-let's say a million people died in the Pol Pot years, let's take a higher number-it's worth bearing in mind that when the United States stopped its attacks on inner Cambodia in 1975, American and other Western officials predicted that in the aftermath, about a million more Cambodians would die just from the effects of the American war. At the time that the United States withdrew from Cambodia, people were dying from starvation in the city of Phnom Penh alone-forget the rest of the country-at the rate of 100,000 a year. The last U.S. A.J.D. [Agency for International Development] mission in Cambodia predicted that there would have to be two years of slave labor and starvation before the country could even begin to get moving again. So while the number of deaths you should attribute to the United States during the Pol Pot period isn't a simple calculation to make, obviously it's a lot-when you wipe out a country's agricultural system and drive a million people out of their homes and into a city as refugees, yeah, a lot of people are going to die. And the responsibility for their deaths is not with the regime that took over afterwards, it's with the people who made it that way.
And in fact, there's an even more subtle point to be made-but not an insignificant one. That is: why did Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge carry out their massacre in the first place? Well, there's pretty good evidence that the Khmer Rouge forces took power primarily because they were the only ones who were tough enough bastards to survive the U.S. attacks. And given the destructive psychological effects of the American bombings on the peasant population there, some sort of violent outpouring was fairly predictable and there was a big element of just plain peasant revenge in what happened. So the U.S. bombings hit a real peak of ferocity in around 1973, and that's the same period in which the Pol Pot group started gaining power. The American bombardment was certainly a significant factor, possibly the critical factor, in building up peasant support for the Khmer Rouge in the first place; before that, they had been a pretty marginal element. Okay, if we were honest about the term "genocide," we would divide up the deaths in the Pol Pot period into a major part which is our responsibility, which is the responsibility of the United States.

Compared to your distorted, quote-mined sentence.

much of the genocide was "peasant revenge" and not an organized massacre.

Edited for clarity

253. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #226579 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 10:28 am

Comment #226565 by al-rawandi

Yes, he was armed and supported by the US, but the invasion was one of territorial history.

Come on, Al, that's special pleading, and you know it.
If you arm, aid and abet a serial-killer, you will be brought to justice as an accomplish, even if you didn't mandate or take direct part in his actions.

He claimed the bombings caused the "peasant revolt" that was the Killing Fields.

I strongly doubt that a serious and dedicated analyst as Chomsky - regardless of any bias he might have - would make such a simplistic and factually wrong claim.

Please, provide the actual quote (not mined).

Cambodian society collapsed, a peasant revolt ensued. The Khmer were originally only a faction. In between there was a coup, a civil war followed. The Khmer emerged victorious.
The Killing Fields came much later.

This is just out of the top of my head, but you will certainly find added layers of complexity, nothing resembling the dumb version that you attributed to Chomsky.

254. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #226563 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 9:39 am

404. Comment #226558 by al-rawandi

1) The US merely refused to object to the E. Timor invasion.

That's incorrect, US active support of Suwarto throughout his dictatorship is well documented.

3) Chomsky also blamed the deaths directly on US bombing in Cambodia (falsely so).

I never heard him blaming the actions of the Khmer on the US. He made a strong case as to the fact that without the total destruction visited upon Cambodia by secret American bombing, Cambodian society wouldn't have collapsed opening the door to what followed.
This is hardly disputable.

255. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #226557 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 9:30 am

Comment #226554 by hawt4dawk

Chomsky actually is an anarcho-syndicalist, which has to do with organising labour, rather than freeing society from the state. In fact, anarcho-syndicalism is a form of self-managed capitalism.
Also, anarcho-syndicalism proved so successful during the Spanish civil war that Stalin, enraged and jealous, turned against it in a manner that could only be described as a betrayal of the common cause against Franchism.

256. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226548 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 8:55 am

Comment #226542 by phil rimmer

Phil, I don't think that's the case, since upon reload images are already cached in the temp files.
Also, I think it began after Wednesday's problems, when all page-links had ceased working for several hours.

257. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226541 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 8:40 am

I think we should alert Josh with this. Any volunteers? :)

EDIT - I volunteered myself. :)

258. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226536 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 8:34 am

Comment #226535 by thewhitepearl

That's funny, I've just checked and IE doesn't do it on my computer. Is it a recent problem, in your case?

259. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226533 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 8:31 am

Comment #226529 by Logicel

I heard that one, too, but it is most likely incorrect.
A similar etymology has been suggested for the italian word "finocchio" (literally: fennel). Someone claimed that fennel seeds were spread upon the stake to counter the revolting smell of burning human flesh.
It is nonsense, because the usage of "finocchio" - to indicate a homosexual - doesn't appear in any written text until the XIX century, and at first it indicated someone who is burdensome.

260. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226524 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 8:15 am

Is anyone else experiencing the disappearance of avatars upon page reload in firefox? It has been malfunctioning for two days or so, in my case.

261. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226522 by decius on August 8, 2008 at 8:04 am

Quetz,

nice entry, but I think the math for the cost of 36 kg of rice doesn't add up, even if we allow for 3 meals a day.

262. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226048 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 4:32 pm

Hi TWP.

Fine, thanks, just a bit busy with my work.
I noticed that you have been away, too. How are you doing?

263. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #226034 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 4:14 pm

Comment #226019 by JRD7

Why don't you go to the times website and leave your comments there?

As far as I am concerned, The Times and its Freak Central are beneath contempt, as this article - among other things - amply demonstrates.

By visiting and commenting there, rd.net contributors would just help a rotting carcass to procrastinate its natural decay from current irrelevance into much anticipated disintegration.

264. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #225940 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 2:11 pm

Comment #225904 by Richard Dawkins

May I respectfully ask why you didn't stand your ground all the way? After all, being both a scientist and a pop icon of sort, you constitute an irreplaceable asset for an audience-hungry television channel eager to produce such a programme.

I guarantee you that it is very liberating to tell a lawyer to bugger off. :)

265. Is our universe fine-tuned for life?

Comment #225903 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 1:36 pm

Comment #225728 by squinky

Sure life could be on Earth right now living as silicates. Actually, I'm a fan of self-replicating boron or maybe even iridium phosphates or whatever the hell I can think up. In fact, I'm no longer an atheist. There are teapots orbiting the Earth--self-replicating ones in fact and they can exceed the speed of light (that's why we can't detect them).

So, apart from your personal incredulity and mockery, is there any scientific argument - that you could share with us - that would prohibit non carbon-based life to arise in alien environments? Since you made the claim in such an absolutistic way, I think it's just fair to ask for a clarification.

266. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225809 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 11:53 am

Comment #225795 by al-rawandi

I WAS ROBBED!

Of your virginity? Please, do tell us.

267. Rochester Physicist's Quantum-'Uncollapse' Hypothesis Verified

Comment #225767 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 11:07 am

Phil,

I think no one can help, here, without reading the original paper.

268. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #225760 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 10:59 am

So much verbose praise and conceding the obvious, as if it would help to validate her egregious argument from ignorance and her preposterous charge against Richard.

269. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225676 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 7:36 am

Comment #225670 by Steve Zara

The clueless gits who advocate such inanities think that an argument from authority is all that is needed to amend science.

270. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225658 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 7:04 am

Comment #225648 by Oystein Elgaroy

Thanks.
Do my other points still hold?

Edit- Never mind, I looked it up.

271. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225636 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 6:28 am

Comment #225623 by Ygern

There was an 'afterglow' after the Big Bang, so strictly speaking there was light before the stars were formed.

-The afterglow is a microwave radiation, a stretched remnant of a high-energy flash emitted when all fundamental forces were still united. In other words, something completely different from visible light.

-The universe was still in its Dark Ages, meaning that it was opaque.

-The very existence of the afterglow has recently been called into question, as attempts at detection of shadow cones in the cosmic background radiation failed.

272. Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture 2008

Comment #225617 by decius on August 7, 2008 at 5:55 am

Incompetently filmed, recorded and encoded. Heavy cuts maim an otherwise excellent lecture.

I suggest to follow SilentMike's advice and watch the same talk that Pinker held at authors@google.

273. Is our universe fine-tuned for life?

Comment #225341 by decius on August 6, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Comment #225318 by squinky

These are problematic statements.

silicon-based life (which could never arise spontaneously)

Who established that?

Diatoms have skeletons of silicon dioxide and silicate bacteria have a silicon-based metabolism.
Numerous scientists have pointed out that under favourable environmental conditions, perhaps on some other planet, silicon-based life
could conceivably arise.

life has to start with carbon-based, water loving creatures that evolve intelligence

Did you mean "life as we know it"?
Again, by no means science has a-priori ruled out different possibilities.

Finally, intelligence is not a necessary outcome of evolution.

274. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #225177 by decius on August 6, 2008 at 10:13 am

Just saying it here won't do. E-mail Josh with your complaint, please.

275. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #224914 by decius on August 6, 2008 at 2:37 am

I am convinced, now.

Adnan Oktar is clearly innocent: he loves freedom and he greets people with "salamun aleikum".

What other proof do you need?

276. Interview with Paula Kirby on 'The Right Hook'

Comment #224753 by decius on August 5, 2008 at 2:20 pm

Paula,

excellent performance. Soft-spoken yet firm, and you didn't let any bs pass unchecked, although I had the impression that you have been purposefully muzzled at the end.

277. Interview with Paula Kirby on 'The Right Hook'

Comment #224743 by decius on August 5, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Comment #224706 by esuther

What the movie wouldn't render is the customary sour reek of smegma mixed with child's faeces exuding from the cassock that the burning incense struggles to cover.

278. Richard Dawkins branded 'secularist bigot' by veteran philosopher

Comment #224433 by decius on August 5, 2008 at 1:16 am

Mphil,

welcome back.

279. Evangelically Serious Science

Comment #223778 by decius on August 3, 2008 at 12:11 pm

Comment #223772 by Steve Zara
Comment #223774 by Oystein Elgaroy

I share your pain. I learned 3D on 3d Studio Max which won't run on anything else except Win and Mac.
On a Mac, most plug-ins won't work.
Here I am, stuck with the worst OS in human history for the foreseeable future.

280. Evangelically Serious Science

Comment #223770 by decius on August 3, 2008 at 11:57 am

Comment #223765 by Steve Zara

Enough with all that multi-platformism nonsense. This is a windowsian nation.

281. Charlie Brooker's screen burn

Comment #223741 by decius on August 3, 2008 at 10:18 am

Steve,

it seems that RD.net is having an additional problem of dns, or something. I made a couple of attempt to connect in the past 30 hours to no avail, but I could reach it through the mobile phone browser.

Then I configured the router to use a subnet mask, and it worked again.
It appears that whole areas of Europe are unable to connect directly.
Should I message Josh?

282. Richard Dawkins branded 'secularist bigot' by veteran philosopher

Comment #223727 by decius on August 3, 2008 at 9:50 am

Comment #223433 by Quiddam

Sorry, I meant to write "his scholarship" instead of "your scholarship".
I have now removed the mistaken line.

Your point was clear and I was agreeing with ya.

283. What's wrong with science as religion

Comment #223440 by decius on August 2, 2008 at 9:23 am

Comment #223293 by epeeist

Beethoven late string quartets, and op. 131 in particular. In my opinion one of the most sublime pieces of music ever written.

Absolutely, what's your favourite recording of LvB's quartets?

BTW, yesterday we threw a party for a prominent Israeli cellist and his girlfriend, who is a jazz flautist. Prior that I managed to drink them both under the sofa, he played a Bach suite for us. It's incredible how much better a string instrument sounds when live.

284. Richard Dawkins branded 'secularist bigot' by veteran philosopher

Comment #223425 by decius on August 2, 2008 at 9:05 am

Oystein took the idea of "the new poster boy for atheism" literally. :)

285. Richard Dawkins branded 'secularist bigot' by veteran philosopher

Comment #223414 by decius on August 2, 2008 at 8:45 am

Comment #223411 by Quiddam

Flew is claiming a scientific argument based on information provided by Varghese, Schroeder, Leftow, Swinburne

Varghese and Swinburne could inform a scientific argument with the same competence of a troupe of bozos tackling QM.

286. Breeding for God

Comment #223407 by decius on August 2, 2008 at 8:23 am

Comment #223393 by hawt4dawk

In my family going back three generations, there were 12-17 kids in every family.

That seems quite correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat#Reproduction

287. Breeding for God

Comment #222652 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 4:37 pm

Comment #222647 by Goldy

I think you should see it for yourself, I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. They don't even care to veil the most appalling threats, as they assume that no "kufar" will hear.
Arguably, the translation of Arabic parts is accurate, since no one complained about its quality.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2668560761490749816

288. Breeding for God

Comment #222645 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 4:31 pm

Comment #222641 by Steve Zara

Such as rastamen with pot? :)

289. Breeding for God

Comment #222638 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Comment #222636 by Goldy

Freedom of speech.

Nope, incitement to commit murder and other serious crimes. Isn't it a felony in the UK, as well?

290. Breeding for God

Comment #222635 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Comment #222633 by Laurie Fraser

It won't be this mission, though, even if the bugs are indeed there. Phoenix's instruments aren't designed for life detection.

291. Breeding for God

Comment #222629 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 4:18 pm

Comment #222627 by Goldy

I hope that you are right. As I see it, there are serious double-standards. I watched some undercover report filmed in British mosques, truly appalling.
No one except religious nuts would normally be allowed to publicly voice such extreme views.

292. Breeding for God

Comment #222628 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 4:14 pm

Off topic- Nasa's Phoenix Mars lander spacecraft identifies water in a sample of soil collected on the planet for the first time.

293. Breeding for God

Comment #222623 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 3:59 pm

Comment #222619 by Steve Zara

If there are people who threaten society, there are civilized ways to deal with them. Use the democratic process to make such threats illegal, then use the courts to sentence such people and apply the appropriate measures, such as fines or imprisonment.

Indeed.
Still, I find current laws generally too weak and ill-prepared to deal with fundamentalism. Also the political will is seriously lacking.

I would be prepared to support a piece of legislation designed to confront the problem of rabble-rousing imams and to shut down mosques repeatedly used as launch-pads for violence and hate-speech.

BTW, this would be nothing new, in principle. Similar rules are already in place against drug trafficking. Vehicles used for smuggling are routinely seized, as well as property used for stashing contraband.

294. Breeding for God

Comment #222569 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Comment #222546 by Fanusi Khiyal

Hitler, was an Islam-loving socialist.

If a national-socialist is a socialist, then potassium cyanide is potassium.

295. To beat extremism we must dissolve religious groups

Comment #222550 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 2:20 pm

Comment #222504 by hawt4dawk

That freaks me out, really.

Was it in some ultra-conservative state, if I may ask?

296. What's wrong with science as religion

Comment #222470 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Comment #222464 by Oystein Elgaroy

It was privately revealed to me by the foremost authority on alien civilisations, Richard Hoagland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_C._Hoagland#Claims

297. What's wrong with science as religion

Comment #222454 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 12:43 pm

Comment #222444 by Oystein Elgaroy

As a dogmatic scientist, you are part of the conspiracy to conceal other ways of knowing from the people.
And as a cosmologist, you are absconding evidence of the existence of alien civilisations.

I wouldn't trust your word in this thread.

298. Breeding for God

Comment #222418 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Comment #222401 by Fanusi Khiyal

If it's choice between expelling those who voluntarily embrace a fascist and totalitarian ideology and watching the destruction of Europe

What a thundering false dichotomy, mate.

299. To beat extremism we must dissolve religious groups

Comment #222371 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 9:56 am

Comment #222370 by al-rawandi

Sometimes my curisoty is a bit pedantic.

Excess of granola in your diet. :)

300. To beat extremism we must dissolve religious groups

Comment #222363 by decius on July 31, 2008 at 9:28 am

So are you saying there is no point in speculating on the ancient origins of why homosexuality came to be such a hot topic even in today's political climate as a result of religious hatred of it?

No, I am saying that we have little chance to answer it with certitude because of the fragmented historical record. Evolutionary psychology is facing similar difficulty of general acceptance: too much speculation and too little evidence.
Surely, we can speculate and attempt to approach an answer.

it does more to dislodge the entrenched notion that there really is something morally reprehensible about it.

May be. I think that notion has already been proved morally bankrupt and unscientific.
We also know that homophobic religions have been the cause of its spreading for the past 2500 years.

Let's take the example of an hypothetical chain-letter causing widespread damage to society. If you want to stop its spreading, it is of little help to attempt and find which dead person originated it and why.

It seems more reasonable to intercept all travelling copies and to forbid further attempts to create more of the same, while teaching the public why the letter is harmful.

create homosexuality as a punishable offence so you can seize their wealth!

That's exactly what I meant.

It doesn't need to be necessarily so, though.

We have other egregious examples of absurd notions originated from a chaste of clergymen which cost as much as the destruction of entire cultures, not of just a minority of people within the community.
See Easter Island and the demise of its civilisation.