Comments by Nails

251. For Motherly X Chromosome, Gender Is Only the Beginning

Comment #37483 by Nails on May 4, 2007 at 3:25 pm

there are still many mysteries to be unfolded in our DNA, and i hope many of them can be told as well as this author has.
Elegant and simple, just enough info to educate and dutifully amusing.
I must check out more of Natalie Angier's articles in the future, I think.

252. Bonobos and chimps 'speak' with gestures

Comment #37302 by Nails on May 4, 2007 at 3:27 am

The more we look at our cousins, the closer they become.
I welcome further developments in this field, especially looking at the few genes that are unique to humans and the thousands that we share with other primates.

253. In Ducks, War of the Sexes Plays Out in the Evolution of Genitalia

Comment #36890 by Nails on May 2, 2007 at 4:34 pm

This has got to be one for the Intelligent Designers to explain. If they can quote the eye then we can retaliate with the duck's cock, metaphorically speaking.

Beautiful.
Love that.

254. Are You There, God? It's Me, Hitchens

Comment #36251 by Nails on April 30, 2007 at 4:20 pm

Interesting.
Havn't heard of Hitchings before his new book became big news, but I think I like his outlook on things. I think many people will be able to identify with him; unlike Dawkins who, genious that he is, is rather aloof. Few of us could ever be the next Richard Dawkins (I'm just not that intelligent) but the next Hitchings?
Maybe.

255. Believe in God Spray

Comment #36246 by Nails on April 30, 2007 at 3:53 pm

I bet the verses are cherry-picked as well, just a few innane mutterings to help you through your day.
Fortune Cookies for the fundies, perhaps?

256. Convention ends with Satan and immigrants

Comment #36245 by Nails on April 30, 2007 at 3:49 pm

Hey hey, and i thought i'd have to make difficult chices at the upcoming local elections.
i don't care what their religious stance is, but if they try to pass resolutions like that then i will try and have them sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

257. Atheism's Big Night In Little Rock

Comment #35717 by Nails on April 28, 2007 at 2:10 pm

I wish there was a video link for this, would have been good to see.
Would have made a nice change from seeing the American-style interviews which are bocoming quite monotonous.
Apart from the "sun goes up, sun goes down" type stupidity.

258. Scientists look to disrupt the brain chemistry of violence

Comment #35688 by Nails on April 28, 2007 at 10:22 am

To reitterate; I am not proposing the locking up of the 'genetically weak' or 'psychologically disadvantaged' on a whim, I'm suggesting whether, in time, such markers could be used help decide if those who have paid their dues to society i.e. have already commited a crime are safe to release into the community.

259. Scientists look to disrupt the brain chemistry of violence

Comment #35626 by Nails on April 28, 2007 at 2:21 am

Doctor [stepping out from behind scanning machine]: Well, Mr. Jones this concludes your annual physical.
Jones: Fit, am I?
Doctor: Well, there's just one thing.
Jones: Yes?
Doctor: Your prefrontal is showing just a slight abnormality.
Jones: Oh, my... Is it serious?
Doctor: No, not really. You'll just have to stay in hospital for the remainder.
Jones: The remainder? The remainder of what?
Doctor: Well, your natural life, of course. Just for safety's sake. Can't have you snapping some day and committing mass murder, now can we?
Jones [incredulous]
Doctor: Not to worry; the beds are clean, there are television and Internet privileges - nothing violent, though - and your family will be allowed to visit twice a week as long as you continue to exhibit good behavior.

How easy it is to misrepresent.
The point I was trying to make is that criminals who are till a threat to society should remain incarserated - especially with repect to violent and sexual offenders. In the UK we seem to have a big problem of such offenders being given minor sentances and parolled after just a couple of years - and a percentage will then re-offend (sorry, I don't have any figures to hand). I was merely discussing a potential benefit of this type of research - I'm not suggesting that people should be locked up for life just because they axhibit a certain brain pattern; more that people who are unfortunate to be in this position and beome a threat to society need to be better monitored.
If there is a root cause of such behaviour that cannot be treated or controlled then the ramifiations should be carefully considered.
In my opinion, the human rights of a victim (even a potential victim in some circumstances) should outway massively those of a criminal.

260. Scientists look to disrupt the brain chemistry of violence

Comment #35551 by Nails on April 27, 2007 at 3:20 pm

A brain imaging study of 41 murderers found evidence that in most cases the prefrontal cortex as well as some deeper brain areas, including the amygdala, functioned abnormally, researchers wrote in the Neuroscience article.

if there is good evidence of a serious link, why arn't we scanning criminals routinely before releasing them?
Would also be compelling evidence for a trial, perhaps.
Thought for the future - maybe finding a 'paedo' anomaly would enable us to lock up these bastards before they hurt anyone or are hidden by the church, as this sicko was:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6590000/newsid_6594800/6594897.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm

261. Mormonism: A Racket Becomes a Religion

Comment #35521 by Nails on April 27, 2007 at 1:03 pm

And we wonder how urban myths and superstitions travel so easily and have a habit of anging aoround for evermore.
Maybe religion is just an organised urban myth based on superstition.

262. Study: Religion is Good for Kids

Comment #34883 by Nails on April 25, 2007 at 1:59 pm

I beleive every word of this.
This is the key paragraph:

The kids whose parents regularly attended religious services—especially when both parents did so frequently—and talked with their kids about religion were rated by both parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and approaches to learning than kids with non-religious parents.

But when parents argued frequently about religion, the children were more likely to have problems. "Religion can hurt if faith is a source of conflict or tension in the family," Bartkowski noted.

now re-summarise without the religious twist:

The kids whose parents regularly talked with their kids were rated by both parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and approaches to learning than kids with other parents.

But when parents argued frequently, the children were more likely to have problems.

Make sense now?

263. In the beginning

Comment #34569 by Nails on April 24, 2007 at 2:27 pm

9. Comment #33970 by Pieter on April 22, 2007 at 11:30 pm

anyone find it kind of hypocritical that the pope requires an impossibly high burden of proof for evolution (like seeing a process requiring billions of years being reproduced in a lab experiment) but requires absolutely no proof for accepting religious theories.

"For a believer no proof is necessary, and for a sceptic no proof is ever enough." Derek Acorah

264. Street Evangelist Saves 300 Souls From Enjoying Park

Comment #33862 by Nails on April 22, 2007 at 9:46 am

Though he is not formally recognized by any church, it is estimated that Hilson has reached nearly 75,000 wayward souls on college campuses, at state fairs, and in bus terminals around the Bay Area.

Still not as popular as syphilis in the US then, and about as welcome by the looks of it.

265. Here Comes the Fourth Musketeer.

Comment #33749 by Nails on April 21, 2007 at 2:15 pm

For anyone on this side of the Atlantic, here's a sobering thought: religion in politics is no longer confined to the USA!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6557477.stm

Very scary. Churches in Scotland are urging their congregation to vote for candidates with Christian values.
Does this mean the are ebout to get some British fleas?

266. Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam's Name

Comment #33423 by Nails on April 20, 2007 at 4:17 am

The last victims, for example, were a young couple engaged to be married who the killers claimed were walking together in public

And there I was, thinking they must have burnt a holy book or had gay sex with a cartoon of the prophet.
How silly of me.

267. Gay hate church to picket VT gun rampage funerals

Comment #33422 by Nails on April 20, 2007 at 4:13 am

10. Comment #33412 by grolaw on April 20, 2007 at 3:47 am

Fred Phelps, the head of WBC, is a disbarred attorney (stole from his trust) and has been all over the place with this kind of barbarity because he is receiving outside funding.

Whatever else they may be, I have found one easy way to make them go away - engage any of them (though the younger women are easier targets) and discuss how difficult it mist be to have to travel so far to give their message. That hotels are expensive - how do they afford to come to XXX place and tell us the truth. Invariably you will hear how they travel together and how the women and men are segregated in different hotel rooms.

Ask if it isn't difficult to be separated from spouse and the response is always "no" not when doing "god's work" - ask if spouse is in the other hotel room and spouse always is (these people are all extended family of Fred Phelps).

Then point out that it seems very gay to segregate married couples into "boys and girls" at the hotel. Act shocked as you realize that this is a gay hate group masquerading as straight and tell them that they should read their own signs!

I've had several of them run away from me - and I never raised my voice or gave them any reason to believe that I wasn't on their side until I point out the implications of their strange lifestyle. They are so homophobic that they simply can't take any analysis that suggests they might be gay!

I'm an attorney in Kansas City. A slippery slope argument leading them into questioning their sexual identity drives them totally over the edge - every time.

Beautiful. i love it.
What I don't understand is the logic behind this proposed act; to picket the funerals because they might be gay (God doesn't do that to one of his own). I won't waste my time listing Christains who have been eaten by lions, crucified or burnt at the stake as witches or heretics - it isn't worth the effort.
But to cause misery - more misery - on the families of the deceased because there is a chance that they might be gay? Well that's just deplorable.

268. Who Needs Sex (or Males) Anyway?

Comment #32679 by Nails on April 18, 2007 at 2:06 am

Even if they have evolved asesxual reproduction it shouldn't be too much of a suprise.
Life has a habit of doing the unexpected from time-to-time, that's why physics and chemistry have laws but biology has laws with exceptions.
Nothing is that clear cut, basically there are so many organisms and possible DNA combinations that whatever is possible has a chance of happening - and providing it doesn't cause the species to die out almost immediatly, it stands a chance of survival.
We need to think 'outside of the box' a little more here....

269. Medicine without Evolution Make Sense?

Comment #32677 by Nails on April 18, 2007 at 2:02 am

Maybe it is through such a basic lack of evolutionary knowledge in the medical community that we have an antibiotic reistance problem.
And it is about time this was addressed, drug companies are now looking at how genetic differences effect the outcome of treatment.

270. Almost Human, and Sometimes Smarter

Comment #32616 by Nails on April 17, 2007 at 3:40 pm

3. Comment #32612 by elvenearth on April 17, 2007 at 3:24 pm

What else would they masturbate to? Pictures of female chimps? Other ape species? Human males?

if they're anything like us human males, they'll masturbate over anything....

Chimp behavior sometimes turns violent, particularly in territorial clashes. In Uganda, John Mitani of the University of Michigan observed chimp patrols regularly policing the forest boundaries of their communities. One patrol was seen assaulting an adult male, killing and emasculating him.

Hell, removal of genitalia. Now that's just nasty!!

271. Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Comment #31860 by Nails on April 14, 2007 at 5:12 pm

Benedict argued that evolution had a rationality that the theory of purely random selection could not explain.

"The process itself is rational despite the mistakes and confusion as it goes through a narrow corridor choosing a few positive mutations and using low probability," he said.

Vague.

"Life results from the non-random survival of randomly varying replicators."

Precise.

272. Sex, Love, and SSRIs

Comment #31159 by Nails on April 11, 2007 at 7:51 am

Glacian - you have my deepest sympathies.
My sister-in-law is on SSRIs, can't remember which one she has changed a couple of times.
In her case, now she is taking her medication regularly she shows more affection to her son and generally looks and behaves much more 'normal', for want of a better word. She has suffered severe anxiety and occasionally paranoid episodes for around 10 years.
Unfortunately I can't comment on her sex life, it's not something we discuss....

273. Religious bias colors doctors' views: survey

Comment #30998 by Nails on April 10, 2007 at 2:32 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0kJHQpvgB8

274. Is God poison?

Comment #30955 by Nails on April 10, 2007 at 12:33 pm

46. Comment #30893 by Yorker on April 10, 2007 at 8:58 am

Being a biblical ignoramus, would someone please enlighten me about the stupid practice of cutting off a piece of one's cock for God, is it a command by Jesus or some other guy?

Yeah, I always wondered that.
How bizarre.
Not that anyone would cut off part of their body for a deity, nothing would suprise me about religion. But how did it start?
I can imagine a few young 'uns having an infected foreskin that nowadays we would surgically deal with, but 2,000+ years ago?
How many kids have died or suffered serious infections from this?

275. Study shows humans and plants share common regulatory pathway

Comment #30944 by Nails on April 10, 2007 at 12:12 pm

Another nail in the creationist coffin.

276. Jesus and Mo: Dummy

Comment #30528 by Nails on April 8, 2007 at 11:50 am

And this one. really hits the namesake on the head.

http://www.jesusandmo.net/2007/03/01/fools/

277. Jesus and Mo: Dummy

Comment #30526 by Nails on April 8, 2007 at 11:49 am

Ho Ho. just seen this one one Jesus & Mo, it's a scream. Check it out.

http://www.jesusandmo.net/2007/03/05/sure/

278. Creationism debate continues to evolve

Comment #29790 by Nails on April 4, 2007 at 5:21 pm

18. Comment #29720 by NoLongerHaveBelief on April 4, 2007 at 12:32 pm

I'd like some believer - any Theist - to explain to myself, WHY does God not lift a finger at the DISGRACE of starving children? Today, as you and I willerror, went about our lives, 30,000 children, under the age of 5, will have perished from starvation.

I'm not a theist, so I guess my answer will not be the one you are looking for but hey, here goes. The reason we have so many starving children in the world is because we tend to over-populate (especially in developing countries) and when disaster strikes, it hits these people hard because they are already living on the edge of what their land can produce.
Of course, being told that using condoms will send you straight to hell isn't helping, is it Pope....

279. Religion useless to Dawkins

Comment #29347 by Nails on April 2, 2007 at 3:47 pm

I she not missing a very important point here?

Religion is given respect, too much respect without any foundation.
You should only give a person's religeous convictions the same degree of respect as you give to comments like "my wife is beautiful" and "my children are intelligent".

I didn't copy it word for word 'cos I'm too lazy to reach up to my bookshelf but it's in plain black and white....

280. Mormons miffed over coffee-swilling angel image

Comment #27592 by Nails on March 25, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Does anyone live near this place?
Can you get them to flog these t-shirts on e-bay or something?
i just love upsetting religous types, esp. the mother-in-law.

281. Polish woman wins abortion case

Comment #26969 by Nails on March 22, 2007 at 4:57 pm

23. Comment #26826 by DavidJMH on March 21, 2007 at 9:08 pm

This woman and this woman alone is responsible for her blindness by being so irresponsible as to have sex. But oh no, it is the EU or Polands conservative views or religious dogma that is to blame and now the already overburdened tax payers have to cough up even further to support this stupid womans licentiousness.

Woah there cowboy, this woman still has rights whether she is stupid or not. She may have wanted another child and then, when she was confronted with evidence that it would effect her health, she changed her mind.
Evidence her health would be permanantly impaired.
The reason she has been compensated is because the law was broken when she was refused a termination on medical grounds.
Good job too, as the decision also smacks of religeous hypocrisy, which is why we are having our 2-pence worth.

282. Why creationism is wrong and evolution is right

Comment #26877 by Nails on March 22, 2007 at 5:30 am

2. Comment #26777 by eggplantbren on March 21, 2007 at 3:38 pm

>>untestable and unsupported by evidence<<

Also, these can't both be true. It's either untestable, in which case there is no relevant evidence, or it is testable and unsupported. I'd say the latter.

Actually, creationism is untestable as we don't know what to test for - this is because it is based on faith, not evidence. Ask any faith-head about the garden of edam (sic) and you will be told that science can't answer the question because god doesn't want us to.
The evidence points very strongly to evolution, therefore the comment is correct.

283. Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible

Comment #26608 by Nails on March 20, 2007 at 5:13 pm

When teaching my children I have refered to the bible.
They need to learn both sides of the argument and make their mind up for themselves. Besides, I cannot think of a better way for them to learn.
"Dad, why do we have 2 legs"
"Well son, the bible says God made us this way, but evolution tells us we have evolved from ape-like animals and are lucky enough to be able to ask these questions".
(Long conversation about evolution)
"The bible is a bit rubbish really, isn't it Dad".
"Yes son". (proud father of clever teenage son smiles smugly to himself).
And I recommend it to everyone.
Especially when you ask them to really think of the ark, the miracles and the violence.

284. The Fourth Flea!

Comment #26606 by Nails on March 20, 2007 at 5:06 pm

"....exposing lapses of logic and errors of fact..."Compared to the bible, this should be a laugh. I'm not buying it though.

285. Your Mom Was Wrong: Horseplay Is An Important Part Of Development

Comment #26602 by Nails on March 20, 2007 at 5:02 pm

i'd agree with that. I'm in my thirties and still messa round with people at work.
It's a male bonding thing, you understand....

286. Scientist Finds the Beginnings of Morality in Primate Behavior

Comment #26600 by Nails on March 20, 2007 at 5:00 pm

So primates have morals but no god.
We (as in most of us who regularly visit sites such as this)have morals and no god.
Shame we also have people who have a god and no morals.

287. Polish woman wins abortion case

Comment #26599 by Nails on March 20, 2007 at 4:56 pm

so let me get this right.
If she has another kid, she could very well go blind.
So why not use contraception?
If her religion has objections, why did she go against her religion and have an abortion?
Not just a backward country.....

288. Chimpanzees 'hunt using spears'

Comment #26208 by Nails on March 17, 2007 at 4:55 pm

Let's hope they don't evolve the abilty to build a church.....

289. Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?

Comment #26206 by Nails on March 17, 2007 at 4:52 pm

Maybe by the time we have the technology to change any such genetic traits then the discrimination will be a thing of the past.....
Only if we can close down the churches first I guess!!!!
But hey, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. To him, anything that compels you to sin must be biological in nature, otherwise he could just baptise you and you would be cured.
At least he's not blaming science for making people sin....

290. Does God answer prayer? ASU research says 'yes'

Comment #25883 by Nails on March 15, 2007 at 2:18 pm

So if you take 17 studies that don't give the answer you want, you can average them out and chabge the result?
You might as well just forget the studies and make it up as you go along....

291. God's dupes

Comment #25874 by Nails on March 15, 2007 at 2:10 pm

pete Stark is a very brave man indeed, to put his lack of faith before his career.
He would definately get my vote.

292. Understanding Genetics - Daniel Dennett Interview

Comment #25278 by Nails on March 11, 2007 at 4:00 pm

11. Comment #25273 by crabsallover on March 11, 2007 at 2:50 pm

in Part 6 Prof. Dennett says "some religions are just benign, just wonderful ... some religions are just fine... These benign religions should be allowed to fluorish .. whilst the toxic religions should go extinct .. then we would be better of."

What aspects of religion or what religions are benign and don't hurt us at all?

Religion never effected my scientific education....

293. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24810 by Nails on March 8, 2007 at 4:59 pm

Or Turin Shroud.
Damn, that would've been interesting.
maybe 'Imprint of jesus which scientific heathans thried to discredit with dishonest tests including radioactive dating techniques' would have been all I would have got though....

294. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24806 by Nails on March 8, 2007 at 4:53 pm

Not much of an encyclopedia, there's no reference to Babel fish.
:-)

(Just had to try, you know)

295. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24805 by Nails on March 8, 2007 at 4:48 pm

"A baramin is a lineage of earthly life which is believed by creationists to be created by God during the Creation Week, and corresponds in some functional aspects to the secular concept of species. ......
A Holobaramin is a grouping that contains all organisms related by descent, not excluding any. For example, Humans are a holobaramin, but a group containing only Caucasians and Negroes is not a holobaramin since it excludes Mongoloids and other races. Another example would be Dogs, which is a holobaramin since wolves, coyotes, domesticated dogs and other canids are all descended from two individuals taken aboard the Ark, and there are no other creatures that are genetically continuous with them. This term is synonymous with the use of "baramin" above and is the primary term in baraminology."

wow, wish I'd studied this. Sounds a lot easier than my BSc in Biochemistry and Genetics...
Would make 'Ancestors Tale' a rather boring book though if everything was descended from the ark's survivors!!!

296. British Book Awards shortlists 2007

Comment #24802 by Nails on March 8, 2007 at 4:36 pm

One point guys (and girls) - there is also one other book that deserves a vote - Peter Pan in Scarlet. I havn't read it but it sits beautifully on my bookshelf, safe in the knowledge that all the proceeds go to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital (the auther of the original, J Barrie bequeethed the Peter Pan trademark to the hospital).
Although I applaud voting for TGD, it is a great book, I cannot think of anything that deserves a vote more. Publicity for these kind of things is crucial and would help to save lives, not just open peoples eyes.

297. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24689 by Nails on March 8, 2007 at 4:13 am

Examples of Bias in Wikipedia

20. The Wikipedia entry for the Piltdown Man omits many key facts, such as how it was taught in schools for an entire generation and how the dating methodology used by evolutionists is fraudulent.

Err... fraudulant dating techniques?
compared to reading an account in one book written over 2000 years ago and attempting to exptrapolate from there?
Which gives us a figure of the earth being 6000 years old, and civilasation starting with just adam and eve?
These guys really are delusional!!

298. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24626 by Nails on March 7, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Quote:
As even the staunch materialist Richard Dawkins has allowed, "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.
Oh please.
Do me a favour an read the bloody book, not just one line!!
If it was a line from scripture you'd read the whole chapter and beleive every bloody word, not just pick up on one little piece for your own ends.
Mindless idiots.

299. Houses of the Holy

Comment #24145 by Nails on March 5, 2007 at 2:48 am

Quote:
Congregants are largely unaware of the pastors' extravagant lifestyles.

"Wow," says Leslie Stewart, 63, who works in a paint factory six days a week and gives 10 per cent of his income to the church. "I never heard of anything like that. But if I release my tithe and they misuse it, they have to face God."

--------------------------------------------------

Delusional is not the word. These people are being fleeced right left and centre and that's the best they can do?
I'd be trying to bring hellfire and brimstone to their arses myself....
And i thought that polititions were corrupt, but at least we have a chance to hold them to account every few years...
Power corrupts. religeous power corrupts without remorse perhaps?