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"We live in a fascinating, beautiful and, let's face it, dangerous enough universe without complicating matters with gobbledegook."
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THE VIEW FROM
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LINKS PAGE (the above is seriously out of date) BAD ARCHAEOLOGY COMMITTEE FOR SKEPTICAL INQUIRY (formerly CSICOP) SCIENCE, REASON and CRITICAL THINKING PROFESSOR TANGENT - Nutrition for the mind BRITISH MUSLIMS FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY SWIFT - JAMES RANDI'S EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION BLOG the user manual for your brain, in comic-form Space News Historical Jesus or Jesus Myth: The Jesus Puzzle
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Old issues of the original newsletter, Past Views, are archived in the sidebar and run from December 1999 to May 2005. Below you will find the current content which is also archived in the sidebar under, unsurprisingly, Number 80 Archive. The email link at the bottom of the page is for feedback and comment if you think it may help. If you place a link to Number 80 on your own website could you please link to this homepage - thanks. You can now search this site here. Faith-Based News - check out Faith-Based News, a collection of links to news and comment reflecting the influence of religion/superstition/pseudoscience/irrational beliefs (this now includes so-called "alternative medicine") around the globe, with some occasional observations and asides. Recipe For Trouble - an article in the Guardian by Gerard Russell asks the question Does foreign policy need religion? 80's immediate reaction was "No" but after some thought this changed to "Hell, no". Russell was prompted by a report from an American thinktank, the Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs, which sounds rather risqué. Upon clicking the link provided you are actually taken to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs which leaves one wondering how reliable is the rest of the piece if the name of the principal player is misreported? Pedantry aside, the question asked should be more accurately stated as "does foreign policy need the Abrahamic religions?" as these seem to be the only ones discussed. The first thing to realise is that these Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity make irreconcilable truth claims rendering dialogue difficult, if not impossible. This is without considering that the three faiths are not monolithic but include myriad sects and splinter groups, all with their own truth claims. What merit could there possibly be in adding such a mishmash into foreign policy, which is already complicated enough? By all means learn all you can about others' beliefs and the consequent worldview - this is only common sense - but allowing religion into discussions is a recipe for disaster. For example, a Muslim negotiator in dealing with Christians and Jews cannot help but be influenced by his holy book, the actual word of god, which tells him that those two groups are nothing but liars and bound for hell. Making this explicit is not going to aid dialogue. There are signs that the
thinktank itself is allowing itself some wishful thinking as it suggests
religion is a global force for good. This is shown to be fallacious by
looking at the headlines day by day that show the link between the
Abrahamic religions and cruelty, violence and bigotry (see
Faith-Based News). The only way for countries
and people to meet is in a secular space, the only level playing field
possible for those of different religions and of none. Even Russell
concedes "...categorising people by their religious belief can be
dangerously divisive..." but still clings to the need for religious
involvement in foreign policy in the face of the evidence. Foreign
policy is already an area fraught with dangers - religion, especially
the Abrahamic type, would only make things worse. (Here is an
interesting piece
on whether the
Establishment Clause in the Constitution would forbid American
negotiators introducing religion in discussions as this would breach the
wall between religion and the state)
Mark Morford - from his latest column "It doesn't take much blasphemy to note how all religions are, across the board, brazen, synthetic freakshows, far stranger and more surreal in their oddball accumulation of fetishes and rituals than anything your average agnostic, atheist or Burning Man devotee could come up with in her happiest LSD-soaked dreamgasm. You ever been to a Catholic mass? A Mormon temple? A mosque? Disneyland on acid, people. And not in the good way." Quote - "Pardon him, Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature." Caesar and Cleopatra Act II by George Bernard Shaw.
And Now The Happy News - "As the British Chiropractic Association's battle with Simon Singh continues to work its way through the legal system, chiropractors are counting the financial costs of a major backlash resulting from a libel action that has left the Lord Chief Justice "baffled". What was originally a dispute between the BCA and one science writer over free speech has become a brutally effective campaign to reform an entire industry. A staggering one in four chiropractors in Britain are now under investigation for allegedly making misleading claims in advertisements, according to figures from the General Chiropractic Council." Read on... (So far it hasn't been a good year for the two most well-known types of quackery) Quote - Said a clever quack to an educated physician: "How many of the passing multitude, do you suppose, appreciate the value of science, or understand the impositions of quackery?" "Not more than one in ten," was the answer. "Well," said the quack, "you may have that one, and I'll have the other nine." Source unknown Jesus and Mo' - are giving and taking offence. Return Of Bad Memories - some types of nonsense are thoroughly debunked and fade away only to rise again years later, vampire-like, to cause more pain and confusion. The resurrection is often by those too ignorant or lazy or both to carry out any research. Resurrection is the word as it is the Church of England (CofE) that has dragged the "repressed memory" crap back into the light of day. This Guardian article tells us "Psychiatrists and psychologists have asked the archbishop of Canterbury to withdraw Church of England support for a self-help book aimed at victims of child sexual abuse, claiming it contains "misleading" and "potentially harmful" information. The book, which is promoted in the church's child protection policy, could lead readers to suspect they were sexually abused as children when they were not, the scientists warn." These idiots, and there is no better word, in the "...latest edition of the Church of England's child protection policy, Protecting All God's Children..." recommend "...a 1988 version of a book The Courage to Heal by two US writers, Ellen Bass and Laura Davis." The book, and repressed memories, are a total crock - how come the CofE didn't check before plugging such irresponsible nonsense? There is a wealth of information on the web such as Elizabeth Loftus' September 1997 article in Scientific American Creating False Memories and her article in Skeptical Inquirer, Remembering Dangerously. Also two entries in the invaluable Skeptic's Dictionary, one on Repressed Memory and the other on Repressed Memory Therapy. (Loftus, from the Department of Psychology, University of Washington is also author of The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse. ) Was it beyond the wit of those who produced the Church of England's child protection policy, Protecting All God's Children (PDF), to have checked whether this material was actually helpful - instead of false, cruel and divisive? The church's advisor on child protection, Rev Pearl Luxon, has yet to be convinced that repressed memories are false. Based upon her record quite why this person is in such a position is worrying. Is the CofE so bereft of talent that Luxon is the best they have got. Read here about her performance over the case of a pedophile choirmaster. Could she not be given a job where she can't cause harm, like laying out the prayer books or flower arranging? Christopher French, a professor of psychology and scientific adviser to the British False Memory Society told the paper "Saying there is no such thing as a false memory is an extremely dangerous idea to be put around. Some therapists suggest half of us were abused in childhood but that we suppress the memory. These are wild, gross generalisations that do not add up. There are still families living with the consequences of the first wave of this problem and there are still new cases coming to light. A lot of those families will never be put back together again and that is a tragedy." More from French on this subject can be found here. Plant Puzzle - 80's attention was drawn to an item in the Telegraph this morning which demonstrates that newspaper's sad decline. The headline reads Rare Buddhist flower found under nun's washing machine. It is claimed "A rarely seen Buddhist flower, which blossoms every 3,000 years, has been discovered under a nun's washing machine". The flower, we are told by the anonymous reporter "The Udumbara flower was found in the home of a Chinese nun in Lushan Mountain, Jiangxi province, China. The rare Youtan Poluo or Udumbara flower, which, according to Buddhist legend, only blooms every 3,000 years, measures just 1mm in diametre (sic)". Rarely seen? Somewhat of an understatement. So the last time this one bloomed the Pharaohs ruled in Egypt, Babylon and Assyria were great powers, Greece was in a post-Mycenean "Dark Age" and China was still hundreds of small kingdoms under the rule of the Zhou emperor. That nun must own the world's first washing machine. We are often told how inventive the ancient Chinese were with gunpowder, paper currency, fine ceramics, seismographs etc. but a washing machine is truly impressive. Ah well, enough funning, it is only a legend and not real - but then this so-called plant isn't a plant. The writer or editor of the Telegraph piece was apparently too lazy to find out more, but a moment's search found this informative page from Environmental Graffiti, titled In Search of the Flower that Blooms Every 3,000 Years. Here we learn of another discovery of the legendary bloom, growing on a steel pipe owned by a Mr Ding of Liaoning, China. The report says "That well publicized discovery in 2007 triggered many more in Taiwan, Korea, the US and Germany. Since then, some of the mysterious flowers have been identified as the eggs of lacewings – whose females lay their eggs on threadlike stalks, similar to human hairs, to keep them apart and thus prevent cannibalism among the aggressive young after hatching." The photos accompanying the lacewing explanation certainly match that shown in the Telegraph but Environmental Graffiti has more "Because some of the flowers like the ones below could not be identified as lacewing eggs. They have a stem with branches and emit a distinct smell of sandalwood – and these indeed have been identified as the Udumbara flower of the Ficus racemosa tree. Because the flower is not very big and therefore difficult to see, a legend developed over the years to explain the absence or supposed rarity of the flower – namely that the Udumbara flower is said to bloom only once every 3,000 years, which meant it came to symbolize rarely occurring events such as the sighting of a Buddha." (Thanks to Deborah for the heads-up and to the fascinating Environmental Graffiti for the information. 80 has written about the Telegraph's sinking standards before - see Trivial Telegraph and Telegraph Turns Tabloid) Sky's the Limit - the BBC has recently announced cuts to its services, including news, which will result in a greatly downsized organisation. It is doing so one step ahead of the politicians, particularly the Tories, who are now in bed with the main beneficiary of any diminution of the Beeb, one Rupert Murdoch and his Sky TV. It is true that in some areas the corporation has lost its way, by grossly overpaying oafs such as Jonathan Ross, spawning a proliferation of irrelevant web sites and allowing news programs to include inappropriate editorialising. Any editorial comment in a news program should be clearly flagged as such. That said, anything that benefits Murdoch's empire, and the BBC cuts most assuredly would, is a bad thing. That this is the case was made blindingly obvious by Murdoch's son, James, in a comment piece for the Guardian in August last year - see Pass The Sick Bag #2 . If you are concerned over this state of affairs please sign this petition from Avaaz which states "The BBC should serve the public, not corporate media barons. We oppose the slashing of the BBC's web, radio, and TV programmes in order to encourage competition by Murdoch and others, and we call on the BBC to strengthen and improve instead of cutting back." The target is 100,000 signatures before the petition is handed to the BBC Trust. (Also see this from Jonathan Freedland on the Cameron/Murdoch axis) Sunday Sacrilege: Flaunting our disobedience - good stuff from P Z Myers at Pharyngula. Quote - "How could you be an atheist in this world? How can you survive emotionally being an atheist – you could lose your job, your house – you could die from anxiety." So says the obviously insecure Rabbi Mendy Cohen of Chabad, Sacramento who cannot face the idea of dealing with the world without his god. What prompted his deeply sad comment was the news that 10 new billboards have gone up in the Sacramento area bearing messages from atheist groups saying dreadful, wicked things like "Are you good without God? Millions are." Cohen reminded 80 of a quote from the late Isaac Asimov on pseudoscience, which has much in common with supernatural beliefs, "Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck on, a skirt to hold. What have we to offer in exchange? Uncertainty! Insecurity!" Quick Route To Hatred - If you associate with venomous animals you must be prepared for them to turn around and bite you. So why are UK universities playing such a dangerous game? So many of them give a platform to racists and bigots - so long as they are Islamists. Try and do the same with their equivalent, neo-Nazis, and you would be able to hear the squealing a continent away. Here is an example from King's College which will be hosting an individual, Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick, who is on record as being in favor of death for gays, and who called Jews "filth". What possible excuse can there be for indulging this vile individual? Freedom of speech? Not when it is racist and not when it is an incitement to violence. Peter Tatchell, as often, is bang on target “King's College would not host a white supremacist who advocated racism or death to black people… King's College has an equal opportunities policy that prohibits the promotion of hatred against minorities, but it is not enforcing it. The university is not a safe place for Jewish and gay students when it facilitates a vicious homophobe and anti-Semite like Sheikh Abdullah Quick.” It is announced that he won't be spreading lies and hatred this time but talking on “environmental problems, Islamic solutions”. Just what the hell are "Islamic solutions"? Environmental problems require engineering solutions not supernatural ones. Maybe Quick has a special slant on this. Flooding? Instead of sandbags why not stack up Jews and gays in a flood barrier. After all Jews are filth and gays should be murdered so what's the difference. The sooner the British authorities get a grip on whom various societies can invite to speak the better. It was the University of London Union Islamic Society who invited Quick. These groups should be more tightly regulated - surely their purpose is not to provide a conduit for creatures like Quick to spew their hate? If it is, their very existence should be questioned. A further thought - compare Quick's ease of entry into Britain to that of elected European parliamentarian Geert Wilders. Quote -"All religions make claims to truth, even when they disavow the use of coercion or force to bring others to those truths. Truth claims by their nature necessitate disagreement." Austin Dacey, Center for Inquiry (CFI) main representative at the UN, New York addressing the UN Human Rights Commission. The Ethical Islamist
- here is a piece by Tariq Ramadan, in the
Guardian (where else?) entitled
Islam's role in an ethical society. 80's first reaction is
there isn't one - no religion is entitled to a role in society and
religion is not necessarily ethical, despite adherents repeatedly saying
so. The opening sentence begins "Let us agree on this: we live in
pluralistic societies and pluralism is an unavoidable fact. We are equal
citizens, but with different cultural and religious backgrounds." In
Islam we are not all equal citizens as a Muslim is automatically
considered better than people of other faiths and none and as for women,
they are of less worth than a man. It is rife with
intolerance. Even referring to Islam as some kind of monolithic
entity is inaccurate - Islam has its own sects who look down on each
other as heretical and often use this as an excuse for
murderous violence. Human Ouija Board - well the press and media have finally got the picture - Facilitated Communication (FC) is hokum and akin to ouija board trickery. Last November the world was astounded by news of a Belgian patient, Rom Houben, who had apparently been conscious trapped inside an unresponsive body for 23 years following a car crash, who was suddenly able to communicate via a practitioner of FC. This was reported almost everywhere as a miracle, but those who could remember the scandal of FC and severely autistic people in the '90s could smell a rat - see This Cruel Farce Has To Stop. Also, it was surprising how articulate Houben appeared to be after 23 years trapped inside his own head. Had any member of the media bothered to do a minimal search on the web they would soon have found this treatment to a sham - or should it be scam? It is possible that some FC
practitioners manage to fool themselves that the slight hand movements
they detect are in fact attempts to reach a keyboard placed before a
subject - after all plenty of people think that dowsing rods move in
their hands although it is the
ideomotor effect.
The facilitator who worked with Houben however, was different, and this
raises several questions about that facilitator - and the doctor in
charge. The most basic test of the technique is to ask the patient
something unknown to the facilitator - which seems simple and obvious
but was not done for some time in Houben's case and then only at the
prompting of a
Belgian skeptic group. Had the doctor been sufficiently motivated there have been plenty of tests performed which could have been referenced, such as a 1995 study in which the subjects included 18 preschool through secondary students diagnosed with autism. "Several students demonstrated the ability to correctly respond to requests and questions when the facilitator knew the answer. When the facilitator did not know the correct answer, however, none of the students were able to respond correctly." Such a test isn't rocket science so why wasn't it applied for months in Houben's case? Given that the facilitator didn't just provide answers to questions posed but dodged tests and claimed Houben was writing a book this has every appearance of fraud. Has anything actually been learned from this sad story? Given the media's moronic fixation with sensational breakthroughs, miracle cures etc. expect no lasting change but let's hope the medical staff at least will take some of this on board. If something sounds too good to be true it is probably neither. Poor Houben may really be conscious but nonsense like Facilitated Communication isn't going to give him a voice. Update - see here a very interesting piece by Prof Dr Willem Betz of the Belgian skeptics, who were instrumental in bringing this whole FC sham to light. Utter Balls - according to the Guardian, schools secretary "Ed Balls today denied offering faith schools an opt-out from new rules forcing teachers to address issues such as homosexual equality and contraception in sex education lessons." Yet the National Secular Society tells us "The Catholic Education Service (CES) was quick to claim the credit for the Government’s apparent U-turn. A statement on its website claimed the amendment was tabled following a period of extensive lobbying by the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales." Balls? More like bollocks. Thankless Task - It is well-known how little attention is given to the laws of physics in Hollywood movies. Now Sidney Perkowitz, a professor of physics at Emory University in Atlanta, says "...science fiction movies should be allowed only one major transgression of the laws of physics..." One of his examples of such a transgression is the giant insects in Starship Troopers, although the ants in Them! would do just as well. If a creature is the mass of an elephant then its legs need to be as sturdy as those of an elephant to avoid crumpling under the creature's own weight. Another widespread example is a spacecraft not only making a noise in a vacuum, but flying and banking like an airplane in that same vacuum. Take a look at footage of the first true spacecraft, the Apollo Lunar Module, to see how vehicles should move in space. Or see 2001: A Space Odyssey which got it right well before the Moon landings (as did Destination Moon). Perkowitz is a member of the Science and Entertainment Exchange (SEE), the aim of which is is to "...get better science into film while still making them interesting." Good luck with that. He says of poor movie science "The chances are that the public will pick it up and that is what matters to Hollywood. The Core did not make money because people understood the science was so out to lunch." He is overestimating the scientific knowledge of a movie audience - The Core did poorly because it was a crap film. Talking of which, 80 has just watched Transformers 2 (don't bother if you haven't) which is a fine example of how SEE is going to have an uphill struggle. Also see Movie Non-science. Update - Adam Rutherford is not impressed with SEE's plans) Call Of The Wild - From the Guardian we learn about a Ugandan pastor "...who screened same-sex pornography in a church to try to bolster support for proposed anti-homosexuality legislation...". With all the material drawn from his own extensive collection, no doubt. That is not quite as crazy as it sounds. There is convincing evidence from this 1996 study that all may not be quite as it seems. Two groups of men, homophobic and non-homophobic "... were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies." This is called doing a "Haggard". Do bear this study in mind when you next see or hear some bigot sounding off about the gay threat to society - all that bluster and rage could be a cry for help from someone who, deep down, would really like a walk on the wild side. For more on the study see Single, Angry, Straight Male... Seeks Same? For more on Uganda's proposed anti-gay legislation see Religious Colonialism. Quote -
"Fanaticism in religion is the alliance of the passions she condemns
with the dogmas she professes."
Lord Acton
Obama And The Space Nazis - Want to know the real reason why the President cancelled the return to the Moon? Was it because the project was way behind schedule and underfunded? No, that's just the cover story - it was the Space Nazis that told Obama to back off in order to protect their secret base on Lunar Farside. Dwayne Day, of whom 80 has written before, has been listening to the ravings of Richard Hoagland, conspiracy theorist extraordinare, about the Space Nazi connection. Hoagland is the guy that through his Enterprise Mission web site claimed the death of the Apollo 1 astronauts Grissom, White and Chafee in a pad fire was in fact murder (scroll down) carried out by NASA in collusion with the Freemasons at a predetermined astronomically auspicious time. He also believes in the Face On Mars and that the Moon's surface hosts invisible structures. In other words he is barking mad - or is he? He seems to have made a living out of peddling this absurd crap and has more than a few supporters. In an article for The Space Review, Day tells us that, according to Hoagland, at the end of WWII Nazi flying saucers took off for the Moon, to build “a secret off-world civilization.”. This silly story is in fact not dreamed up by Hoagland but has been drifting around for some time. Long enough for what promises to be an excellent amateur movie on the subject to be made, Iron Sky. This Finnish production is as yet uncompleted but the makers are pitching as a comedy. After all what else could it be? You can see the impressive teaser footage here. You can read more on Hoagland in The Face Behind the "Face" on Mars: A Skeptical Look at Richard C. Hoagland by Gary Posner and 80's own Aliens About Face and Hoagland's Fantasy Factory. Also see Richard Hoagland's Nonsense courtesy of Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy.
Religious Colonialism - American evangelists, unable to have gays judicially murdered in the USA, had a brilliant idea, why not kill them by proxy in Uganda? It's still doing the Lord's work, by exporting it. The flaw in this cunning plan is that the world is now joined up and decent people in the US and elsewhere have become aware of the machinations of this holier-than-thou scum. The bastards that exported this hate, which admittedly plays to existing prejudices in Uganda, are now being challenged at home over their vile behavior and they are backpedalling like crazy. Their justification would appear to be that after their crusading tours of Uganda, damning gays left right and center, they are now surprised and shocked that people actually took them at their word. Three names in particular have become associated with this gay persecution, all Americans, Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Don Schmierer, who were in Uganda, the Times informs us, just before a member of parliament introduced an anti-homosexuality bill. "Lively, the president of Defend the Family International, told Ugandans that legalising homosexuality would mean legalising “the molestation of children and having sex with animals”. This charming individual also claimed "...that the genocide in Rwanda was carried out by gays, that Aids is a just punishment for homosexuality and that foreigners are trying to promote homosexuality in Uganda." Of course the three "...have distanced themselves from the proposed law and say they never encouraged punishment for gays." Well, they would say that, wouldn't they? If you can stand watching Lively's lies they are documented on YouTube. These "men of God" must be called to account for their murderous influence which now stretches beyond Uganda. Phumi Mtetwa, executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, said of the situation "We are deeply concerned about this spate of homophobia across the continent. It's very well calculated. It's exploding at the moment but it's been happening for a year and a half. We have proof of American evangelical churches driving the religious fundamentalism in Uganda." This is a form of religious colonialism where the evangelists are exporting their hatred of gays that they can no longer voice so bluntly at home. It is a great help to them that African churches are already deeply homophobic - these evangelicals just need to pump things up. (Also see Investigation exposes influence of Religious Right on homophobia in Africa from Ekklesia, a Christian thinktank. (In case anyone thinks only American preachers love judicial murder of gays, take a look at this bearded nonentity) Human Rights For All - is the place to go to find out the latest on Gita Sahgal and Amnesty. Also see Amnesty Are The Good Guys - Right? Quote - "Once you accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy" Albert Einstein Cui Bono?
- "Senior staff running a faith charity set up by
Tony Blair are being rewarded with salaries of up to £120,000." the
Telegraph
says. The article goes on to compare the wages on Blair's gravy
train compared to Amnesty Are The Good Guys - Right? - Not when it is Amnesty itself under scrutiny. Gita Sahgal, head of Amnesty’s gender unit, raised concerns about the cosiness of the organization with a group that espouses jihad. The Times tells us "Sahgal felt the closeness of the relationship between Amnesty and Cageprisoners — which appears to give succour to those who believe in global jihad — was a threat to Amnesty’s integrity. “To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment,” she wrote to Amnesty’s leaders." After apparently receiving no response Sahgal went public. As the Times puts it so well she "...touched that raw nerve, the naivety of white middle-class liberals in dealing with Islamic radicals." She was suspended from her job. The Times article goes on to examine the background of Moazzam Begg, head of Cageprisoners, which makes for interesting reading (As does this). Begg, obviously stung by Sahgal's whistleblowing took the offensive against her, but instead shot himself in the foot with this strange comment “She advocates the government shouldn’t even be engaging with the Muslim Council of Britain. It’s not a normal position.” Oh yes it is - the British government's unhealthy cultivation of this unrepresentative, closet-Islamist organization, now on the up again after the Hazel Blears incident, is to be deplored. That Begg thinks his comment somehow damages Sahgal's credibility talks volumes. Will Amnesty distance itself from Begg and his group? Don't hold your breath. Update - Also see this from Harry's Place and Christopher Hitchens' Suspension of Conscience)
Ratzi Rocks...Or Not - in what would appear to be an attempt to be hip, the Vatican's mouthpiece, L'Osservatore Romano, has published a "semi-serious" top ten albums, with old rockers such as The Beatles, Oasis, Pink Floyd and David Crosby featured. Given the age of the artists the hip is likely to be somewhat arthritic. The paper's editorial said "...in addition to having put up with the rigours of winter, we have to endure a rising tide of musical festivals. So as not to be totally overwhelmed, and to remember that an alternative exists, our modest guide can point you on the road to good music." One can be pretty sure that this idea did not come from the top, as the pontiff is on record with his view of rock music. "Benedict particularly dislikes rock music, which he denounced at an international conference in 1986 when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, as a "vehicle of anti-religion." In 2000, he slammed rock music as "the expression of elemental passions" which "assumes a cultic character, a form of worship in opposition to Christian worship" at rock concerts. "People are released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects." It is indeed hard to imagine those little red shoes tapping along with the beat. And we certainly can't have people being "...released from themselves.." can we? That would never do. Quote - “I’m not trying to out-conservative anyone. I think the state board of education has lost its way, and the social-studies thing is a prime example. They keep wanting to talk about this being a Christian nation. My attitude is this country was founded by a group of men who were Christians but who didn’t want the government dictating religion, and that’s exactly what Mc Leroy and his colleagues are trying to do.” Thomas Ratliff, on the scandal that is the Texas State Board of Education and its malign influence on American education.
The Department Of The Bleeding Obvious - this Telegraph article tells us that a report published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences has concluded,"People who have no religion know right from wrong just as well as regular worshippers" . It goes on to say "...people who did not have a religious background still appeared to have intuitive judgments of right and wrong in common with believers, according to the findings, published.." (Has anyone told Cherie Blair?) Dr Marc Hauser, from Harvard University, one of the co-authors said "The research suggests that intuitive judgments of right and wrong seem to operate independently of explicit religious commitments....It seems that in many cultures religious concepts and beliefs have become the standard way of conceptualising moral intuitions,” he said. "Although, as we discuss in our paper, this link is not a necessary one, many people have become so accustomed to using it, that criticism targeted at religion is experienced as a fundamental threat to our moral existence." This is particularly in evidence in the USA where atheists are one of the most reviled groups, according to research from the University of Minnesota. (Also see this from the National Secular Society) A Religious But Not Righteous Judge: Cherie Blair - is the title of an excellent piece by A C Grayling on Blair's capricious "justice", in which he also examines the typically idiotic response of Guardian religious affairs blogger Andrew Brown. Also well worth reading is the Heresiarch on Mrs Blair, religion and a punch in the mouth.
Quote - "And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence." Bertrand Russell
Today is Darwin Day - look for events near you. Muslim police? Christian doctors? Sikh judges? - What happened to neutrality in the delivery of public services? This is the question asked in this piece by Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society (NSS). The toxic combination of religion and multiculturalism threatens the even-handed dispensing of public services in the UK. The NSS challenges religious privilege and its work is more vital now than ever. You can join here. Quote - "If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them." Isaac Asimov Blood Libel Redux - LibDem leader Nick Clegg seems incapable of smelling the stench of anti-semitism coming from Liberal peer Baroness Tonge, who is busy resurrecting and updating the medieval Jewish blood libel. Her modern version is that the Israelis are in Haiti harvesting quake victims' organs. This mad old bat is demanding the Israeli government investigate such "allegations". Why? So she and her fellow nutjobs can claim there's no smoke without fire? Clegg insists Tonge's accusations are "ludicrous" but not racist. What part of the "Jews are stealing organs" story does he not consider racist? The only thing harvested from anybody recently would seem to be Clegg's backbone. Update - the Guardian tells us "The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, has sacked his health spokeswoman in the Lords after she called for an inquiry into allegations that Israeli soldiers were involved in organ trafficking in Haiti." Better late than never. The paper also notes that "It is the second time Tonge has been fired as a Liberal Democrat frontbencher for making controversial comments about Israel." Crucifix Flaunter Loses - but sadly she is to appeal. Self-anointed victim of religious persecution Nadia Eweida has lost "...her appeal today against a ruling that cleared British Airways of discrimination by stopping her wearing a cross visibly at work." The coverage in the Guardian sadly misses the background of this case and of the irritating Eweida - happily that same paper published the needed information in a piece by Terry Sanderson back in January 2008. The story was old even then and now Eweida plans to appeal yet again. The cost of this stupidity must by now be enormous. Her MP, the usually sensible Vince Cable is supporting her, as is, less surprisingly, Lord Carey, former archbishop of Canterbury. The woman was at work, not at home or in her church. The regulations that governed everyone else apparently did not apply to her because of her supernatural beliefs. The original employment tribunal had this to say about this poor persecuted Christian - she "... generally lacked empathy for the perspective of others ... her own overwhelming commitment to her faith led her at times to be both naive and uncompromising in her dealings with those who did not share her faith." In other words a fanatic. Such ostentatious declarations of faith or "witnessing" were in fact frowned upon by the Jesus character in the Gospel tales - see Matthew 6:2-6. In fact one interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11 would seem to require Eweida to shut up, not that there is much chance of that happening - she is making the most of her little bit of notoriety. Not so much a martyr, more a pain in the arse. Jonathan Bartley of Ekklesia, a Christian thinktank, said of the case 2 years ago, "Like many of the other claims of discrimination being made by Christians, this has turned out to be false. People should be aware that behind many such cases there are groups whose interests are served by stirring up feelings of discrimination of marginalisation amongst Christians. What can appear to be a case of discrimination at first glance is often nothing of the sort. It is often more about Christians attempting to gain special privileges and exemptions."
POWER2010 - "is a unique campaign to give everyone the chance to have a say in how our democracy works for us. What is different about POWER2010 is that you're in the driving seat. We're not asking you to back our goals. We're asking you to help create them. At the next election we will work to ensure every candidate commits to the reforms you most want to see as part of a nation-wide campaign to reinvigorate our democracy from the bottom up." Take a look at some of the options - in 80's view nearly all of them are common sense. Sick of the status quo in British politics? Then vote at Power2010. Will it really change anything? Probably not, but you will only have wasted a moment of your time - and you never know... Quote - "We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart." H L Mencken Final Destination - 80 was saddened to see that the inventor of the frisbee, Walter Fredrick Morrison, has died. The question is, will his soul end up on the roof? The Multicultural Defence - Imam Gulan Hussain thought it was acceptable that he "...repeatedly punched and kicked (a) boy before beating him with the bamboo cane...". This was after Hussain "...had previously been cautioned for actual bodily harm against an 11 year old in 2005". Let's get this straight, a 44-year old man attacked a boy of nine on two separate occasions. Initially he "...punched the boy on the shoulder and kicked him on the leg with the flat of his foot." In the second attack he "...took a bamboo stick and told (the boy) to sit on the floor, then he hit his bare feet several times causing reddening on the feet, which made it painful to walk." His justification for this vile behavior? Cultural differences, "...the Imam said that "cultural differences" meant he didn't realise that attacking the small boy in front of other youngsters was wrong." His defence offered this wholly inadequate explanation "He believed that by having his father's permission made it acceptable. Clearly it doesn't and he realises that now. She continued: "The offence originated out of cultural difference - a misunderstanding of what he could do with the permission of a parent." Any culture that condones such actions is not a culture but barbarism. It does not belong in Britain- or anywhere else. It is amazing that such a defence was even offered considering Hussain had already been cautioned in 2005. Perhaps his "culture" also condones selective amnesia when violence against children is involved. (Imams seem to be in the news this week - "The imam of a Stoke-on-Trent mosque has appeared before a court accused of committing serious sexual offences with two young boys. The defendant is accused of the attempted rape and sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in Meir last year. He is further accused of three counts of rape on a boy under the age of 13 last year in Tunstall." Cultural differences or just keeping up with the Catholics?) Pig In A Poke
- this old
English expression can certainly be applied to the problem of
courting a woman wearing an Islamic Quote - "With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." Stephen Weinberg, physicist and Nobel laureate.
New Pope Petition
- the National Secular Society's protest at British taxpayers funding
Ratzinger's jaunt in September is garnering signatures at a good rate -
it has topped
20,500
as of February 11th. Now a new petition has been launched by that
doughty defender of human rights,
Peter Tatchell, which takes
a wider view "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to
disassociate the British government from the Pope's intolerant views
ahead of the Papal visit to Britain in September 2010. We urge the Prime
Minister to make it clear that his government disagrees with the Pope's
opposition to women's reproductive rights, gay equality, embryonic stem
cell research and the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV. We
ask the Prime Minister to express his disagreement with the Pope’s role
in the cover-up of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy, his
rehabilitation of the Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson, and
his decree paving the way for the beatification and sainthood of the
war-time Pope, Pius XII, who stands accused of failing to speak out
against the Holocaust. We also request the Prime Minister to assure us
that the Pope’s visit will not be financed by the British taxpayer."
Please sign
here to
let the Prime Minister know the strength of feeling over this papal
jamboree.
Butt Out! - Joseph Ratzinger, the head of a foreign state, is criticising proposed equality legislation in the UK. In his own words he says equality is "unjust" and “actually violates natural law”. He wants members of his particular sect to be allowed to discriminate against other UK citizens. Just because an autocratic old man cannot tolerate equality doesn't mean anyone actually has to listen to him. Ratzinger should put his own house in order. Instead of gracing England and Wales with his musty presence he should go to Ireland and humbly apologize for the years of systematic child-rape by his minions and for his own collusion in the subsequent cover-up. He shouldn't expect an easy ride on his visit - he won't get one. Sign a petition to Make The Pope Pay for his own trip instead of British taxpayers. They must have better things to do with £20 million than subsidise a bigot's junket. (The Roman Catholic church is appealing an £8 million compensation award for 142 alleged victims of sexual and physical abuse from St William’s Community Home, in Market Weighton, near York. The Northern Echo tells us "The appeal was made after a judge ruled that Middlesbrough Diocese was liable for running a former children’s home at the centre of an abuse scandal spanning 30 years". You can bet Market Weighton won't be on Ratzinger's itinerary) The Crooked Judges Of Amsterdam - is the latest salvo from that beacon of sanity, Pat Condell, on the absurd trial in the Netherlands of "right-wing" politician Geert Wilders. It seems he committed the heinous crime of telling the truth. (If you don't see the video click here)
Thick As A Brick - Britain's best advertisement for republicanism opened his mouth recently (after removing the silver spoon) and came out with his usual wishy-washy New Age pablum. One new ingredient was that Charlie Wingnut has built himself a strawman which he was keen to show to the grown-ups. “We cannot go on like this, just imagining that the principles of the Enlightenment still apply now. I don’t believe they do. But if you challenge people who hold the Enlightenment as the ultimate answer to everything, you do really upset them.” he whined. Hold on, just who is saying that the Enlightenment is the ultimate answer to everything? Perhaps this scion of the House of Windsor could point to the basis for that statement to edify us commoners who don't have his advantages? In fact it is this upper-class twit that seems to be the one with a panacea in his princely pocket. “I believe it is of crucial importance to work with, in harmony with nature, to rediscover how it is necessary to work with the grain of nature, as it is necessary to work with the grain of our humanity. What is the point of all this clever technology if at the end of the day we lose our souls, and the soul of nature of which we are a part?” If we followed the clown prince's prescription billions would starve - the real world needs modern agriculture - it is all very well for him to produce expensive food from his organic farm but his little hobby is not the answer to world food shortages. So, Charles doesn't like the Enlightenment and wants to turn back the clock. He'll be lecturing everyone about the Divine Right of Kings next. He is an atavistic ignoramus. (Also see Charlie drop his energy ball in his latest dalliance with gobbledegook) Clueless Kindness - Oh look, it's Nancy Graham Holm back with some more pearls of wisdom. It seems her previous piece (now amended, as her research was as poor then as it is now) in Comment Is Free (Cif) about how the poor Islamists were provoked by those wicked Danish cartoons earned her much richly-deserved criticism and more than a little invective. Good. For anyone to pontificate on that subject and not mention the way a non-event was stoked up into the usual Muslim tantrums by a mad mullah (with the aid of additional images he added to spice things up a bit) is either lazy or ignorant - or both. The truth about the Motoons is out there for anyone who can be bothered to look. (see Cartoon Crap) In her defence she claims part of her original piece was edited for the sake of brevity - which just happened to be the part where she said the attempt to murder cartoonist Kurt Westergaard was a "tragedy". A tragedy? A murderous religious fanatic, brandishing an axe and a knife and screaming curses chasing a 74 year-old man is not a tragedy - it's a bloody outrage. It's attempted murder. There can be no excusing it. Graham Holm, having already got off on the wrong foot, then mentions as sources for "...creating conditions in which civilised dialogue can develop." with Islamists, Karen Armstrong and Tariq Ramadan. Armstrong is an apologist for religion, particularly Islam, but the god she describes would not be recognized by the fundamentalists, for their god is a violent, proscriptive and cruel deity not the ineffable, transcendent being that Armstrong writes about. (Also see Karen Armstrong: The Coherence of Her Incoherence) As for Ramadan, he is so reasonable he cannot even condemn stoning and merely calls for a moratorium, not a ban, on this vile and primitive practice. Graham Holm may not know Ramadan's background but before citing him as an example it would have been a good idea to check. Ramadan very much tailors his material to whatever audience he is addressing. (Also see Tariq Ramadan Has An Identity Issue). It would seem that instead of
explaining and clarifying the position laid out in her ridiculous
first Cif article all she has done is make things worse. The idea that
fanatical Islamists are going to pay any attention to a woman (a woman!) who wishes
to bring "kindness and compassion" to the debate is laughable in
its naivety. According to the Guardian profile Graham Holm has had a
distinguished career but as with many left-leaning intellectuals she
cannot seem to get into her head that the highest status she and other
proponents of this kindness and compassion strategy is that of "useful
idiot" in the eyes of the Islamists. (Here is a
comment by a Guardian reader on Graham Holm's piece that is, in 80's
view, well worth reading, whether you agree with it or not.)
Religion Round-up
- poor Archbishop of York,
lamenting the exclusion of religion from public life in an
increasingly secular country. He doesn't seem to find it paradoxical
that he has a full page in a major national newspaper to showcase his
whining. Also it must have completely slipped his mind that he is one of
26 bishops that sit in the British upper house, the House of Lords, who
recently had
a success in weakening proposed legislation on equality. Just what
would the poor lamb do if he wasn't so terribly marginalized? One
shudders to think. Meanwhile Mrs Blair, wearing her
judges wig,
allows a violent thug to go free after fracturing some poor bugger's
jaw. Why? "I am going to suspend this sentence for the period of two
years based on the fact you are a religious person and have not been in
trouble before. 'You caused a mild fracture to the jaw of a member of
the public standing in a queue at Lloyds Bank. You are a religious man
and you know this is not acceptable behaviour." Which of course
implies that non-religious people don't know what is acceptable
behavior. The National Secular Society (NSS) has quite rightly
complained to the Judicial Complaints Office. We are told that the
assailant "...Miah left prayers at his East Ham mosque to a bank when
he became involved in an argument with Mohammed Furcan. Furious Miah
grabbed Mr Furcan before and punched him in the face. The thug ran
outside but Mr Furcan chased after him and demanded to know why he had
been struck. Miah punched him again - knocking him to the ground and
breaking his jaw." Obviously his prayers did not bring him serenity
but violent rage. (Best headline comes from the NSS -
Has Mrs Blair been practising 'Cheria law'?) The Roman Catholic church once
again shows its unhealthy preoccupation with pain and suffering or, as
the Telegraph
puts it "Heavy sedation of patients in their final days prevents
them from the opportunity of having a “good death” according to the
Roman Catholic church" Why should anyone be subjected to unnecessary
pain because of another person's supernatural beliefs? If followers of
Ratzinger's zombie death cult want a painful death they are entirely
welcome to do so - but they shouldn't try and impose one on those that
do not share their delusions. (80 was amused to note his spellchecker
wants to render the pope's name as "Rat Zinger" which sounds like
a deeply unattractive fast food.) Also in the Telegraph philosopher
Roger Scruton
suggests Muslim fundamentalists should "learn how to drink wine"
because it would make them more tolerant. Philosopher or not, Scruton
really hasn't thought this through. If these nitwits have to force women
to cover up because they cannot control their lust, what does he think
they would be like with a few drinks under their belt?
Dhimmwits -
"Britain and France appear to be in a race to corner the
sharia-compliant Islamic finance market. Both countries are rushing into
law new regulations that will make the operation of sharia finance
easier and facilitate the issuance of corporate sukuk. Sukuk are a broad
class of financial instruments designed to replicate the economic
function of bonds, but with a structure which complies with Islamic
principles." the National Secular Society
informs us. Far from being an ancient idea, sharia finance was
mainly the idea of an Islamist intellectual, Abul-Ala Mawdudi, in the
1940s. It is also a method of introducing sharia to the UK by the back
door, along with the
85 sharia courts already operating in the country.
This is sharia
in
action in Iran - don't be put off by the dhimmis and "useful
idiots"- sharia is barbaric and cruel. (Also see
Sharia Finance Watch)
One Law For All
- Maryam Namazie,
Peter Tatchell and
Terry
Sanderson, among others will be speaking on February 14th at the
“London for a Secular Europe” march which will be held in conjunction
with a similar event in Rome (”No Vatican”), where secular Italians are
protesting against the political power and influence of the Vatican, and
its anti-human rights agenda in Italy, Europe and worldwide. Details of
the route and the start and end meeting points are
here. It is also tied-in as
Darwin Day
event (properly Feb 12th).
Oh and the 14th is also Valentine's Day.... Are You A British
Taxpayer? - if so, are you happy that the government has handed over
£10000 to the Christian Police Association (CPA) to publicise its
message? And that message is "...that praying can help police to solve
crimes, protect officers from injury on duty and reduce anti-social
behaviour."
according to the Telegraph. Now, compared to the sums pissed
away on the banking sector the amount is utterly trivial but to give any
group money in order to encourage wishful thinking, ie prayer, is, not to put too
fine a point on it, bloody stupid. Now we can only wait for all the
other sectarian police associations that have crept into existence
during the great failed multicultural experiment to start squealing to
get their snouts in the trough. This could be just the thin end of the
wedge. How Police Praying
Works - "In one particular area, an officer was investigating
an incident but he had not been able to apprehend a suspect. He
encouraged a church to pray for him and within days a suspect had been
arrested and charged. In another area, an officer encouraged churches to
pray about domestic burglary and over the year it came down by 30 per
cent. We do not discount good police work, which is why we call it
circumstantial evidence." Don Axcell, of the Christian Police
Association
gives his deeply sad idea of convincing evidence of the power of
prayer. Why would a just and omniscient deity have to be prodded into
action by prayer? Until the CPA show that this wishful thinking works
they shouldn't have a penny. For more on prayer see
here. Prayer, The Truth
- "Long time ago god made a divine plan. Gave it a lot of thought.
Decided it was a good plan. Put it into practice. And for billion and
billions of years the divine plan has been doing just fine. Now you come
along and pray for something. Well, suppose the thing you want isn't in
god's divine plan. What do you want him to do? Change his plan? Just for
you? Doesn't it seem a little arrogant? It's a divine plan. What's the
use of being god if every run-down schmuck with a two dollar prayer book
can come along and fuck up your plan?"
George Carlin, devout
Frisbeetarianist. See the man
in action. Quote -
"Homeopathy does not work beyond placebo, it is a menace to public
health and a drain on the limited resource of the NHS. It is an 18th
century quack medicine consisting of magical rituals practised by
deluded, cargo-cult "doctors" that has no place in government thinking,
and it should not be endorsed by the registered pharmacists who are at
the frontline of public health in the UK." Martin Robbins of
The Lay Scientist
writing in the Guardian on the mass
homeopathy
overdose.
Good Question
- the press has returned to a story that
circulated
last November about the late Pope Wojtyla and his predilection for a bit
of saintly self-harm. The reason for the reprise is to
plug a book about the old boy. It also allows Hugh O'Shaughnessy to
ask the obvious question,
Why would the pope whip himself? Perhaps in remorse at the church's
rampant pedophilia? Because such weird habits are an integral part of
Roman Catholicism? Mortification of the flesh is still considered an
acceptable practice in some quarters - think
Opus Dei.
Guardian readers have helpfully supplied some possible answers in the
comment section, one of the best being
"Because bashing the bishop is not allowed?". In O'Shaughnessy's
piece he refers to another self-mortifier "Saint Simeon Stylites who
lived the majority of his years on the top of a narrow stone column."
which brought the comment,
"As did our very own Nelson" And another said
"At least it's an example for Tony Blair to follow". And this rather
practical response, which also sounds a mite too eager,
"Where did he get the whip from? Did he make it himself? Did he send
someone out to buy it? Is there a shop in Rome specialising in
ecclesiastical whips?" More than a few came up with the right
answer, that he was a sad, deluded old autocrat. You Can Tell A Lot
- about a man by the company he keeps. The
Guardian has an
article about a Polish politician who belongs to the European
Democrats Group, along with David "Call me Dave" Cameron and his Tories.
We are told "One of David Cameron's rightwing allies in eastern
Europe was embroiled in controversy today at the Council of Europe in
Strasbourg after being allowed to open the assembly's session despite a
record of belittling the Holocaust. Ryszard Bender, a hard-right Polish
senator and historian from the rightwing Law and Justice party, has
defended a convicted Holocaust denier in Poland, described Auschwitz as
"not a death camp, but a labour camp", and campaigned against Polish
apologies for the slaughter of Jews at Jedwabne in 1941." Law
and Justice is the party of the deeply unattractive
Potato Twins,
of whom 80 has written before. In Poland there is a worrying
connection between the right-wing and that old friend of fascists, the
Vatican. So
powerful
is the Catholic influence on that country that you are unlikely to see
the sort of child abuse report that came out of Dublin any time soon.
Yet the same ingredients are there as in Eire - a large celibate clergy
and an absurd deference to priestly authority by politicians and the
police - but Poland has something extra - a vile
anti-semitic streak to add to the mix (see
here). With a general election not far away and the UK voters sick
of Brown's Labour party the question has to be asked why is Cameron,
considered by many to be the prime minister-in-waiting, palling around
with Bender and his ilk? Last year Cameron's Tories left the center
right and Christian Democrats grouping in the Council of Europe and the
European Parliament, moved further to the right and is now enjoying the
company of those who apparently think coded anti-semitism is acceptable.
Is this a foretaste of the way he would like to take the UK? Cameron
should be called on this association at every opportunity. (Also see
Eyes To The Right
and
this on Cameron's other new chums. Check out
Airbrushed For Change ) Sick Role Model
- here is an interesting
piece by Rageh Omar about a
character,
historical or not, who has had a disastrous influence on
human development, Abraham. The patriarch is supposed to be the figure
that unites the Peoples of the Book, Jews, Christians and Muslims. In
the real world, in today's "Holy Land", as Omar notes, Abraham is
very much a
figure of
division and strife.
(In passing it is worth remarking that
Omar follows the Bible in claiming Abe's home town was Ur of the Chaldees. In fact the Chaldeans lived much later than the supposed time
of Abraham so their Ur was not his - but then the Bible is not a history
book.) Omar addresses Abraham's famous attempt to sacrifice Isaac but
does not seem to understand the full horror in the tale. It is surely surprising
to many modern readers that the story of Abraham, told by his God to
murder his own son Isaac, is considered edifying. Think about it, a man
hears instructions from a voice in his head to murder his own child.
Instead of being revolted he does his best to carry out this hideous
task only to be told by God it was a test of his faithfulness. What this
says about Abraham is disgusting enough and qualifies him for immediate
psychiatric treatment coupled with incarceration but Abraham's God comes
out of it even worse. An all-powerful, all-knowing being toys with a
lowly creature merely to test its capacity for obedience? This is not a
being worthy of worship but a megalomaniac worthy only of contempt. When
the ignorant and ill-informed say that the atheist's world is bleak with
no God in it they cannot even begin to understand the sheer liberation
and joy experienced at realizing this cruel and capricious being does
not exist. (See
The mystery of the providence of God from Ophelia Benson)
No Planet Raiders
- there has been a rash of stories about aliens in
the press over the past few days. They are the fall-out from a 2-day
conference at the Royal Society, called
Is there
anybody out there? One particularly odd contribution
demonstrates that a scientist speaking outside of his or her field is
often no better informed than a layperson. Simon Conway Morris,
professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at Cambridge University, is
quoted in the Guardian as saying that extra-terrestrials might not only
resemble us but have our foibles, such as greed, violence and a tendency
to exploit others' resources, and while aliens could come in peace they
are quite as likely to be searching for somewhere to live, and to help
themselves to water, minerals and fuel. Just stop for a moment and think
about that. Aliens which have such advanced science and technology so as
to be capable of interstellar flight, are going to bother to raid a
planet for "water, minerals and fuel". This surely shows that Conway
Morris has no conception of the energies required for even
modest
starflight - any beings with such power at their fingertips are most
unlikely to be space pirates. Our Solar System, and probably most
others, is chock full of raw materials for the taking without
planet-raiding - surely a concept from early science fiction, (or
sometimes later if you look at the unbelievably crappy
Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard). Just because we humans haven't
got off our backsides to harvest the resources out there doesn't mean
that others are so short-sighted. (The
eerie silence: are we alone in the universe? is the subject of a
lecture by Prof Paul Davies at the Royal Society which will be available
on the web within 48 hrs) Randi Speaks
- about
bogus bomb detectors and asks why it took so long for the authorities to
act. (no video? click
here) Also read Phil Plait's
When Antiscience
Kills: Dowsing for Bombs. Meanwhile Iraqi MPs are
demanding the withdrawal of the detectors from checkpoints. (Talking of Plait, see
here for his choice of good and bad science fiction movies, in terms
of faithfulness to the laws of physics.) Neither Needed Nor
Wanted -
Sharia a threat to Britain's future as 'tolerant' society is a very
good piece by Douglas Murray which asks two main questions ‘To what
extent is Sharia Law already operating in Britain? To what extent is
Sharia Law incompatible with British Law?’ The conclusion is that
sharia is utterly incompatible with human rights. While this is nothing
strikingly new the piece is well-argued and researched and would make
good reading for those
Go Glenys!
- the New Humanist (NH) blog
reports that the British government is taking a firm stand against
the Organisation of the Islamic Conference's (OIC) "defamation of
religion" resolution at the UN - a
transparent ploy to enshrine
blasphemy in international law. NH quotes the Minister of State, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office, Baroness (Glenys) Kinnock, in response to a
question about the OIC efforts. "...the Government cannot agree with
an approach that promotes the concept of "defamation of religions" as a
response. This approach severely risks diminishing the right to freedom
of expression. We believe that international human rights law already
strikes the right balance between the individual's right to express
themselves freely and the need for the state to limit this right in
certain circumstances. International human rights law provides that only
where advocacy of religious hatred constitutes incitement to
discrimination, hostility or violence should it be prohibited by law. We
believe that the concept of "defamation of religions" puts in danger the
very openness and tolerance that allows people of different faiths to
co-exist and to practise their faith without fear." Also see
Russell Blackford's
The
idiocy of “defamation of religion”. Who Needs A Million
Bucks? - back in October 2008 and again in November 2009 James Randi
challenged the manufacturer of a bomb detector to prove that the device
worked. "Okay. Here’s a simple statement from the James Randi
Educational Foundation (JREF). It’s in clear, basic English, plain language,
direct and unequivocal. It’s directed to any of the manufacturers,
distributors, vendors, advertisers, or retailers of the ADE651® device
...
This Foundation will give you our million-dollar prize upon the
successful testing of the ADE651® device. Such test can be performed by
anyone, anywhere, under your conditions, by you or by any appointed
person or persons, in direct satisfaction of any or all of the
provisions laid out above by you." Did JREF hear from anyone? Of course
not. Why? "...because the ADE651® is a useless, quack, device which
cannot perform any other function than separating naïve persons from
their money. It’s a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. The
manufacturers, distributors, vendors, advertisers, and retailers of the
ADE651® device are criminals, liars, and thieves who will ignore this
challenge because they know the device, the theory, the described
principles of operation, and the technical descriptions given, are
nonsense, lies, and fraudulent." So even if the sellers of this device
didn't want Randi's money you'd think they would respond and defend the
effectiveness of the detector - especially after a broadside like that. They didn't. Can anyone detect the
powerful odor of rat? Randi repeated his challenge upon hearing the very
worrying news that the Iraqi government has
purchased a large number of
these worse than useless gadgets - at $40000 each. Update -
to the above. The Guardian
informs us "The managing director of a British company that has
been selling bomb-detecting equipment to security forces in Iraq was
arrested on suspicion of fraud today. At the same time, the British
government announced that it was imposing a ban on the export of the
ADE-651 detectors because it was concerned they could put the lives of
British forces or other friendly forces at risk." Mass Overdose! -
the 10.23 Group, the bunch who organized an
open
letter to Boots, the high street pharmacists, asking them not to sell
quack homeopathy products is hoping to garner more publicity by an
overdose stunt. Over 300 sceptics and consumer rights activists
nationwide will at 10:23am on January 30th "...publicly swallow an
entire bottle of homeopathic 'pillules' to demonstrate that these
'remedies', prepared according to a long-discredited 18th century
ritual, are nothing but sugar pills." Of course everyone will be fine
because homeopathic "medicines" contain no active ingredients. This kind
of display has been done before, by
James Randi who survived
quite nicely thank you. Also must
be included
Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of singer Billy, who took six
tablets of Traumeel, a homeopathic "anti-inflammatory" when she was
"...distraught over the ending of a recent relationship." Panicked by
what she had done she called 911 - but she was fine, as the pills do
nothing, nada, zip, bugger all. If you would like to take part in the mass
overdose check out your nearest
Skeptics in the Pub group.
Also see
Homeopathy by the (mind-boggling) numbers, an excellent article by
Matt Parker. The Idiot's Tale
- following the Haiti quake there was the usual
question, how could a loving god let this happen? Jerks like
Pat Robertson blamed the people of Haiti, or rather
their ancestors, who had made a pact with the devil. Others tied
themselves in metaphorical knots and babbled like idiots. One such is
the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, who managed to sound even more of
a fool than he did hitherto, which is quite an achievement. To save you
trawling through the audio of his cringe-inducing BBC interview the
kindly James Randi has posted
a transcript. Remember, Sentamu is one of the best the Church of
England has on the team. No wonder it is fast becoming an irrelevance. An Asshole Speaks -
"Why is all
this happening down in Haiti, a very poor country? The country's been
shaken. Probably some of you are aware that Haiti is infamous for its
voodoo, its spiritual darkness, bleakness. You know, I was kind of
thinking, maybe God has shaken that place, shaken that, shaken against
the kingdom of darkness. And maybe the light of Jesus will shine
through, come out of the darkness." Dr. Justin Dennison, Johnston
Heights Church as reported
here. "He noticed a man getting up and leaving as he spoke.
Dennison has since discovered that his remarks were being recorded by
the man who left, a first-time visitor to the church. A short segment
has been posted online, along with critical comments linking Dennison to
right-wing American television evangelist Pat Robertson, who has argued
the earthquake occurred because God was punishing Haitians. A horrified
Dennison said his remarks have been taken out of context and he does not
in any way share Robertson's view." Yeah, right. Ship Of Clods
- A A Gill, the cold-blooded
baboon murderer, has partially redeemed
himself in 80's eyes with this piece in Vanity Fair,
Roll Over, Charles Darwin!, about Kentucky's $27 million monument to
pig ignorance, the Creation Museum. While poking a lot of fun he also
shows that he understands what many miss and that is that Creationism is
not just anti-evolution but anti-science. "This place doesn’t just
take on evolution—it squares off with geology, anthropology,
paleontology, history, chemistry, astronomy, zoology, biology, and good
taste. It directly and boldly contradicts most -onomies and all -ologies,
including most theology."
UFO Nuts -
were all excited by the strange
spiral lights
in the sky above northern Norway recently. The lights were certainly
nothing natural and they carried a message. Not about aliens, but about
the parlous state of Russian military rocket research and testing. See
Russia's Ailing ICBM Program by ex-space engineer, veteran space
commentator and historian James Oberg. Check out his web site, in
particular the Space Age
Myths and Legends page. Oberg's 1990 documentary Red Star In Orbit
revealed for the first time to those outside the intelligence community
the story of the Soviet race to the Moon. This has now happily
appeared on YouTube.
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