1. It's Make Believe!

Comment #137713 by Old_Pollution on March 3, 2008 at 11:33 am

George Carlin rocks.

2. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #132839 by Old_Pollution on February 25, 2008 at 9:17 am

Would humans treat chimpanzees with more respect if they felt a kinship with them?

Personally I doubt it - basing my case on huge swathes of history of the human race. We don't seem to have a problem being horrible to each other - so would it really make that much difference if we thought of chimps as people?

Interesting video just the same though.

3. Cutting Edge: Baby Bible Bashers

Comment #129542 by Old_Pollution on February 19, 2008 at 9:31 am

At first I wasn't sure if I should get angry or depressed - in the end I opted for both.

Grim stuff.

4. 'Jesus loves you' email

Comment #66208 by Old_Pollution on August 29, 2007 at 10:41 am

Enjoyable cartoon.

Same as a few others here I can't afford to go to the convention, but hopefully most of the content will be recorded and added to the archives of this website anyway.

5. God in the Military - The Pentagon and its Christian Embassy

Comment #61877 by Old_Pollution on August 7, 2007 at 8:32 am

Yorker says: 'These dangerous buffoons are turning the American constitution that politicians proudly swear to uphold, into a joke.'

I think a more accurate statement would be: 'These dangerous buffoons HAVE TURNED the American constitution that politicians proudly swear to uphold, into a joke.'

6. Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #57105 by Old_Pollution on July 18, 2007 at 9:42 am

I think Ayaan is hot.

7. Bill Moyers interviews E.O. Wilson

Comment #55153 by Old_Pollution on July 10, 2007 at 6:00 am

I agree with BicycleRepairMan, a great man and a good interview.

However, I'm afraid I can't see the Evangelicals changing their mindset on planet Earth being a "way station" as Wilson hopes.

The Bible teaches that Heaven is the goal to aim for. That is where you'll spend eternity (a very long time), compared with 70 odd years (if you're lucky) spent on this planet.

Muslims also believe this reality to be insubstantial, and that you can break the surface of it like you can the surface tension of water, and pass through to the other side. The important side.

It's easy to see how someone with these beliefs would not care so much about preserving eco-systems. And if you believe that the end of the world is just around the corner, you don't even have to worry about the kind of world you're going to be leaving for your children.

8. God Hates the World

Comment #51954 by Old_Pollution on June 25, 2007 at 4:08 pm

I'm not sure the Phelps are interpreting the Bible incorrectly as some moderates seem to suggest.

From what I've read in the Leviticus, god does hate fags, and he's quite clear about it. Quite how moderate Christians can even attempt to bring the idea into their faith that it's ok to be a homosexual and you won't go to hell for it, in face of the clear instructions in their divine book, is totally beyond me.

One thing I'd be very interested to learn, is given that the Phelps seem to particularly apply the Old Testament values to their faith, do they also go in for the whole "women on periods unclean" thing? Do the women of the Phelps clan have to spend 7 days being unclean after they have their period? On the eighth day do they sacrifice doves and pigeons to a priest to make atonement for their "unclean discharge" as Leviticus calls it? I'd really love to know.

As to the child abuse issue, I'd call teaching relgion as truth to children a form of child abuse. "Sit down children, today I'm going to teach you a load of lies."

9. Penn & Teller's Bullshit - Holier Than Thou With Christopher Hitchens

Comment #45195 by Old_Pollution on May 26, 2007 at 7:55 pm

I was mildly surprised to see they missed out the small matter of 1.2 million murdered Tibetans when discussing the pros and cons of the Chinese occupation of Tibet.