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Comments by Goldy


801. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179146 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 7:19 pm

Praying? PRAYING?? And not even considering a more economical car or, god forbid, walking to the closer destinations...
If they want their prayers answered, they should try going to the UK for a spell - driving holiday using their own money. On their return, their prayers will have been answered :-)

802. 'My daughter deserved to die for falling in love'

Comment #179145 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 7:16 pm

They do not think the same as normal people - the mother's reaction is proof enough for me that this is a rather extreme view and not one the Islamic, and indeed Arab, world would totally agree with.
For some perspective...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/middleeast/13girls.html?hp
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/world/middleeast/12saudi.html
Sad that religion has made the natural so....unnatural.

803. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #179139 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 6:43 pm

People repeatedly disavow Eugenics as being part of Darwinian thinking but his family did not seem to think so...

Given the squabbling when wills are read and then contested, this is hardly a link between eugenics and Darwin's (and Wallace's) theory of evolution, is it?
As Rian points out, eugenics is not evolution, it is selective breeding. There is a slight difference :-)

804. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #179104 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 3:02 pm

As mush as one posts showing evidence, I have to say we are comnversing with one who believes in the Biblical flood story, believes, against scientific AND religious evidence, that is it a true story.
Is there any point?

805. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #177274 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 8:56 pm

My my, getting a bit touchy, aren't we?
My conclusion to the suppression statement you used - sounds the same as the IDiots' excuse. No more, no less. The punishable aspect I find does contravene free speech. However, one can say it is balanced a bit by Turkey, the opposite occurs, namely denial is official and denial of denial is punishable by prison.

I was just fishing for someone like yourself to point out that you resent the racial stereotyping of Jews, but only in one sense

And I was smiling when I wrote it. Actually, Europeans are called "Big Noses" in Asia. And who is to say big noses are not beautiful?
In answer to my question, I would not have mentioned noses or IQ - they are irrelevant and merely act to colour a person. Jews are well known to be good with money - maybe the IQ reference covered that? We all know where that stereotype got them...
Should we perhaps start talking about monoconspiracism and polyconspiracism?

OK - right after micro evolution and macro evolution :-)
Cheer up - not everything here is nasty. I personally have no bone to pick with you. I do think the holocaust happened. Given man's predeliction for slaughtering millions at the drop of a propaganda radio program, why couldn't it have happened? Because Germans are European and Europeans don't do that? Because logistically one can't see it happening? I don't know. If I were to study this, I'd have to trawl through all the evidence, pro and con. You have given us all the con - everything you gave tells us it didn't happen. I need a balance to tell me it did, then I can make my mind up.
Relax, have a beer and chill.

806. Churchgoing on its knees as Christianity falls out of favour

Comment #177268 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 8:45 pm

Why worry. If recent local election results are anything to go by, I dare say things might get a bit uncomfortable for many who don't practise the local religion.
Besides, religon is for the backward and primitive. Which would rather be? :-)

807. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #177260 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 8:39 pm

"I believe that evil influences have convinced man otherwise in many circumstaces."

There is only 1 god (God) and man is made in his image. Suggests evil comes from that template. Or there's teh Devil (Satan). However, with all his powers, that suggests he is also a god. But there is only 1 god...hmmm. A fallen angel? Angels are messengers of God, not minor gods. They tell, not do. Incidently, we have physical descriptions of them (aside from Ezekiel's mad visions) http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5§ion=0&article=109506&d=2&m=5&y=2008.
For the first time in the Qur'an we have a physical description of the angels. Previously we were given descriptions of their nature and role, such as "Those that are with Him are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary of that. They extol His limitless glory by night and day, tirelessly." (21: 19-20) "Those who are near to your Lord are never too proud to worship Him. They extol His limitless glory, and before Him alone prostrate themselves." (7: 206) Here, however, we have a reference to their physical appearance. They are 'endowed with wings, two, or three, or four.' This description does not, however, help us imagine how they look, because we do not know anything about their physique or about the form their wings take. We can do no more than take this description as it is, without adding anything from our imagination, for anything we may imagine could be wrong. We do not have any definite description of how the angels look from a reliable source. What we do have though in the Qur'an is this description and a reference to the angels in charge of hell: "Over it are appointed angels who are stern and severe: they do not disobey God in whatever He has commanded them, but always do what they are bidden to do." (66: 6) Again this description does not give any physical delineation. It is reported in a Hadith that 'the Prophet saw Gabriel in his natural form twice.' One report mentions that Gabriel 'has 600 wings.' (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Again we do not have here a physical description, so we must leave it at the level God has imparted to us, accepting that all knowledge belongs to Him.

None sound like Satan, so that can't be him.
This "evil" influence can only come from the maker (God) and as this god is just good, evil is good.

808. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #177252 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Frankus

The Flood and Noah's Ark

Which version. Anyway, I find it a hell of an education. I mean, there's a scientific theory behind it - starring Noah? And now I'm wondering what animals Noah sacrificed - were unicorns clean? Or maybe he slapped an apatosaurus on the slab...
It's a journey for me, a real journey!

809. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #177213 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 7:08 pm

Righton, that's a perfect example of moral zeitgeist :-) One interprets the information using the mores of the period.
Ask tehm if the southern slave owners used a different Bible. After all, I'm not 100% sure their version of slavery "was one in which slaves were paid and treated quite respectfully".

I don't think that beating your wife has EVER been considered a good behavior

Ask about Paul's "Shut the fuck up in church" piece. It's in the NT, I believe...maybe not quite phrased like that :-)
I believe that, no matter what society or time, Man knows that hurting another human is wrong and unjustified NO MATTER WHAT

Deuteronomy and similar gives a slightly different picture. Check out punishments for slaves. This http://www.regia.org/viking2.htm is also rather interesting.
Zeitgeist, pure and simple. And a rather splendid example :-)

810. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #177208 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Not necessarily, and nothing against the British on my part. But do you have a better theory? Of course, no more than conjecture, but why not telling us about it?

Sarcasm, old boy, sarcasm. It's always the fault of the British. Living in a former colony, don't ask how many ills have been heaped on our heads :-) Of course, I can always point to the Zionists!
As for the ID
Hmmm, are you sure?

IDiots appear to be under the impression there is a conspiracy afoot to discredit any "research" into intelligent design in favour of evolution. Your comments about some conspiracy being afoot to discredit holocaust deniers sounded so much alike I had to laugh out loud (in print, no easy feat!)
I'm a bit unsure about this
JEWS: ordinary people, often with big noses and very nice IQ, under the curse of the worst religion ever invented.

Often with big noses? One hopes there is a hint of...racial stereotyping here. Does add a slight flavour to your arguments.

811. Faith in Britain today

Comment #177204 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 6:38 pm

Perhaps it's an Irish thingy.

Or even British
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/science/05cnd-brits.html?ex=1330750800&en=b9b6996d54ba5cc6&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Or Spanish, if mythology is true...

812. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #177200 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 6:27 pm

OK, brief Noah story (with my emphases)

Genesis 6:1 - 9:17

Noah's Ark and the Flood - Story Summary:
God saw how great wickedness had become and decided to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. However, one righteous man among all the people of that time, Noah, found favor in God's eyes. With very specific instructions, God told Noah to build an ark for him and his family in preparation for a catastrophic flood that would destroy every living thing on earth.God also instructed Noah to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, along with every kind of food to be stored as food for the animals and his family while on the ark. Noah obeyed everything God commanded him to do.After they entered the ark, rain fell on the earth for a period of forty days and nights. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. As the waters receded, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah and his family continued to wait for almost eight more months while the surface of the earth dried out.Finally after an entire year, God invited Noah to come out of the ark. Immediately, he built an altar and worshiped the Lord with burnt offerings from some of the clean animals. God was pleased with the offerings and promised never again to destroy all the living creatures as he had just done. Later God established a covenant with Noah: "Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." As a sign of this everlasting covenant God set a rainbow in the clouds.


Doesn't sound very rough to me. Sounds almost gentle cleansing - no mention of waves. Another point - if Noah made offerings from some of the clean animals, would that not mean they are extinct? Bit pointless saving them...

And look what else one finds about the flood
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/localflood.html
Here's the abstract
The Bible says the flood was global?
"The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it!" The phrase is a common argument used for those who call for the "literal reading" of the Bible. I have no complaints against reading the Bible literally. However, many who claim to be literalists apparently do not believe everything the Bible says. Creation passages clearly say that God caused the original global seas to be restricted - never to cover the entire earth again. The Genesis flood passage itself says that the water covered "the entire earth" even though Noah could see the distant mountains, indicating that the "earth" was just the entire land of Mesopotamia.

813. Faith in Britain today

Comment #177195 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 6:19 pm

Hey, it could be worse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7389874.stm

814. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177193 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 6:15 pm

I can see the headlines now..."Part man, part fish, gene map of modern humans"
http://richarddawkins.net/article,2137,Interview-with-Neil-Shubin-author-of-Your-Inner-Fish,The-Colbert-Report

815. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #177190 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 6:05 pm

I'm really just interested in pointing out that there are incomprehensible amounts of sedimentary materials loaded with countless billions of fossils. That, in my mind, is an enormous anomaly that is better explained by a catastrophic flood than the establishment idea of local events happening over millions of years.

Sorry...but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You being serious? Or just taking the Mick?
"The presence of upright stems, and bivalves that are not parallel to the plane of sedimentation indicates that the fossils were formed by the quick burial of organisms during some great catastrophe. Other clues leading to this hypothesis are the presence of fossilized upright trees that can reach nine feet in height….Other evidence for the quick deposition of sediment on organisms as seen in a great catastrophe is provided by the presence of soft-bodied organisms in the fossil record. In order for such organisms to be preserved in the fossil record, they must be buried rapidly with the inhibition of anaerobic decomposers, and the development of concretions must also be rapid. These conditions can only be met if a catastrophe dumped massive amounts of sediment on the organisms while they were still alive."

Yeah, but not all in one go. Many catastrophes, many layers. The Boxing Day tsunami was a catastrophe and will leave tell tale signs. The cyclone in Burma is another separate catastrophe and will leave signs. The next big tsunami will be a catasptrphe and will leave signs. All of these signs will probably not all lie in exactly the same layer when they are dug up.
Besides, the flood came about by rain, did it not? And the waters receded slowly, did they not? So why canyons and jagged layers? Water came in relatively gently and seemingly evaporated away.
And how do you explain this?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5§ion=0&article=106587&d=8&m=2&y=2008
To start with, there are several statements in the Qur'an making clear that Prophet Noah was sent to his own people. He was not a messenger to all mankind. Only Prophet Muhammad was given this task, and therefore, the miracle supporting his message was a book, the Qur'an, outlining a code of living that is suitable to all generations and all communities and environments. Therefore, the question posed by the reader is valid: was the great flood a punishment to all people on earth at the time? If so, why?

In fact, there is no indication or reference in the Qur'an suggesting that the floods overwhelmed the entire planet. The description given in the Qur'an of the flood makes clear that it was of overwhelming proportions, leaving none of the wrongdoers among Noah's people alive. It does not mention other communities. In fact there are several references that it engulfed Noah's own people in particular. Take for example the twice-repeated Qur'anic statement: "Do not appeal to Me on behalf of the wrongdoers. They shall be drowned." (11: 37 & 23: 27) "We saved him together with all those who stood by him, in the ark, and caused those who rejected Our revelations to drown. Surely they were blind people." (7: 64) The contexts in which all these statements occur are very clear in their references to Noah's own community to whom he was required to address his message. Hence we can say that the flood punishment was directed to his own people who rejected his faith, after clear evidence had been given to them, and after their long opposition to his efforts and their repeated hurling of abuse and ridicule on him.

This means that other communities to whom Noah's message was not addressed were not involved in these events.

There is no reason to suppose otherwise. This means that those communities either received other messages, about which the Qur'an remained silent, or they were not at the time receiving any message. In either case, their fate would be determined by their circumstances. We need not go into this because we have no means to establish such historical events with any reasonable measure.

Nor can we say that all people living today are descendents of Noah through his three sons. To start with, there were other people saved in the Ark. These could have had children of their own and they would have descendents. Moreover, We cannot establish with any degree of certainty that Noah had three sons. Indeed, it is practically impossible to ascertain that Sam ever existed, which casts doubt on the very idea of Semitism.

Whether such things are established or not is of no importance. What is important is to rely only on what God says in the Qur'an and what the Prophet has taught in his authentic Sunnah. This is what ensures our salvation in the life to come.

This is from the word of God, remember. Straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.

816. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177171 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 5:22 pm

Probably not very long at all, but it is more likely that Emu's will go the chicken route - plumper and less aggressive (oh please.... less aggresive.)

Hmmm, plump chicken...and it's lunch time here...
See Brian - aggressive. Note that word describing the Aussie ratite. Moas were nice and friendly - that's why they got wiped out ;-)
Yes, I dare say emus might get smaller - but that's by natural selection. I'm selectively breeding in my mind - playing god...I mean, the Intelligent Designer (eh? Whassat? They're the same dude? No shit? Really??) - to make them bigger.

817. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177166 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 5:16 pm

I am cute and cuddly - just in the right environment (fully clothed or with the lights out). As I keep telling people, one must never leave the environment out of the equation :-)

818. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177157 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Yeah, but we don't things that kill in 10 seconds flying, crawling, walking, etc around us :-) And kiwis are cute. I mean, would you want to cuddle an emu?
Wonder how long it would take to selectively breed emus to make a modern day moa...hmmm...

819. Trouble ahead for science

Comment #177150 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 4:55 pm

"Expelled", as far as I can see, is completely unknown in NZ.

820. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177148 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 4:51 pm

Interesting Aotearoan aside...
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Bio30Tuat01-t1-body-d8.html

821. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177143 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 4:41 pm

Steve, good to see you back :-)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/science/08platypus.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin
From the NY Times.
Original is here Nature 453, 175-183 (8 May 2008)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7192/full/nature06936.html
Not sure if that last link will work for all...

822. Trouble ahead for science

Comment #177104 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 3:08 pm

Don't worry, Ken! Go east! Their philosophies on the esoteric allows for science to go ahead smoothly. I'm sure the powers that be will be only too pleased to accept decent American scientists to teach their future generations :-)

823. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #177103 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 3:05 pm

But for the sake of analysis, let's assume that a noticeable structural alteration occurs every 5000 years (which is quite generous in view of the ice man they found in the Alps, who showed no appreciable change).

Very different to his African ancestors, methinks. Very different to his Asian cousins, methinks.
You're exhibiting a very Eurocentric view here. He shows no appreaciable difference to Europeans because of the environment he was in.
There isn't a wrong to be gotten. The function of replication enzymes is what it is. There is no "balance" involved. The errors are corrected as replication occur. Polymerase does not allow errors in order to give evolution a chance. Any way you look at it, it inhibits the supposed mechanism which is supposed to produce variation.

OK, you are right, we never see change - hurrah! No cancers, no genetic mutations which we can see for ourselves, no translational errors - shit, my eyes are not blue and my hair must be blacker than it appears to be. I dare say my eyelids must also have their epicanthic folds...
Things are not perfect. It only takes one small mutation to change a whole range of things. If the environment is not conducive for that mutation to allow the organism to survive, then it dies. If not, guess what happens...
If everything is so good, how did these come about? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=561946&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490
Apologies for the source (Daily Mail, I know, I know...) but it does show a small point - the mutation that changes colour also affected behaviour (here, apparently, making them more aggressive and probably more successful in driving off mating competitors, thus allowing this mutation to proliferate).
Doesn't take much and given a bit of time (lifetime of animal is also a factor) we should see the formation of a new species.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy - I can't see what the problem is.
Aren't bumblebees mathematically incapable of flight?

824. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #176785 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 3:08 am

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/science/08platypus.html?ref=science
You want a transitional animal? Here's your transitional animal. In body and genes.
Of course, not one IDiot or cretinist will read this and if they do, it'll still not be good enough!

825. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176784 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 3:05 am

It's a sad irony that the evolutionary quantum leap in the development of consciousness that has made us such a successful species is probably going to get us all killed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/science/06dumb.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin
Maybe the intelligent won't rule the world after all :-(
We're doomed, I tell you, doooooomed!

826. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #176783 by Goldy on May 8, 2008 at 3:01 am

txpiper, I hope you are not leaving environmental pressures on mutation survival...

827. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #176685 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 9:23 pm

Brian English: Gravity happens, and it's a fact. First Newtonian, and now Relativistic theory explain how it happens.


Seems fine to my diminutive cognitive capacity. The only difference being that evolution is false!
Hang on. No, the analogy is fine :-)

No, gravity is just a theory. we are stuck to teh ground by air pressure and microscopic velcro. If gravity was a fact, birds would not fly! Gheckoes would not be able to climb walls! There would be no clouds!
It's all a lie, I tell you!

828. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #176679 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 9:16 pm

The field of "Holocaust scholarship" is an inbreeding one where ordinary research is not possible for obvious reasons

Good Lord! Holocaust denial IS ID!!! Is this not the argument used against scientists that do not believe in evolution?
:-D
Not looking good there, ASM ;-)

The Soviets had finally agreed to let him go and the British who always had posed as humane and concerned with his prolonged emprisonment were suddenly caught at their own game. Of course, they, not the Soviets, were the ones who stood to lose the most by revelations over Hitler's secret offers of peace to Britain in 1940, so...

But of course, it was the British! My, one wonders how the hell we lost an empire!

829. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #176676 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 9:13 pm

Diacanu, you can just ask tehm to go on and try and floow their argument through. Let them waste typing time, finger cells and brain power.
Shows up their ignorance, which can hopefully then be corrected.
One can see why Steve took a break...

830. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176653 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 8:44 pm

How do rioting over Mohammmad cartoons and making death threats to writers who criticize Islam have anything to do with Western policies and oil??!!

Bonzai, Bonzai, Bonzai - don't you know? It is all about colonialism and croney-ism inherent in the white man with the perfidious Jew behind him controlling everything through the Zionist plot of world-wide domination.
At least, that's the gist of some of the local letters in Arab News :-) Oh, yeah, and you'll also read that in the Beeb's HYS. Apparently we did fuck all during the Boxing Day tsunami.

831. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #176649 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 8:34 pm

To present it as FACT is wishful thinking.

It's presented as a fact, it's presented as a theory. The facts are the data which has been collected and studied which lends more credence to evolution than to cretinism (sic).
It's all a form of natural philosophy :-) Ever wonder why the PhD is so called?
Oddly, I (and others who have also pointed this out) have yet to hear physicists having to defend gravity. That's "only" a theory as well...

832. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #176521 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Comment #176509 by Teratornis
Took the words right out of my mouth there :-)

833. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #176261 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 3:16 am

Damn - how did you move that comment like that? Now the chronology is all wrong.
I understand the anger felt about Israel (reading your comment, I think I know how you feel about it) in the Arab world.
I just want to know how this anger can be expressed as suicide murders when the full use of law adn of systems in place within the western world can be used to change things legally.
Sounds all rather conspiratorial to me.
OK, 10:15, time for me to hit the hay. Might be back tomorrow, might not. Got a heap of HPLC (google it) to do.

834. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176259 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 3:08 am

Muslims think?

Given there are 1.6 billion of them (or was that million? Still, quite a few), I have to say I am rather stunned by this question.

835. The History Channel might do something right

Comment #176257 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 3:06 am

Who the burning pits of hell is Qin Shi Huang ?

First Qin emperor, the feller responsible for the terracotta army. Absolute ruler and rather ruthless to boot but admired for being responsible for the unification of China. Standardised script, measures, roads, etc, etc and killed untold numbers by burying alive, slavery, worrking to death, etc.
Cgi dogfights are all very well, but once you seen one... And there are people that will dispute the facts - ASMarques is one...

836. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #176255 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 2:57 am

That's odd. I'm sure ASM had a comment between numbers 115 and 116, telling me the rich Saudis were desperate.
Shit, I only had one beer! Can't be halucinating, can I?

837. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #176253 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 2:49 am

ASM, you said

A suicide aimed at killing others is always an act born of desperate anger and impotence

Can you really say the examples I gave were as the highlighted? If there is such feeling, is there not recourse to legal methods? Killing innocents justify the means? Makes things better? Are you telling me these people who live comfortable lives, who have no ties to Palestine outside a shared religion with the majority of Arabs, these people are feeling impotent and angry, enough to kill people who just happen to be citizens of a country, not through choice but through birth?
I'd also be interested to know your views of Jews and of Zionism.
Why don't the German and Austrian governments deny the Final Solution? Come to think about it, I don't think the East German (DDR) government denied it either - one would have thought the Soviet regime would have allowed them (poking the west, as it were).
Just interested. Does throw a light in the historicity of Jesus and the veracity of the gospels. I mean, if a fairly major genocide can be denied within the lifetime of the survivors, what does that say to us about the Gospels?

838. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #176235 by Goldy on May 7, 2008 at 1:21 am

A suicide aimed at killing others is always an act born of desperate anger and impotence, not of blissful expectation of a ticket to heaven.

Does this include doctors driving into Glasgow airports, or well off Dewsbury residents...or even rich Saudis learning to fly planes?

839. What really goes on at the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #176189 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 8:21 pm

Teratornis

...peak oil...

Read some interesting letters in Arab News today. Here, I'll share...

Oil Price

This is regarding the report, "Oil Price May Go Up to $250, Warn Experts" (May 2). But your theory as to why the price of oil collapsed in the 1980s has no basis in fact whatsoever.

Here is what actually occurred:

In the early 1980s there was a concerted effort in the US to develop alternative forms of energy to counter the ever-increasing price of oil. Does this sound familiar? Those alternative energy programs involved solar, geothermal, wind, shale oil, coal, hydro, even nuclear power. We actually flew an F-16 on fuel derived from oil shale rock in 1980 at Hill AFB in Utah.

It was in the early 1980s while I was working and living in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani made his memorable speech to the OPEC that signified the death knell for alternative energy in the US. In his speech Yamani said that the price of oil was too high and that the West was being driven toward alternative energy and away from its reliance on oil, and if that should occur it would be the end of OPEC as they knew it. Yamani went on to say that what was needed was a price that would keep the West relying on oil, provide a fair and sustainable return to OPEC, and make alternative energy uneconomical.

None of the other oil ministers in OPEC agreed. Within months Saudi Arabia increased its oil production from 2 million bpd to 10 million bpd. The result was a precipitous drop in the price of oil from $34 per barrel to $12 per barrel, the shutdown of almost every alternative energy program in the US, the capping of marginally productive wells, and the termination of most oil exploration in the US. No US energy venture could be made profitable against a figure of $12 per barrel for imported oil.

Additionally, the other members of OPEC upped their daily production to make up for the lower cost per barrel that further flooded the market.

All of the above is why the price of oil fell in the 1980s, it had absolutely nothing to do with a "drop in demand and your dreamed up 10X price theory", and everything to do with the West's drive to develop alternative energy.


Gene Cirillo, United States published 7 May 2008


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

Oil Price [2]

$250 a barrel is within range and faster than predicted if supplies are reduced or even suggested that they are going to be reduced. Why would I pump one million barrels a day if I only had to pump 500,000 and get the same return or more?

America is going to have to wake to the fact that China and India are not complaining but are locking up supplies by investing in areas nobody else will venture into. Their only request by investing is that they are able to have first right of refusal on product found and any partner is going to accept this requirement as they are not seeking a discount, only first shot at purchasing.

America wants cheap gas but has not built or allowed to be built any new refineries in over 30 years.

Threats to bring in a windfall tax against big oil will only make big oil sell their production overseas through another company.

It is time for some lateral thinking leaders to take charge of this great country and the three available are not going to be any different. America needs a general manager to run the show as a business. The free trade agreement between Mexico, US, Canada is a great idea for Mexico, OK for Canada and lousy for the US.

America needs to get their dollar back to its high position and to do this the people are going to have to go back to work and produce something. Make the farmers who get paid to grow nothing show that they are able to grow, make them produce the corn for the ethanol and get the other corn back into the food chain where it belongs. Learn how to sew and produce your own flags with "Made in America" rather than the "Made in China" tags. Yes, we have allowed things to get to this stage, shame on us; we will pay for our ways unless we wake up.

Don't cry at six-dollar gas; the rest of the world has been paying it for years.


MR, United States published 7 May 2008

Coupled with a few articles I read in such publications as the NY Times, seems it's not so much the amount of oil that is at issue but the processing.
Of course, oil will run out - but no one seems unduly concerned. Even during my days researching methods of plating a decent paladium alloy on a ceramic tube so that it would purify hydrogen for a decent length of time, it seemed that petroleum sources for said hydrogen were to the fore. We'd still be using petrol, but we'd reform it to its constituents before taking the hydrogen out...which did seem an arse about tit way of doing things...

840. The History Channel might do something right

Comment #176184 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 8:11 pm

Ty_Webb, I dare say the blurb for the films are written by what I would stereotypically see as some ponytailed arty type with maybe a diploma from some polytechnic on film and advertising. I think science, in this case, is something that ispreseted adn dumbed down severely during editing to make it understandable to the general population.
Now, how this population can somehow differentiate between the allegorical and the literal in books like the Bible yet completely fall for the cack-handed shortcuts used in pop-science documentaries would make for interesting research :-)

841. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176183 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 8:04 pm

The lesson we should draw from the Fitna controversy is that we need more criticism of Islam, not less. Let it come down in such torrents that not even the most deluded Islamist could conceive of containing it

A perusal of the British press of late seems to suggest Islam can do no right. Election of rather right wing politicians into London councils also appears to suggest that people are beginning to try and shake politicians from their slumber and show that they don't like all this bending over backward attitute to Islamic requests.
All the while, we the west have this millstone around our necks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/world/middleeast/07israel.html?ref=world
We also appear to support the vilest regimes who actively export their rather nasty interpretation of Islam.
What is a Muslim to think?

842. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176153 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 5:19 pm

Some french muslims I know were scared by the radicalisation they saw in London.

One wonders what they would have thought of Bradford, Dewsbury etc :-) Mind you, coming from the Mahgreb, they'd have been more used to European mores than a Pashtun family coming to Bradford (I think).
Most of the Muslims I knew in Syria drank and quite a few liked bacon with their eggs. In a Muslim society, I never really noticed as strong an adherence to religion as I felt in the immigrant community - and even then, there were many pubs around me that only differed from the traditional British pub in that instead of flat caps and whippets (oooh, terrible stereotype! I'll not apologise :-D) it was Urdu and dominoes. I can't recall the bar being empty or the bar maid bored from lack of work serving beer...
It is a small minority or it is older men trying to atone for their past sins (so I been told by younger Muslim men pissed off at their fathers and uncles for trying to force the religion they never followed unto them). There is a positive feedback loop which is starting to ensnare everyone into this cycle of hatred and revenge for perceived slights.

843. The History Channel might do something right

Comment #176105 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 2:47 pm

Hope this comes to NZ soon - I'm just about all done with WWII and dogfights and hero ships and stuff.
Mind you, there was a pretty good doco on Qin Shi Huang (Ch'in Shih-huang for you Wade Giles supporters)...

844. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176101 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 2:40 pm

They would have continued to wave off the petty insults of little englanders except the discrimination they felt was not from the guy selling papers but highly educated people in the workplace and this affected them financially

Maybe the names were an issue. Did they try sending CVs with European names? And age - I can remember well the difficulty in getting a job in the UK because I was over 30 and had travelled a bit (strangely, none of this affected my finding work in NZ...)
Discrimination is multi-faceted. The interpretation one has as to why one is being discriminated against might be wrong.
Saying that, I do remember hearing (and I still do read, in Arab News) how bad the west is, from our ideas to our morals to...well, just about everything. Music is sinful, dancing is sinful, heck, even our sin is sinful. We drink, eat pork, do this do that and we have to change to accommodate them, not the other way around. This irks people like me, which them angers me becasue I know I'm playing right into the hands of those agents who would like to cause conflict (there is so much money to be made in conflict by so few, after all).

845. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #176098 by Goldy on May 6, 2008 at 2:33 pm

Two highly educated peopl I know have given up looking for jobs in UK and gone to Dubai due to the discrimination they felt. Both have high regard or worked in USA and are very open minded and rational. One is Shia - hardly close to the 911 terrorists.
One is married to a christian american.

Unlike Fanusi, I do see this as a bit sad. It also shows that people are being manipulated by those that wish to cause some sort of conflict. A tiny, tiny, tiny minority seeks to "redress the injustices" and so demonises a whole religion. The rest of the world's reaction to this then is focused on the whole religion and so the adherent obviously rise to the bait. Not rocket science!.
I do wonder if the anti-western thing about Islam that I hear about is a media construct. After all, China isn't exactly lovey-dovey with East Turkestani Uighers and does keep a very strict eye on mosques but I don't read anti-Chinese sentiment in, say, Arab News...

846. What really goes on at the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #175665 by Goldy on May 5, 2008 at 8:09 pm

One unexpected thing I learned is that intelligence does not guarantee a flattering haircut.

Combine with this http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/science/06dumb.html?8dpc and one can go places no discussion has ever gone before ;-)

847. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #175664 by Goldy on May 5, 2008 at 8:07 pm

I take it this Chomsky johnny is famous then...

848. Neanderthals were separate species, new study finds

Comment #175656 by Goldy on May 5, 2008 at 7:42 pm

How many Neanderthal specimens are there for them to compare and what are the ranges of their ages, I wonder. Where are their specimens from - given there's a bit of a physiological range in modern man, I dare say the Neanderthal from the Levant is a bit different to the one from Georgia who is probably different to the one from Gibraltar...

849. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175648 by Goldy on May 5, 2008 at 7:21 pm

" If that means that some people do not get to vote based on intelligence then that is a consquence of them not being able to understand enough to vote."

Hmm, interesting point of view. Not much different from a guy called Adolf.

Or they know something we don't ;-)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/science/06dumb.html?8dpc

850. Boy dies of leukemia after refusing treatment for religious reasons

Comment #175643 by Goldy on May 5, 2008 at 7:07 pm

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/life-after-jehovahs-witnesses-website-offers-help-to-followers-who-lose-their-faith-821603.html
One for this topic :-)
I'd post to articles @... but they never seem to get put up here :-(

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