101. Should Strident British Atheist Richard Dawkins Dictate Education Policy to US States? Barbara Forrest Apparently Thinks So

Comment #197055 by Logicel on June 21, 2008 at 2:11 am

Some very good comments on this thread (Janus#6, elles#16, infidel-michael#27, Quill#21, Xplodyncow #33, Bluff King Hal#32, Zara#31 and of course Richard's).
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LochRaven wrote: Or are creationists organizations just really getting scared of Dawkins and other outspoken rationalists? Let's hope it's the latter.

The success of this website (and of PZ Myers) in terms of it allowing diverse individuals from all over the world to pummel religion in a critical thinking manner, consistently without letting up for nearly two years is about something to be concerned.

The IDiots reaction is probably a mix of smugness (we can lie, cheat, and steal our way out of this like we have been doing) and genuine powerlessness against a new weapon, the Web, on which their children can plug into a world of reason and critical thinking demolishing the careful walls of ignorance around them that their parents built.

These IDiots are watching the walls crumble in horror--some of them may be denying this reality, but others are scrambling to pick up the broken stones and patch them back into the disintegrating edifice, to only have them come tumbling back down on their IDiot heads.

IDiots are failing to see that moat building in the age of the Web is null and void.

102. Lawsuit filed over 'I Believe' plates in S.C.

Comment #196784 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Mordacious1 wrote: I'd be more likely to flip off a driver with one of those...just when I was getting my road rage under control.
_______________

From a recent Mind Hacks post: The abstract below suggests that bumper stickers are potentially an expression of territorial markers and that aggressive people are more likely to use more,...

Excerpted from: http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/06/number_of_bumper_sti.html

So all those mild-mannered Christians with Christian sayings, icons, etc., festooned all over their Christian vehicles are really aggressive road ragers? Tell me, it ain't so!

103. Muslim countries win concession regarding religious debates

Comment #196497 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 3:42 am

notsobad wrote: The US government is good at taking your liberties without the help from any international organization.
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But it knows what is best for all of us!!!!!
*Sarcasm off*

104. Muslim countries win concession regarding religious debates

Comment #196494 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 3:37 am

When they must, by definition, be at very least be wearing a dress whilst at the same time being in possession of a penis... well, then you have a problem.
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I like it, and will use this description of religious scholars frequently. Corylus, you made my day!

105. Teen's death blamed on faith healing

Comment #196488 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 3:22 am

And it is always a joy when lurkers and first-time posters post. We always are in need of fresh blood here.

106. Teen's death blamed on faith healing

Comment #196486 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 3:19 am

Have I said lately, that Faith sucks?

107. Teen's death blamed on faith healing

Comment #196485 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 3:18 am

Agree with Frankus, The Followers of Sh*t Church should be slapped with criminal charges, and it is not even being considered because it is a religious organization. The members of a law-abiding society are all subject to its laws and its taxes, but apparently you are exempt when religious.

Other faith-heads, the so-called moderate ones, won't even realize the dangers their own faith may cause, because they believe it is the correct faith, so dipshits like DR can spread psychological terror with its related damage and guilt while rationalizing/ignoring the wrong that they do by simply clinging to the error of thinking their faith is the true one.

108. Muslim countries win concession regarding religious debates

Comment #196471 by Logicel on June 20, 2008 at 2:41 am

We got a renaming contest for the UN Human Rights Commission on-going in our household at the moment. The short list is:

1)The UN Naked Emperor Is Fully Clothed Counsel
2)The UN Promotion of Female Abuse by Cowardly Acquiescence Counsel

Costea, you are a coward and a jerk.

109. Oystein Elgaroy - the Christian defender who became an Atheist

Comment #195507 by Logicel on June 18, 2008 at 11:13 am

Carto wrote: *Blushes with tremendous embarrassment*
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I am channeling that a fourth phobia is in its early stage of development?

110. Oystein Elgaroy - the Christian defender who became an Atheist

Comment #195364 by Logicel on June 18, 2008 at 5:53 am

Welcome, Loke! Yes, please, when time allows, give us some feedback on the cosmology discussions. And I think you are cute and have a wonderful sense of humor.

DR is a preacher. Preachy does not cut it outside the pulpit, but the poor dear can't adjust and converse/debate normally. DRs style of tediously--and totally inadequately--responding to particular points made by commenters is equivalent to his style of reaching out to his congregation as the leader of his flock. We are all despairing/lost souls to the blighter; he would not identity an individual if that individual sat on him.

111. Vatican bans Dan Brown film Angels & Demons from Rome churches

Comment #194652 by Logicel on June 17, 2008 at 6:16 am

However the marble halls and staircases of the former Royal Palace at Caserta near Naples are having to be used to double for Vatican interiors.
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I am confused, how could a Royal Palace pitch hit for an humble abode of holy men who have rejected the sinful attractions of material wealth?

112. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #193327 by Logicel on June 15, 2008 at 10:46 am

Browsed a few pages of this thread, and can see that is it being disgraced by a pair of creepy, pathetic, nutty Christians. Keep talking, creeps, you are the best 'evidence' that your beliefs are unfounded and crazy and immoral (you immoral creeps think that scapegoating in the form of Jesus is beautiful and innocent people are stained with a 'sin' which they did not commit and therefore groveling in front of an non-existent deity is required). How low can a human stoop?

113. Divine Impulses: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #192854 by Logicel on June 14, 2008 at 4:21 am

Fanusi, yes, I remember that Economist coverage vividly even though it was published about 16 months ago.

It was almost as silly as another numbskull mouthing off why the price of gold is rising. But, all in all, the level of writing/reporting is superb in The Economist and I read it every week, the only print media that I do. It has in general a lively and talented bunch of writers who are not allowed to have by-lines. If they did, I would avoid anything written by the idiot who penned that slippery, slimy, vapid, useless article on Ayaan.

Ayaan is a neoCon--haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, and I am an goose with golden-egg laying skills.

114. As the world becomes smaller, the need to understand each other's faith grows

Comment #192837 by Logicel on June 14, 2008 at 3:09 am

The amount of straw that can be generated from the enormous straw bogey man of globalisation as an compelling basis for upping the ante in peddling their non-evidential wares is not enough to cover the stench emanating from the Augean pile of steaming sh*t generated in this Mission Statement promoting an approach that can't be identified, tested, applied, and evaluated in any standardized and parsimonious manner.

Blair's approach is shockingly in opposition to the smart and clever one of perfect practice via structured learning. Just repeating the same old mistakes over and over again via religion will not make perfect behavior, while Science's life blood is perfect practice.

Yes, Mr. Blair, should be quaking in his little religious booties, because globalisation is a powerful force in disseminating freer trade, better standards of living, human rights, etc., all achievements that make faith shrivel and dry up.

115. As the world becomes smaller, the need to understand each other's faith grows

Comment #192824 by Logicel on June 14, 2008 at 2:41 am

But we want to highlight faith in action.
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Whose faith? Which of the zillions of conflicting perspectives in the great unwashed masses of non-evidential beliefs will be the top dog?

How will this active substance be measured, tested, evaluated?

With intelligent people like you Mr. Blair, we don't need any stupid ones.

116. As the world becomes smaller, the need to understand each other's faith grows

Comment #192820 by Logicel on June 14, 2008 at 2:35 am

....And this means that we must know more about the dynamics of the world's great faiths, must be prepared to learn from their stores of wisdom,...
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that little phrase, stores of wisdom, got my imagination going, and I can visualize in the great global market, the world's main streets dotted with little religious stores selling such delicious wares as infibulation, Catholic guilt, obsessive compulsive disorder aka Orthodox Judaism, etc. Oh, wait a minute, we got that already in the form of mosques, churches, and synagogues.

Sounds likes Mr. Blair wants to stake out a place for religious beliefs in the global marketplace. Oh, how very spiritual of you, Mr. Blair.

117. As the world becomes smaller, the need to understand each other's faith grows

Comment #192816 by Logicel on June 14, 2008 at 2:23 am

Spoken like a truly addicted faith-head in all his dysfunctional horror.

Instead of having disparate dysfunctional faith groups, let's just have one big, gigantic one and pretend its bogus underpinnings of belief without evidence will allow positive and effective functioning.

You mix separate piles of crap together, you get a mountain of crap, Mr. Blair. And Mr. Blair, you are a disgrace to your intelligence, your education, and the good fortune of living in a Western democracy.

118. New British Petition: Stop the Nightmares

Comment #191844 by Logicel on June 12, 2008 at 1:23 am

Chronic/acute stress during childhood results in high levels of cortisol being secreted, which can play a detrimental role in later life, physically and mentally/emotionally. (Disclaimer: I have not kept up on this research, perhaps this perspective has now been modified).

Keeping in tune with Phil Rimmer's approach, a test case is what we need. We have existing laws to prosecute on the basis of child abuse/torture/injury, let's not re-invent the wheel, let's get instead the already existing wheels of justice rolling. This approach is similar to not having special laws to prosecute Islamic terrorists, but to prosecute them on the basis of existing laws.

Regardless, if I could, I would sign this petition, per the consciousness raising aspects which have been discussed by other commenters.

119. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #190934 by Logicel on June 10, 2008 at 12:42 am

Yes, every single faith-head I ever met buttresses their so-called faith with rationalizations (not reasons per se) because of the cognitive dissonance that results from embracing non-evidential beliefs.

(Have I just caught an glimpse of an alpha male terrier ripping a strawman to shreds?)

120. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #190804 by Logicel on June 9, 2008 at 3:25 pm

Yes, the title is very well done, and the author's name is intriguing. The rest, however, should earn the author the honor of being named the worst essayist. Ever. Along the tradition of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGonagall

We could also use this 'plain English' approach to explain that the lofty language of many theologians hides essentially the same bankrupted meaning as this article.

Off to see if I can clean-up the author's article on Wikipedia.

121. Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania

Comment #190118 by Logicel on June 8, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Police officials are at a loss to explain precisely why there is a wave of albino killings now. Commissioner Paul Chagonja said an influx of Nigerian movies, which play up witchcraft, might have something to do with it, along with rising food prices that were making people more desperate.
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Nah, rising food prices are immaterial in this situation, obviously, Vumilia--while the murderers were cutting off her limbs--was not praying hard enough.

122. Prayer to feed the hungry

Comment #190110 by Logicel on June 8, 2008 at 11:58 am

This disgustingly trite article is written by a true-blue, divine-love junkie--what a complete dipshit.

We have the knowledge that all races share a significant amount of genetic material and we all are related distantly. The in/out group is a mentality that can be vanquished through education, creativity, hard work, extending human rights, etc. No god or praying need to apply.

What a preachy, condescending, passive-aggressive, meddling tone this article has! This is the aspect of Christianity that drives me up the wall--what a bunch of brainless, meddling, so off-target-in-their-focus-of-pulling-off-real achievement love junkies. Take your useless divine love and shove it where it does not shine.

123. Faith no more as World Youth Day fans flames of disbelief

Comment #189845 by Logicel on June 7, 2008 at 11:04 am

This author is conflating intolerance with criticism, and tolerance with respect. I support wholeheartedly the right of people to believe privately whatever they want (keeping non-evidence beliefs out of the public sector), but many of those beliefs I will not respect and will subject to scathing criticism if they are brought out into the public sphere.

If Religion becomes a private matter for consenting adults, I would guess that many posters here who think they want to eradicate it, probably would change their minds. However, such driving forces in keeping Religion alive as indoctrination of children, the pushing of their so-called moral monopoly, special tax treatment, etc., are the reasons why many atheists see the vision of Religion being confined to consenting adults in their private lives as an impossibility. And if Religion ever morphs into that hoped-for state, it will barely be recognizable from its present pushy, meddling, and obnoxious self.

124. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189749 by Logicel on June 7, 2008 at 6:38 am

m-man wrote: i think that the male equivalent of the female mutilation, where everything is cut out and sewn up, would be to say, cut off the testicles,...
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Removing ovaries would be similar to cutting off the testicles--both procedures prevent the passing of genes via sexual means. To me, removing the penis with the option of sewing it back on would be more akin to female infibulation, as both would make having the act of sex impossible or difficult.

125. The day of judgment

Comment #189723 by Logicel on June 7, 2008 at 4:00 am

An informative article with an added plus of McEwan's inimitable style. He manages to be laconic in meaning though he lets the words flow and flow and flow, repeatedly punctuated by the underlying theme/meaning, but in varied historical/philosophical/literary guises.

The will of god was transformed in the 20th century into the will of history, but the essential demand remained, as it still does today - "to purify the world by destroying the agents of corruption". The dark reveries of Nazism about the Jews shared much with the murderous antisemitic demonology of medieval times.
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And religious apologists who connect atheism to secular killing frenzies only show how ignorant (Are you listening, Chris Hedges?) they are of the dogmatic connection between religious killings (jihad, inquisition) and Nazism/Marxism. To paraphrase C. Hitchens, show us a regime that based its ideas on the teachings of Hume, Paine, Jefferson, etc. that has killed in the name of its beliefs (that is, rationality, science, evidence).

And what exactly have we learned? I draw here from a Steven Pinker essay on his ideal of a university: among other things we have learned that our planet is a minute speck in an inconceivably vast cosmos; that our species has existed for a tiny fraction of the history of the earth; that humans are primates; that the mind is the activity of an organ that runs by physiological processes; that there are methods for ascertaining the truth that can force us to conclusions which violate common sense, sometimes radically so at scales very large and very small; that precious and widely held beliefs, when subjected to empirical tests, are often cruelly falsified; that we cannot create energy or use it without loss.
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RAmen, brother!

126. The Great Evangelical Decline

Comment #188767 by Logicel on June 4, 2008 at 1:59 pm

If it is pleasing to him, God may send a great revival that will sweep the country and restore them to their place of predominance.

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How does he do this? Via his mobile from his perch in the clouds? Does he invade bodies so people will do his bidding? WTF are these people saying? Absolutely and utterly bizarre.

127. The Challenge of the New Creationism

Comment #187345 by Logicel on June 2, 2008 at 2:29 am

robotaholic, I saw this about a week ago, so I may be remiss in my memory, but Coyne has some kind of cold.

Anyway, I am a Coyne groupie. I just love this guy. I have learned so much from his writings.

128. Scientists rally against creationist 'superstition'

Comment #187015 by Logicel on June 1, 2008 at 4:45 am

Per scottishgeologist's attic lights link, I had a conversation with god:

Me:
sorry, I mythunstood!
God:
There is no need to apologize. I haven't heard anything like that before: said mythunstood.

It seems the site set up an computer program to deal with questions to god. Try your hand at stumping god!

129. Scientists rally against creationist 'superstition'

Comment #186997 by Logicel on June 1, 2008 at 3:24 am

clearthinker wrote: I write as someone who went with an open mind,...
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Ah, that's the problem, dearheart, your mind is so 'open' your brains fell out! Without brains, even Dawkins would not understand evolution.

Mackie, the Christian, (per scottishgeologist's link), who thought it was insensitive that an lecture which trounced her religious beliefs was allowed so close to Christmas, is not getting it, is she? She is welcome to her opinions (which is what her religious beliefs are), but not to her own facts. When facts are dealt with, there is no balance of opinions! And that is what these believers consider constitutes a fair discussion: their opinions should be given the same weight as facts.

130. 'Uncontacted tribe' sighted in Amazon

Comment #186670 by Logicel on May 31, 2008 at 12:57 am

JD Cherry wrote: A cadre of hardcore atheists that see every headline posted on their favourite biologist's website as an excuse to shit on the religious?
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There is a bit of verbal diarrhea at this site, but mostly this site is a cure for the constipating respect that religion blindly has been given.

My first reaction was is this an hoax? (because of the Tasaday hoax staged in the Philipines in the seventies.)

Here's the wikipedia art on uncontacted peoples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncontacted_tribes

131. Senate bill allows display of Lord's Prayer, 10 Commandments

Comment #186402 by Logicel on May 30, 2008 at 8:52 am

He added, "It's not religious. It's historical."
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More like, "It's not religious. It's hysterical."

132. A Tribute to Douglas Adams: Towel Day May 25th

Comment #184404 by Logicel on May 25, 2008 at 2:27 am

RamziD, your reward in facing down a militant atheist is the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_to_Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything

133. Non-religious summer camps develop niche

Comment #184314 by Logicel on May 24, 2008 at 2:13 pm

liberalartist wrote: They also learn independence by spending a week away from parents.
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A very important point. Can't say that I like the idea of any kind of summer camp (sounds too organized/structured for my tastes). I prefer kids spending overnights/weekends/longer spells with the families of their friends/acquaintances or better still to spend the whole summer in the country with friends/relatives/sponsors.

I am convinced that spending my summers barefooted and bare-chested running around the dunes surrounding our family summer shack kept me whole and vital in order to withstand the onslaught of Catholic indoctrination that waited for me at the end of each glorious summer. My close experience enjoying the wonders of nature protected me from the ridiculous notion of the supernatural being 'true' and the mechanized, inanity of Catholic religious ritual.

My devoutly Catholic mother often decried the New York City system of Higher Education as posing the greatest danger of robbing us of our religious beliefs (she regarded her faith as a jewel that must be shielded from robbery). Alas, I think she was mistaken in that regard, it was her own insistence that we, unlike her who spent summers being fried into a crisp in the stifling Lower East Side, be spared of the same fate. How very ironic.

134. 16% of US science teachers are creationists

Comment #182789 by Logicel on May 21, 2008 at 1:17 am

82abhilash wrote: On a positive note, given the fact that people tend to vote out creationists in from school boards in the US there is room for cautious optimism.
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Yes, very cautious optimism, as the IDiots on now focusing on changing State legislation via their Academic Freedom Bills.

135. Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'

Comment #182783 by Logicel on May 21, 2008 at 1:09 am

Yes, in France, Scientology is treated with great caution (Wikipedia excerpt):

In France, the Church of Scientology was categorized as a sect (or cult) in the report of the National Assembly of France in 1995.[187] A more recent government report in 2000 categorized the church as an "absolute sect" and recommended that all its activities be prohibited.[188] The United States has no such classification in its legal system.

136. Surviving an unholy school war

Comment #181782 by Logicel on May 18, 2008 at 8:52 am

I was educated by Catholic nuns from the mid-fifties to the late sixties in NYC--no beatings (perhaps because they were all-girl schools), but the nuns, except for a couple of them (I still remember vividly an exceptional one, who gave me Sartre to read when I told her that life is absurd), stifled and crushed any expression of creativity/independence of thought and behavior by shunning, ridiculing, and accusing us of plagiarism (an essay of mine was rejected for a national contest because the head nun decided it was too intelligently written for dull little me) or being addicted to drugs (how else could I have written a short story about a junkie withdrawing if I did not have first-hand experience of drug withdrawal?) My significant art talent went largely unnoticed unless it was to force me to do a Thanksgiving card for the red-faced, blustering maniac who was the head nun.

They were for the most part, mean-spirited, frustrated, and an exceedingly stupid bunch of women with major fail dominating their miserable lives. Unfortunately for the students, their oppressive behavior never was challenged by parents at that time.

EDIT: I concluded, at the time, being the closet atheist that I was, that their fear of creativity was based on their belief that their god had a monopoly on creation.

137. These dim-wits believe in anything but God

Comment #181708 by Logicel on May 18, 2008 at 3:01 am

Another tack against Robertson's silly handle that vehement and vitriolic denials prove that such opposition is wrong, then why isn't Robertson a Scientologist, an astrologer, an Islamist, etc.?

138. These dim-wits believe in anything but God

Comment #181703 by Logicel on May 18, 2008 at 2:19 am

The most powerful argument for the existence of God is the vehemence and vitriol in the denials of those who oppose Him. David Robertson
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What part of being human eludes Robertson? The part that we have higher cognitive functions? That this aspect allows us to demolish wishful-thinking? That once armed with solid arguments, we then act? Since emotions fuel our ability to act, emotions will be part of the equation--such as disgust and anger at wobbly wishful thinkers like DR and his unfounded beliefs which are useless at their best and harmful at their worst.

Just to make it clear, DR, atheists are not opposing your god--there is no evidence for your god's existence to do such opposition, like can be done against the present, human leader of North Korea. They are directing their vehemence and vitriol towards the humans, like you, who don't know their delusional arse from their silly elbow. You are no longer protected by the once common, tacit agreement not to criticize blinkered, religious believers with their delusional beliefs. Some of your opponents may be less vitriolic than others, but all of your opponents are not opposing your god, they are opposing YOU, a flesh and blood human, and your wonky religious perspective.

EDIT: DRs religious perspective is wonky, because he refuses to regard religion as an activity done by consenting adults, an activity that should have no special tax breaks and privileges including infiltrating the public sector via religion's supposed corner on morality.

139. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #181344 by Logicel on May 17, 2008 at 1:59 am

Do D'Souza and Boteach blog in all caps?

140. 'Spiritual' dentist fined $10,000

Comment #180315 by Logicel on May 14, 2008 at 2:54 pm

(Dr Gardner) does not appear to accept that he has done anything wrong," the panel said
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Of course not, he could not accept any wrong, after all he was telling the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth to his patient.

141. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179272 by Logicel on May 13, 2008 at 2:30 am

hungarianelephant, Aubrey de Grey responds to that criticism of overpopulation, by saying that it is an excellent opposing argument, and that perhaps people who choose long life will also need to accept that they can't breed.

And futurists like Kurzweil would respond that outer space colonization will be the answer.

142. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179269 by Logicel on May 13, 2008 at 2:22 am

I, also found Bobby Gs comment to be confusing. I regard his definition of dignity to be a question of human/civil rights. We are all able to partake in human/civil rights until we violate the rights of others, then we face the law and prison, therefore forfeiting some rights.

I agree with Pinker that dignity is a sloppy, subjective concept: some would regard a man sporting a fancy handbag as being undignified; others would consider it the height of fashion. Until the handbag-carrying man pummels another person to death with said handbag, it is not a case of lost dignity at all, but a person's right to be autonomous and make decisions for themselves.

EDIT: I also do not see how this article denounced Catholics (per Bobby G). It stated that religious sectarianism has nothing to do with public, secular policy.

143. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179241 by Logicel on May 13, 2008 at 12:46 am

Chris Bell writes: We should organize a mass protest. Let's all follow Kass around while noisily eating ice cream.
_____

I'll join the protest only if I can eat a corndog on a stick in this numbskull's presence.

144. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179240 by Logicel on May 13, 2008 at 12:43 am

I feel pleased when I see people (of all ages) munching on an ice cream cone--they are happy for the most part and I am pleased for them. Does this rigid, sour pus think it is undignified for kids to eat an ice cream cone? I bet this numbskull probably regards most activities done by kids--because of their playfulness--as being animalistic and therefore undignified.

145. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179075 by Logicel on May 12, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Pinker maintains his cool beautifully, focusing on the inanity of using dignity as a basis for ethics rather than autonomy. Of course, the meddling, tyrannical religious 'leaders' abhor autonomy for others because they would be out of a job. Poor babies, if they can't push people around and force feed their disgusting 'ethical/moral' concoctions down the throats of others, they lose their 'dignity.'

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

Comment #178609 by Logicel on May 11, 2008 at 5:48 pm

HourglassMemory wrote: If only we could get the women to fight back.
_____

One strategy is to get many people to criticize Islam. For example, the objection to funding protection for Islam critics (Like Hirsi Ali) rings false, that we can't afford to finance all the protection needed, all that is needed is a critical mass, more people will come out against the wrongs of Islam if there is protection available, and as more and more become vocal, the more difficult it will be for the islamofascists to kill them because of the sheer numbers, and eventually societal change will have happened, and paid protection no longer needed.

Hirst Ali describes vividly in undeveloped countries torn by political strife and war that the people DEPEND on the tribe to live. This dependence is similar to us depending on our education, job skills, etc. to get ahead in life. As Hirsi Ali grandmother drilled into her head, you are nothing without your tribe, you deserve to rot in the dessert if you dishonor it.

We all have tribal inclinations, but in western countries they have been moderated via our depending on advancement based on merit, on our hard work, access to opportunities, etc. The allegiance to the tribe does not mean life and death to us, because of all the options available.

Commerce has been a great civilizer. We, in the West, need to focus on expanding free trade to encourage the development of viable, thriving economies where people no longer need to give up their individuality in order to survive.

147. Church of Scotland mediators to quell disputes

Comment #178250 by Logicel on May 11, 2008 at 2:52 am

It is sad that a religion which has the commandment 'love your neighbour as yourself' at its heart is so often a poor example of a healthy supportive community."

____

Paula Kirby has an excellent handle on the real basis of the conflict.

However, these petty squabbles and their incessant 'reformations' as solutions are reminiscent of the little boy with his finger in the hole of the dyke--but in the case of religion the waters will eventually come crashing down on these rigid, frightened, non-thinking organizations because they have been patching up the leaks in their perspective for so long, their defensive walls are crumbling.

148. Scientists Know Better Than You--Even When They're Wrong

Comment #178010 by Logicel on May 10, 2008 at 8:28 am

If you want to know what counts as secure knowledge in a field like gravitational wave detection, you have to become part of the social group.
____

Is this author implying that atheists need to throw tea parties for theologians? If so, please send me to hell now.

149. Atheists are nice people who will roast in hell, says Cardinal

Comment #177955 by Logicel on May 10, 2008 at 3:59 am

"By carrying out this espionage under the subterfuge of a goodwill mission of Christian charity, the pope was able to gain access to sensitive information never before obtained by a hostile foreign power.
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Hmmm, the pope as a Trojan horse? More like an old, used, icky Trojan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_(condoms)

Fides_et_Rationalization, some commenters thinking the above posts are real just gives credence to Poe's law:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

150. $271 Million for Research on Stem Cells in California

Comment #177601 by Logicel on May 9, 2008 at 10:47 am

Way to go, CA! The Constitution and the great scientific achievements are the two aspects I love best about America. My heart has been broken listening to all the damage that Bush and his degenerates have done to science in America in the last years.