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Comments by Goldy


1451. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?

Comment #128702 by Goldy on February 17, 2008 at 5:39 pm

:-) Had a feeling something was afoot when told V was forsaking my hospitality for a trip to Scotland :-)
Good on you both!

1452. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #128603 by Goldy on February 17, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Funny how nobody is asking me for evidence why homophobic discrimination is sinful other than because God said so

This makes you sound like a homophobe. Your view is that it is sinful because you don't like it?
If it were only up to us, we'd all burn in hell as sinners

Trouble is, whatever we are, someone says we are going to hell. Let's wait on the praising until the situation is clearer!

1453. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #128597 by Goldy on February 17, 2008 at 12:36 pm

You could take the New Testament away from the equation, and still have the truth of the resurrection of Jesus sustained by the testimonies passed on from eyewitnesses to others down through the ages. The written record only makes it easier to believe, based on the dating of the accounts

I'm not sure - you're talking about a 2000-odd year old story, written after the man died by people who never saw him. Don't forget, this myth is respendent with the symbolism found in other similar mythology and in the mythology native to the region in question.
The same is true of King Arthur, yet there is debate about his existance. And, more importantly, this story is 450-odd years younger than that of Jesus.

1454. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #128590 by Goldy on February 17, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Adam and Eve and the flood story are far from demonstrably false. They are extremely plausible, and fit in with much of the evidence. Other evidence seems to conflict with the stories

You are right about one thing - there is no hard evidence. But there is evidence of great flooding - just not quite as the Bible says...
About Noah, the Floods and Mankind
Adil Salahi, Arab News

Q. We know that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to all mankind, but was Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) also sent to all mankind? If he was sent as a messenger of God to his own people only, and they refused to accept his message, why was all mankind drowned by the floods that engulfed the whole world? It is said that the whole population of the earth come from his three sons, Ham, Sam and Yafith. Please explain.

S.R. Ali

A. 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.

1455. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #128585 by Goldy on February 17, 2008 at 12:28 pm

I was saved by Jesus out of Roman Catholicism, and I am so glad!

Well, you haven't accepted the true faith, so you'll burn in hell.
Homosexual acts ARE sinful

At least, as you crackle in the firepits or whatever hell has, you'll have good company. Steve'll be there (along with the rest of us and every other religion) to keep the conversation uplifting and educational :-)

1456. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #127044 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 6:46 pm

I for one am sick and tired of greedy Saudi oil tycoons (and their wallets) growing fat on the work of others, then using their influence on the aristo- and theo-cratic government to suppress the basic rights of the common folk. They supply funding for the government in return for power, and the government use the money to fund religious police and terrorist groups.

Seems the common folk are sick and tired too
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/world/asia/14pstan.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

1457. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127040 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 6:18 pm

How the appropriate levels are found

A toast to science

Sir: Your article on Sir Karl Popper (The Great Philosophers: No 13) observes: "It is hard to imagine scientists getting the champagne out on the discovery of an observation which conflicts with their pet theory." Quite probably true but, bound as they are by human nature, many would certainly raise a glass to celebrate their disproving someone else's pet theory.

Phil Hignett

Amersham, Buckinghamshire

Letter in today's Independent...

1458. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127032 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 5:37 pm

"I will find out as much as I can before I get bored".

Bored? Never. Funding, on the other hand (the lack thereof) has put a stop to many project.
I guess levels are set by how much someone wants to pay....

1459. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127031 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 5:36 pm

Perhaps "different levels" should be abandoned, rather than abandoning "satisfactory".

Maybe satisfactory is a good word - it describes the status that people are happy with, both scientist and layman. The theory of evolution is satisfactory because it is as good as we can see by research. Physics has satisfactory explanations too, until people talk of strings and stuff (way outside my interest) then its usage would depend on which camp you are in...

1460. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127029 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 5:33 pm

Caxton, yes. Remember the story of the eggies and the eyren and how the woman serving the merchants "could speak no French" :-)
I twiddled with the time frame a bit - obviously Shakespeare was after as we can read his plays and Caxton takes a bit of time.
My main point was that, yes, the Bible gave us many phrases, but I dare say they were in use as the Bible was written down by the King James crew. Of course, things being more local in them days, the phrase of one district would be carried all over and become common.
I love English - why I readily play with this herring. But look above, I am trying to keep on track :-D

1461. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127026 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 5:28 pm

The research scientist is an explorer. He/She does not consider "appropriate levels".. they are open to whatever they find.

There are levels in research, but that's only to describe how the stauts of things are at that time (generally set by the newest published findings). It is not really appropriate or anything, it is just where research has gotten to. More research either discredits or expands on that level or indeed does from that level to a whole new other level in an unrelated field :-)
Scientists are generally open to whatever they find. Sometimes an ego might get hung up on dogma, but there are enough other scientists who don't like that explanation and go around it.
Far be it for a serious researcher to think "Yeah, that's good enough, I'll stop here!"

1462. My Saudi Valentine

Comment #127023 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 5:22 pm

I seriously doubt the sex drives of those men are any different from any other culture.

Yesterdays Arab News had two stories about rape. One was the rape and killing of a minor and the other was, I believe, a gang rape. Both cases involved men raping men (or boys).
They do have the same sex drive, but more suppressed and more explosivve in its release...

1463. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127020 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 5:15 pm

My view is that for a long time it was the ONLY book available

Not sure about the availability for most in the early days. Then, of course, there was the Wycliffe bible from beforehand which I'm sure had a large audience.
There was little else for most people

Well, reading nursery rhymes to my daughter and I can see there is quite a variety there :-) the Grimm brothers didn't invent their fairy tales and there were other older stories, stories of King Arthur, the Mabiogion, sagas, etc which the people would have listened to and which, I think, preserved older speech.
However, there was a flux in the language about that period. Wasn't it at about this time there was the Great Vowel Shift and Shakespeare (and we know he used nouns as verbs, verbs as nouns, in fact really played with the language) was penning popular plays at about this time (give or take a generation or two - my dates are a bit rusty), so people might have had a more fluid understanding of language. I remember reading Elizabethan English loved word-play and riddles. Maybe the phrases we have from the Bible made their first appearance there :-)
However, appearance and origin are not exactly the same.
Still, long time ago - it happened and we have it today. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't change our lives much :-)
OK, back to the main topic before Zarbi chastises me for my red herrings ;-)

1464. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #126995 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:48 pm

That's the one! Yes. On recently here in NZ on the satellite channels, his history of English program.
What with all the Richards and Steves, I couldn't think of any other name! I knew he wasn't one of them!

1465. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #126992 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:43 pm

I think at the moment fundamentalism in Islam is growing simply because it is being taught, particularly by the Wahabi Madrassas that Saudi Arabia is funding all over the muslim world

It is also not being helped by Western policies and anti-Islamic thought...but that's just my view.

1466. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #126990 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:41 pm

I've never read the Bible and I'm not gonna

Damn, you have to read it - so many contradictions and inconsistencies within the first couple fo chapters. And Ezekiel - ooooh, the first page is brilliant!

1467. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #126988 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:40 pm

It is virtually certain that you yourself have quoted the Bible in everyday speech whether you knew it or not, and the book titles on your shelves are very likely to include biblical quotations.

Like it or not, it is our history and part of our culture.

Remember watching a documentary - had that English author and presenter doing it...damn, what's his name. Read out all the bits in the KJV that are in common usage.
But then again, couldn't this be a chicken/egg scenario? After all, it had to be understandable to those hearing it to make sense, sa maybe the Bible (in English) owes us, the people.
On another point - too many Richards and Steves here! Seriously! One Richard will have to be The Doc, RD and R Morgan can fight for the privilege :-) Steve, you decide with Steve who will be Steve and then we can all call the winner Steve. I guess the loser will have to be the Chihuahua :-)

1468. Sprinting down the evolutionary highway

Comment #126979 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:30 pm

babrock - who has a greater chance of fathering children by their mistresses, the rich tycoon or the blue collar worker?

1469. Sprinting down the evolutionary highway

Comment #126977 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:26 pm

pt4..Put more bluntly myopic mentaly chalenged individuals are just as likely to procreat as any one else nowdays

You'd be surprised at how unsuccessful many are.

1470. Sprinting down the evolutionary highway

Comment #126970 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 3:20 pm

Babrock, not sure what you are trying to say, but I'll hazard an answer :-)
It is hard to see evolution in progress, especially in one's own species. However, it is occurring - in the last 10000 years we have got blue eyes, blond hair, ginger hair, a taste for milk, etc, etc. This is not that long in real Earth time. We have only been living in big western civilisation for a much shorter time. Heck, most of Europe was small farming villages with the occassional town until very recently - what, 500 years?
Now, we are all in big cties. Malthusian theories have been put off for a spell as we found we can make food, lots of it, quite easily. Indeed, it is so easy it is getting to the stage that fatness is more prevalent than thin. Yes, we see the starving in Africa, but that does have wars etc to help it along. Generally speaking, we are getting, as a species, fat, with all the attendant risks.
Now, given that the healthy ideal is thin still, one will still be attracted to thin. If you have, ooooh, I don't know, a high metabolism, if you can eat heartily and still remain thin, you will be more attractive. If you are naturally thin, you will be more attractive. More attractive, more mates. And remember, just because one is married, doesn't mean there aren't dalliances outside of the marriage ;-)
See where I am going here?
Aaah, but there are all the other people, fat people, stupid people, ugly people. Yes, and they shall continue too - but the more successful will be the good looking and thin, as it were, because they fulfil the ideal. Good lookers are targetted - maybe a fat person is lucky and gets the thin person - yes, the genes that make the person fat are passed on, but so are the thin genes that enabled the thin partner to be ideal. In this way, the fatness is diluted, as it were. Genes that help process the excess food are passed on, as opposed to genes that store food better. Of course, should Malthus be right after all, thin people with a high metabolism will suffer greatly and the fat shall rule the day - albeit probably with shrinking waistlines.
This is, of course, hideously simplified - a parable, if you will. Can't it happen? Well, look around you. See all those people with blue eyes? Blond hair, red hair? At one time there was only 1 of each in the whole wide world....

1471. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126960 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 2:57 pm

A hundred years ago we knew what we stood for and we knew we were right. We are a society that is in decline now through lack of courage and determination; decadence and self interest prevail and we will very soon be overrun.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/8141/boerwar.html - rather interesting. I liked this paragraph...
The Boer War is a watershed event for the British Army in particular and for the British Empire as a whole. Their last European (i.e. white) opponents were the Russians in the the Crimean War (1853-56). Since then, for the previous 40 years, the Empire had been fighting ill-equipped and ill-organized (albeit brave) native forces. Easy victories made for an over-confidence that was quickly shattered by the opening battles in South Africa. The British generals had a difficult time adjusting to the different tactics of a different war. The Boers were a fast and highly mobile guerilla force, using the new smokeless cartridges in their German Mauser rifles which greatly concealed their positions; and they employed hit-and-run tactics that not only caused losses the British couldn't afford, but thoroughly frustrated the Empire's view of a 'fair fight'. As costs and casualties mounted, with the generals continually professing that the end was near, and the war taking a bitter and brutal twist in the last two years, British public opinion soured. Thus began the long slow decline of support for the Imperial idea.

1472. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126948 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 2:44 pm

Sometimes we need to vote with our feet. Sometimes we must walk away from certain "debates".

Steve, Richard - I understand. I realise I do have a naive belief that people can chage...I have been shown the error of my thoughts many a time...but I still, like a theist, hold my belief.
As it is, I can't make you change your views ad I will respect them. But please remember, you are never alone - there's always the others of us behind you...and indeed, in front.

1473. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126916 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:41 pm

I am not happy to be in the presence of someone who wishes that I was "eradicated".

Steve, there are those that wish you gone for your abomination - and you still talk to them.
A friend of mine was very homophobic once. He said he was repulsed by the thought of homosexuality. He met a guy who was as passionate about cars as hima and they became great friends - only disagreements were to do with cars.
Imagine my mates surprise when he finds out his best friend is gay! Quite a thing to get around his head.
Upshot was, my mate chnged his views and is now very comfortable with gays.
So leaving them alone is not the answer Steve, talking to them is.

1474. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #126912 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:25 pm

:-) Might do that, Al. Have read why you post as you do. Only can only really do this Facebook thing at home (I think I may be spoken to about the amount of time I am on this site soon!) and NZ broadband is....well, it isn't :-)

1475. New meat-eating dinos identified

Comment #126907 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:07 pm

Damn, my fossil comment vanished.
As Epinephrine said.
We may not have found a lot of Homo fossils, but we have quite a few mammal fossils.
We have a lot of dino fossils but very few, say, T. rex fossils.

1476. New meat-eating dinos identified

Comment #126900 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:00 pm

Clearly carrots and parsnips were designed for easy consumption by snakes

I once read something about re-enactors in Belgium, I think. Living the 13th century life, if I recall. Anyway, some went as far as living it outside the re enacting, to the extent of having 13th century food. This involved no carrots (among other things) as they grew under the ground and at the time were considered the Devil's food. Soooo, snake, carrot, Devil's food, Eve, apple....I thin you're onto something there, Epi!

1477. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #126896 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 12:50 pm

Seems a few people here think others are muslim. Even I was accused of following Islam once!

1478. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #126894 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 12:48 pm

From all I havae read in Arab News, from letters to editorials, there is absolutely no respect for the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. One editorial was regarding a meeting between a minor civil servant and a reporter, the former a male and the latter a female. It had to be held in the man's hotel room as the mutawwa were in the vicinity and they would not be allowed to be seen together in the hotel lobby having a meeting. Stupid, eh? They couldn't have a meeting in public but they could go to his room...

1479. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #126889 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Scheezers, if I get your drift right in comment 126836, the bit starting

We are simply trying to determine how complexity came into existence; we say it is through a designer. Logically, that designer must be just as, if not more, complex than its creation. But the inability to explain the designer doesn't derogate from the fact that complexity requires a designer.

you are saying it doesn't matter if the designer had a designer and so ad infinitum and with increasing complexity because that is beside the point. So why is abiogenesis seemingly important when it comes to evolution?
Furthermore, the evolution story suffers from its own complexities. No one has yet to date been able to prove how life first came into existence. (The primordial soup explanation has yet to be proven, and is extremely unlikely.) This is a HUGE question, and cannot simply be thrown away. But this of course does not stop people from positing evolution.

If the increasing complexity of a designer can be ignored, then how life started can also ge ignored.
As it is, it isn't. There are people, as we speak, trying to understand the start of this complexity. It might be unfortunate that those who are interested in the hows are also influenced by those that say it was a god (for that is all the term designer means).
Ambiogenesis - here's a starter for 10 http://www.resa.net/nasa/origins_life.htm
It is very interesting too - I read somewhere that it may have begun between plates of mica - the cell wall then replacing the sheets of mica as the environmental covering...but that is a totally different topic.

1480. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #126883 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Aaah, witchcraft in Saudi Arabia. Check out Arabnews.com - there seems to be lots of it in the Kingdom. Of course, as the letters point out, most of it is scam artistry (a lot of the "sorcerers and witches are Nigerian, it seems. In the civilkised world, they'd be done for fraud and the like) and having headlines reading witchcraft is quite embarrassing to many Saudis.
Not, of course, that the Muttawa (not sure if it's spelt right) care...or even if they have any relevance in most Saudis lives. They are increasingly being seen, if the letters are correct, as a nuisance and a law unto themselves.

1481. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126694 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:14 am

Boy, the Muslims are up in arms again about cartoons. Guess they just can't wait to see the Hindu take on it all - and then follow that with what China has to offer :-)
Despite all that, I can't see any dropping of immigration from Islam to the west...

1482. Why Darwin matters

Comment #126692 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:08 am

If I stand with logic against E.T (Evolution theory,)....

Aaaaah - bugger me, that's cleared things up a bit. I was wondering what the hell extraterrestrials had to do with us!
Monkeys are different from humans beings in terms of thinking, figuring out even the DNA â€" Genomes proved that already. You can check the web page Kringski pasted. They are animals like others. Otherwise we should have found a lot of Robin Williams, not the shaved ones.

Some people are different from others in terms of thinking too. Doesn't take much of a mutation to really change things. You know of Down's Syndrome, I presume. Just one extra chromosome (number 21) - that's it. Developmental problems and the resurgence of the epicanthic fold. And all because of one wee tiny almost inconsequential error...

1483. The Pagan Christ

Comment #126690 by Goldy on February 14, 2008 at 1:01 am

As a Christian, I hold that if anyone says they've had a message from God and that message doesn't reflect Jesus' values, it's simply not a message from God.
Say we have two card-carrying members of Greenpeace, Fred and George. Very committed both of them, apparently. Problem is that Fred finds out that the business George owns has been dumping toxic sludge into the ocean for years at George's direction. So would we consider George to really be a Greenpeacer? Don't think so. Likewise with those who would call themselves Christians but not bear the fruit of a life that has been changed. 'Just because the mouse is in the cookie jar, doesn't make him a cookie'.

I believe you Chtistians have the saying "The Lord moves in mysterious ways." You have given us your opinion - it is merely a reflection of your views on Christianity. How do you know George's toxic dumping did not have a purpose? You would not consider him a Greenpeacer, but then maybe he considers himself one. That you have a difference of opinion doesn't make either of you right in each other's eyes, does it?
How does Christianity enable someone to justify evil actions?

The same way any religion and sect justifies its actions - it is sanctioned by the relevant god.
The mouse may not be the cookie, but one is what one eats, so really the mouse can be the cookie after all :-)

1484. Curriculum for Baptist School

Comment #126656 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 7:26 pm

The Creation, The Curse, and The Flood are continually emphasized as causative events that have shaped our universe.

The creation I can understand as a causative event....but why pick on menstruation? I mean, the curse is a bit icky, but surely not too big a deal? As for the Flood, there are debates on how widespread it was...
About Noah, the Floods and Mankind
Adil Salahi, Arab News

Q. We know that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to all mankind, but was Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) also sent to all mankind? If he was sent as a messenger of God to his own people only, and they refused to accept his message, why was all mankind drowned by the floods that engulfed the whole world? It is said that the whole population of the earth come from his three sons, Ham, Sam and Yafith. Please explain.

S.R. Ali

A. 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.

As the Koran is the last message God gave to man, etc, etc...

1485. Earliest bats did not 'see' with sound

Comment #126655 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 7:19 pm

Donot creationists often cite t lack of any "missing links" as proof evolution isnot t way species come to be?

Yep. Mind you, they are never satisfied when given an intermediate - they then ask for the intermediate between that intermediate and the original :-)
Surely the first word you typed should have read "donut"...hmmmm, sweet sugar coated donut...drool!

1486. Why Darwin matters

Comment #126652 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 7:01 pm

Is a half-man/half monkey possible or desirable?

If there are genes that protect against certain ailments, then why not.
As it is, you have plenty of "alien" information within your genome. There was a lecture here recently (I missed it unfortunately - family matters) where viral DNA in the human DNA suggested past epidemics and the like :-)

1487. My Saudi Valentine

Comment #126632 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Of course, Islam, even the Wahhabi version we read about in this article, is not the only culture where we may find things a bit puritanical...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/13/wvalentine113.xml

1488. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126629 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:54 pm

Well, if you want the only thing to have on toast, it is the full breakfast, bacon, eggs, sausage, all the trimmings.
And washed down with Guinness.
To be had fairly late on a Sunday morning with the BBC World Service on the radio.
Anything else is heresy and shall be looked down on accordingly.
;-)

1489. Sharia fiasco

Comment #126626 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:48 pm

And the article they pertain to
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=106293&d=31&m=1&y=2008

1490. Sharia fiasco

Comment #126623 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:46 pm

Letters in Arab News

Shariah Laws

Samar Fatany’s article “Let Us Codify Shariah Laws” (Jan. 31) was an excellent discussion of the issues involved. Not only is it necessary to codify the Shariah in Saudi Arabia. It is also urgent to study the differences that exist between Islamic laws as applied in different countries with the objective of developing a more uniform interpretation of the Shariah.

Everybody agrees that there are no Quranic verses that forbid “khulwa”, or define any sanction applicable to it. The main text of reference on the subject is a Hadith quoting the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying that no man should be alone with a woman who has not a Mahram (a blood relative forbidden to marry). The Hadith implies that when a man and a woman are alone in a secluded place there may be temptation lurking. But, at the same time, Islam teaches moral responsibility and individual accountability, underlining the fact that each person is individually responsible for his or her actions before God.

In North African countries the Hadith on “khulwa” is viewed as indicating ethics of conduct in order to avoid committing sins of the flesh. Some people may frown on a situation of “khulwa” but, as long as no wrong has been committed, there is no reason to apply any sanction. Punishment is called for only when forbidden actions " such as adultery " take place.

In the Gulf states, the Hadith has been interpreted by the ulema as forbidding “khulwa”. But, even in that case, the Prophet did not define any punishment to be applied to those who put themselves in such a situation. It was the ulema that studied the “offense” in its various aspects, defined its nature and decided on the applicable sanctions. In the Gulf states, personal status law has not yet been codified, and both the judges and the people have some difficulty, at times, distinguishing between tribal “law” and customs and the prescriptions of Islamic law, especially in ta’azir situations.

In these conditions, there is latitude for change in the judicial system’s view of khulwa in the Gulf states, if the political authorities were inclined to do so. The only major obstacle to be confronted is the weight of traditions.

“Unfortunately,” says Suhaila Hammad, a writer who supports women’s rights, “tradition and customs control many people here (in Saudi Arabia) and they confuse them with Islamic law. As for the argument that we should introduce women’s rights gradually, I say Islam came 1,428 years ago. Are all these centuries not enough to understand it?”


Tariq Amin, Jeddah published 8 February 2008


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Shariah Laws [2]

This article was an eye-opener. It should have appeared and acted upon at least a century ago. Our scholars have failed us. The task is overdue. Scholars from all Muslim societies in the world, including those where Muslims are minorities, should undertake that immediately. Restricting the power of decision to the theological scholars of a particular nation only will be a disaster.

1491. A Tyrannical Romance

Comment #126622 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:46 pm

I've got T. rex gyrating and swivelling feathered "eye catchers" in opposite directions in my mind...

1492. My Saudi Valentine

Comment #126621 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:44 pm

I'm looking through Saudi Arabia's Arab News online to see what they say about Valentine's day. Nothing yet, but did find out that the Flood DIDN'T kill all mankind
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5§ion=0&article=106587&d=14&m=2&y=2008&pix=islam.jpg&category=Islam
I'll try and find other things. I have read malls are a great place to hope for a date - flicking phone numbers is still a popular past time...

1493. A Tyrannical Romance

Comment #126618 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 4:39 pm

sort of flashy winglets....

What, like those tassles one can see in certain dancing establishments? Hmmmm - they say there is nothing new under the sun.... ;-)
Regarding your serious point - I also wander if there was sexual dimorphism. I recall reading recently that some of the moa bones originally attributed to young or indeed smaller species were actually the different sex to the larger bones they found.

1494. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126579 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 3:26 pm

Pray for what to put on toast, eh? Does looking in the fridge and seeing what is provided count? It is almost like a prayer..."please let there be marmalade in the back, please!"

1495. Earliest bats did not 'see' with sound

Comment #126546 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Flap, flap, flap...D'Oh! Flap, flap, flap...D'Oh!
The true origins of echo-location ;-)

1496. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #126545 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 2:03 pm

In laws are from Shanghai - it appears to be regaining the culture it had before 1948 (Mamon - and a proud believer in it). Of course there have been mismanagements in China's affairs - but look at it's past immediate history and look at the leaders. Corruption and scandal are part and parcel of Chinese culture. But look at how quickly they are cracking down on things. It'll be OK in the end.
Socialism - nice idea but then so is 72 perpetual virgins after death in battle. It would be nice to be able to be looked after from cradle to grave, but at the expense of freedoms and by stultification of thought and deed, of talent? I don't think so. NZ is rather socialist (or so I am told) but people still travel for the life on offer in other less left-leaning countries.

1497. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #126542 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 1:49 pm

Now try a socialist country where all people live well? Soviets, no. Cuba, no. China, no. I really can't think of one.

Al, people can live very well in China - my in-laws for one. Only thing is, socialism isn't really as important in their lives as good old capitalism :-)
Radishes, I believe the term is - red on the outside, white on the inside....

1498. A Tyrannical Romance

Comment #126536 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 1:36 pm

From the sex lives of creatures long gone to the sex lives of creatures present - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=82&objectid=10492274
Must be a Valentine's thing...

1499. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #126530 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Heh, recent article showed that obesity and smoking cost governments less money, not more - they cause early death, saving money in the long run.

Given the taxes put on some foods and ciggies, I'd not be surprised if being a smoking fat bastard on the couch with a beer isn't actually making the government more money that being some uber-fit runner!

1500. Sharia fiasco

Comment #126529 by Goldy on February 13, 2008 at 12:55 pm

If I may a point of demonisation - seems to be a popular thing to some. I was told off for implying the papers demonise Muslims. Am I the only one to think that having stories highlighting the worst aspects of your culture - aspects that a vast majority are repulsed by - and having comments published suggesting that people of a certain faith can "fuck off back to where they came from" (even if they are born and bred in the country they are to "fuck off" from), stories in every major paper and seemingly every month, won't make them turn inward?
Islam is nasty and brutish. So, really, is Christianity and a host of other religions. The following of these religions is different - the texts may be "set in stone" but the followers aren't. Not that long ago in European history that women were not afforded the same rights as men - indeed, they had to fight for voting rights in pretty much living memory. As Steve pointed out, things change. Muslims in China are not the same as Muslims here - admittedly, the Chinese methods may not gain favour in the West, but the main thing is that the people can be made to see their religion differently. Being told theat it is a sick religion of honour killings, beheading and jihad isn't going to make them change, especially if they also find these abhorrent. Being told to "fuck off" really isn't going to help integration and reconciliation.

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