151. Bill Good Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #173900 by kaiserkriss on May 1, 2008 at 10:32 am

Rational Primate.. You lucky so and so!! Had I know RD was in Vancouver I would have jumped into a plane to make the UBC lecture.

Henri Bergson: Excellent post. Thanks for the reference. Sure beats some of the rather controversial contributions you have made in the past. jcw

152. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #173794 by kaiserkriss on May 1, 2008 at 8:49 am

UFOS... PUHLEESE! Think about for a moment. It has taken this planet 3.5billion years to come up with some sort of intelligent life that has a reasonable understanding of the problems associated with speed of light or faster travel that would be necessary between star systems potentially capable of sustaining life, let alone intelligent life.

It is rather presumptuos of us to assume that any other intelligent life has developed at the same rate, or slightly faster than ourselves to get to our solar system in the same time period that intelligent life is developing on earth.

Don't get me wrong, I am convinced there is other intelligent life else where in the universe, only not close enough in time and space for them or ourselves to interact.(Famous last words not withstanding...)


Bill Bryson in his book "A short history of nearly evertything" explains this better than I ever will. jcw

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

Comment #173750 by kaiserkriss on May 1, 2008 at 8:06 am

Re M. R. Morgan : WHATEVER!! I can't really get excited about the fact he has returned to the dark side. That's his loss.

Some of us here are almost getting evangelical about the fact that he has expressed his free will to return to his old ways. Big deal!

For every RM leaving there are many more lurkers from the other side that will become more critical thinkers, and eventually reexamine their own values and join the RD cause. jcw

154. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #173243 by kaiserkriss on April 30, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Podaar, the answer is quite simple, the people have not been pushed hard enough yet to REALLY care. I agree with you though voter apathy is quite sad.

I don't know a really better system, however the way we govern ourselves, despite the best of intentions is a left over from previous centuries. We have changed many things, but not really the way we govern ourselves, except moving from quasi dictatorships / monarchies, to supposed democracies. jcw

155. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #173235 by kaiserkriss on April 30, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Bonzai:

Well got to sign off to do my taxes. :-)

156. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #173229 by kaiserkriss on April 30, 2008 at 2:23 pm

Regardless of socialist vs capitalist, the bottom line seems to be that it is always easier to spend other peoples money, be that governments with their systemic inefficiencies, or corporations spending shareholders money on non company business.

Ditto goes for risk management; about the only people held to task on poor spending decisions are Management of companies when booted out by their shareholders for wasteful practices. Governments in reality are run by career bureaucrats who tend not to accountable to anyone. There are always exceptions such as Poodar's spouse and our lovely annabannana.

Politicians who are supposed to run the bureaucracy, if anything are the ones held accountable, but in most Developed countries, it is actually not the electorate that decides policy and boots out politicians, but the leadership of the parties standing for election.

my 2 cents. jcw

157. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #173146 by kaiserkriss on April 30, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Dang it!!! I missed the notice. Richard D in Vancouver! I would have caught a flight there to meet hear him at UBC. Oh well too late. :-( jcw

158. Fleabytes

Comment #173143 by kaiserkriss on April 30, 2008 at 12:30 pm

I could have understood RM having enough of this site, but going over to "fuzzythinker" of the FCS, was like jumping from thr frying pan into the fire...

Ah well, we can still enjoy his compositions. jcw

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

Comment #170998 by kaiserkriss on April 28, 2008 at 8:15 am

Even though I only suggested for TruthID to watch a rather cryptic video with a vulgar message, I too wish to apologize to ADAM for my behavior.

Adam, I sort of knew it before, however to reiterate, not all iders are nut cases, as you have demonstrated with your willingness to move forward with a reasonable discussion, and actually listed to what is suggested to you rather than ignore it.

This small step alone will contribute to making you the better person you strive to be. Keep it up, and I sincerely look forward to your questions and the answers provided by the contributors of this forum. jcw

160. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #170345 by kaiserkriss on April 27, 2008 at 4:41 pm

Corylus: Gordon Ramsay is quite meek compared to some of the more profanity laden remarks used on this board. Despite that he is such an endearing chap that even my better half immensely enjoys watching his contributions to our moral decline.

You just can't expect little Lord Fauntleroy language from a down to earth sort of fellow like Gordon... "AARGH yes, the answer lies in the soil"

Damn, I can't remember where I stole that from. Kenneth Williams seems to come to mind. jcw

161. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #169740 by kaiserkriss on April 26, 2008 at 4:50 pm

Re "remains" beer and BBQ comment.

While Corylus might be on to something, given the overall quality of remnants arguments and prose, I think the true bubba personality finally came through.

(For those unfamiliar with the term bubba from Wikipedia "Because of its association with the southern part of the United States, bubba is often used outside the South as a pejorative meaning low economic status and limited education. The term "bubba" may also be taken to mean one who is a "good ol' boy." In the US Army and Marines, bubba can mean a lay soldier, similar to grunt but with connotations of endearment instead of derision. For example "Can you make that device easier to work, 'cus every bubba is gonna have to use it."

I think everyone who has responded to remnant and his fellow traveler truthid have unfortunately been had by a couple of cut and paste artists who now have pulled al's number 10. jcw

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

Comment #168075 by kaiserkriss on April 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm

hopeful, your link does NOT work.

TruthID, since you obviously didn't watch my last utube post and get the message, I'll spell it out for you:

SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

I can't believe one person can be so dense, are you in fact several people taking turns trolling this thread and site incessantly?? jcw

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

Comment #167218 by kaiserkriss on April 23, 2008 at 6:16 pm

I've read through all the posts on this thread, and I'm sorry to have to say it about this particular "truthid": (What is a thuthid by the way?? Not deviant art as suggested by google?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PaHcZUHI00

This guy/ gal is PAINFULLY stupid. The patience of the contributors to this individual is, excuse the pun, saintly. This guy makes the wea flea look like a genius.jcw

164. Responses to 'Gods and Earthlings' by Richard Dawkins

Comment #166427 by kaiserkriss on April 23, 2008 at 8:39 am

Steve, I look forward to your comments on global warming on your blog as I sit here freezing my posterior off with a current outside temperature of -5C, snow on the ground from the blizzard over the weekend that dumped 30cm of the white stuff, and expecting more in the next couple of days...

This time of year we should be 20C warmer at our latitudes. Even though the current weather is atypical for around my neck of the woods, the point I'm trying to make is that we really have no idea what are the typical long term weather / temperature cycles and ideals for our planet are, given the extremely short history of reliable record keeping as opposed to the age of the planet.

All we know is that at what science currently projects for us inhabitants, the conditions for OUR species will be unpleasant in the future.

In case you get the idea that I'm a denier, nothing could be further from the truth. Like the rest of the planet, weather is dynamic. Pumping Co2 into the atmosphere at the rate we do is bound to have an effect, just as deforestation and the various other ills civilization has burdened us with. It is unfortunately the price we pay to live our lifestyle.

Is it moral, or fair to less fortunate, or future generations is a totally different dicussion.

I do however sincerely look forward to your blog..jcw

165. Ben Stein Vs. Sputtering Atheists

Comment #165550 by kaiserkriss on April 21, 2008 at 4:29 pm

Message for "Booze Breath the turd"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PaHcZUHI00

courtesy of Frankus. jcw

166. Mecca should become core to measure time zones: scholars

Comment #165548 by kaiserkriss on April 21, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Al, I think Lucas was being sarcastic, otherwise he would not have brought up the idea of touching the Kaba in Mecca.

When the first plane load of Muslims gets destroyed, which will inevitably happen because of a confusion of location, will those people be regarded as martyr to the greater cause??

As for the new watch, I was under the impression most watches these days are either digital, such as on cell phones, or just have ornamental value because of their relative imprecision. jcw

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

Comment #165348 by kaiserkriss on April 21, 2008 at 11:33 am

MPhil aka Mike:

Herzlichen Dank fuer Deine ueberzeugenden und hervorragenden Zeilen gegenubeber den Argumenten des kleinen floh.

Robertson: I never though you would actually write such utter piffle, just so we all understand, your post 208 above comment #165280. It is probably your most disingenuous work to date, insulting not only to the victims of the holocaust, but all to those within Germany who opposed the regime of Hitler.

To put it blatantly and so simple that even you just might be able to understand, has it ever occurred to you that those academics who didn't "suck up" to Hitler and his ilk were discredited, marginalized and removed from their positions and replaced with half wit party faithful, who spouted forth the pseudo science as suggested by the party line?? jcw

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

Comment #165239 by kaiserkriss on April 21, 2008 at 8:46 am

Richard's personal response to "J" should be lauded. In my opinion, it is in fact probably one of the BEST pieces Richard has ever written and should be published in every English language media as a response to that piece of excrement refereed to as Expelled.

It is clear, concise, well argued and reminds everyone of certain facts conveniently forgotten by many individuals while trying to show that their societies and personal clubs have always taken the highroad through out our combined blood thirsty history.

It is despicable and unfortunate that Expelled pushes all the right buttons for its intended audience, rather than being a well augmented documentary.

Is it not about time our side puts forth a similar documentary that appeals to its intended audience, not atheists in this case but theists. Surely, the funds for such a project could be found considering that many of the wealthiest people on this planet are atheists? jcw

169. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #164186 by kaiserkriss on April 19, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Remnant said

Wait till you face the truth face to face. There's no turning back then

170. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #164163 by kaiserkriss on April 19, 2008 at 4:46 pm

Re Remnant... I miss Bizarro. At least he tried to support his arguments with out having to rush out and quote scripture from his holey book. jcw

171. Gods and earthlings

Comment #163397 by kaiserkriss on April 18, 2008 at 9:47 am

Richard's message should be hanging from every flag pole, posted on every Church website and notice board around the world... jcw

172. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #162328 by kaiserkriss on April 16, 2008 at 3:40 pm

Cartomancer:

I have a sneaking suspicion our friend Richard Morgan might be playing that dastard Robertson for all he's worth. Sounds too good to be true to my cynical ears...

173. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #162271 by kaiserkriss on April 16, 2008 at 1:36 pm

If any situation arises that would lead to a theological belief I would be open to it, but I don't really see how it would be possible at all

174. Evolution fray attracts top scientist

Comment #162214 by kaiserkriss on April 16, 2008 at 11:11 am

I think Prof. Kroto is going about this the wrong way.

A movement should be started demanding equal time in schools teaching that the earth is flat, that the sun revolves around the earth and similar nonsense, even to the ID crowd. Maybe then the public at large will start some critical thinking about issues they currently know very little about. jcw

EDIT : I just noticed BIGORRA has beaten me to the punch...

175. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #161481 by kaiserkriss on April 15, 2008 at 10:38 am

Ouch, those poor fucking students

176. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #161067 by kaiserkriss on April 14, 2008 at 5:56 pm

Sorry kids, Henri does not want to play anymore today, or so he asserts, by way of his video return excuse.

MY head tells me his "cool rational head" is overheating and has had enough. jcw

177. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #160985 by kaiserkriss on April 14, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Diacanu.. It all depends on how we each get our "jollies" :-)

It's been more than 35 years since I was a college freshman, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Please bear with me and indulge the child. jcw

178. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #160982 by kaiserkriss on April 14, 2008 at 4:00 pm

My last post disappeared in the ether (WTF!!)

Henri, glad to hear you do actually act in moral ways, and are just playing a philosophical game here. For those of us (myself included) with only an average IQ, and not well versed in philosophical mind games, it would be appreciated if this were pointed out in the beginning of a response to a very serious discussion on an odious topic.

While your ideas are entertaining under the right circumstances, this was not one of them. Sorry! jcw

179. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #160935 by kaiserkriss on April 14, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Toad.. You might be correct about Henri's motives, be that as it may, THIS article is about real flesh and blood, not numbers, or moral relativism.

Should that actually be his desire, a "heads up" would be appreciated, by the less grey matter endowed among us.

How are we to know Henri is different to AsMarques with his holocaust denial gibberish on one of the other threads? jcw

180. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #160921 by kaiserkriss on April 14, 2008 at 2:45 pm

Henri, Get off your holier than thou high horse. Quoting a few fellow philosophers from previous centuries does not let you off the hook that easily. Morals have MOVED ON, as have other ideas and sciences.
Should you wish to continue living in that "glorious past", do so properly, without the "mod-cons" current western society has offered mankind. Should you actually live that way, i.e. believe what you say, then I would have no argument with you, because you are actually putting your ethics in this case where your mouth is.
However you are using a computer and the Internet, so you are not actually putting your 18th Century ethics where your mouth is.

Whereas I agree with you that humans are nothing more than sophisticated animals, the fact you can condone such action astonishes me (unless you are playing devils advocate here).
Should you be of breeding age, and have the fortune to have produced an offspring, male or female, how can you still feel the same way? Would you condone your son engaging in coitus with a child? Would you condone your child daughter engaging in prostitution, and act as a pimp?

Surely if you truly believe this, you are a very sick man. And hiding behind old philosophers in this instance is no excuse, just as Hitler tried hiding behind pseudoscience to justify his final solution.

Henri, you have gone too far trying to justify this...jcw

181. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #160796 by kaiserkriss on April 14, 2008 at 11:51 am

DISGUSTING!!

This is child abuse of the first order. If the girls were over the age of majority, it would still be sad, however since they are still minors, the perpetrators ( parents and customers) should be prosecuted.

Family tradition, BULLSHIT!! My ancestors were "robber barons" a few hundred years ago, who demanded a fee for passing safely over their lands, as well as the rights to the "first night" of any of their serfs.

Well, I want to restart the family business / tradition. Somehow I don't think (rightly so) I would get too far with this line of business.
The zeitgeist has left such barbaric behavior behind, and any one saying differently should have their mental faculties and morals examined, and shown with out a doubt civilized society does no longer condone such actions. jcw

182. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #159904 by kaiserkriss on April 13, 2008 at 11:34 am

Quetz, epeeist, you are both correct! Looks like David can't resist the honey pot. Just like some drug, this site keeps attracting him over and over again.

Since he prays for us, I suspect he is just checking up on us to see if his prayers have been answered.

So I wonder what exactly did he ask for us in his prayers? Going from his track record, it would be nice to know before he MIGHT make some claim that his prayers for us have been answered some time in the future. Maybe it was specifically for RM? jcw

183. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #159889 by kaiserkriss on April 13, 2008 at 10:57 am

epieest wrote" So is the "David A Robertson" a new id or a replacement id for something else? "

The probability that this character is "our" David, weaflee, clearthinker etc, is surely quite low. There must literally be hundreds of David Robertsons in Scotland, let alone the rest of the world to where the Scots have migrated. jcw

184. Expelled producers accused of copyright infringement

Comment #158927 by kaiserkriss on April 11, 2008 at 7:17 am

bamboospitfire: HA, Ha... you caught me. Should be more careful with spellcheck!!

I can see this turning into a money and "conspiricy against ID" issue very quickly. jcw

185. Expelled producers accused of copyright infringement

Comment #158299 by kaiserkriss on April 10, 2008 at 9:51 am

GOOD! I hope the XVIVO organization has the financial where with all to follow through with the law suite.

It is always easy to threat a suite, however because of up front costs often difficult to take to court.

Even if the Expelled people ignore the suite, and the suite goes to trial, and are found guilty, they will probably just declare bankruptcy and move on.

It is unfortunate these hideous people will stoop so low by stealing other people's property, all in the name of god.

What should be done is to actually go after the individuals, not the corporations. When it hits them in their own pocket book, they just might change their tune and comply. jcw

186. Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday

Comment #157688 by kaiserkriss on April 9, 2008 at 12:20 pm

I've just come across this post, and have only scanned a few of the responses, so please bear with me..

While maybe funny at first glance, to me there is a profound sadness about this poor individual who felt he had to end his own life because of his belief and mental illness.

I feel sorry for the victims of his teachings, that they could be so misled by someone with mental illness.

While some posters have suggested dismay that he did not succeed in his suicide, probably trying to be funny, the truth more likely is, even in a rough and tumble society as Russia is today, this could quite conceivably happen just as easily in the FIRST world, and has recently.

The answer is EDUCATION, EDUCATION and EDUCATION again so that individuals are taught to think for themselves and rationally at the same time. jcw

187. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156526 by kaiserkriss on April 7, 2008 at 6:35 pm

Podaar: Glad to hear you were ALREADY on top of things. What Richard was after and myself, were addresses WHERE to send a protest to, which individuals such as Fighting Falcon and Diocletian have now done.

No offense to you or other United States citizens intended.jcw

188. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156513 by kaiserkriss on April 7, 2008 at 5:35 pm

Falcon: Thanks! I'll be sending my $0.02 worth opinion to the necessary individuals. However I'm not holding my breath hoping for a change to occur. Maybe with enough indignation those responsible will wake up and recognize the moral ZeitGeist has moved on.

Frankus: The current Premier of Saskabush was involved in the same incident, but has taken no where the amount of heat as MP Tom. At least they seem to have seen the problem with their previously held attitude. jcw

189. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156489 by kaiserkriss on April 7, 2008 at 4:37 pm

Okay, all you citizens of the United States of America, PAY ATTENTION, do you have any answers to RD's questions posted above?

"snip... is there some kind of Illinois State Democratic Party Organization with an eMail address which we could also flood with mail about this disgraceful case? And how about writing to other Democratic legislators, asking them publicly to disown her? And how about the chairman of this meeting, who refused to allow the abused man to reply? Do we know who he is, and how to flood his mailbox too?"

I'm sure there are many individuals from outside of the USof A who would like to share their disgust of the "Representative" with the bigoted views and point out what a great job she is doing to further the low esteem her country is held by the citizens of other nations. jcw

190. Pastor attacks scientist's talk

Comment #155894 by kaiserkriss on April 6, 2008 at 8:54 am

Is it only me, but is not the concept of a "Free Church" not an oxymoron??

Toe the party line or else you will go to hell?? jcw

191. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #155773 by kaiserkriss on April 5, 2008 at 5:33 pm

Mark, AH, I should have realized that!

As for the Jesus character, what I was thinking about was the record of a "rabble rouser" being intact or recorded by some Roman scribe.

But if memory serves me, except for the NT, there really is no mention of a Jesus in the Roman or Jewish records, i.e. an independent verification. jcw

192. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #155767 by kaiserkriss on April 5, 2008 at 4:48 pm

Mark Smith, Vincent aka Cartomancer THANKS to both of you for answering my question.

From my rather limited knowledge of middle- eastern history, I would have been extremely surprised at conclusive evidence having been found to justify the Jesus of the bible story.

Since the Romans kept quite extensive records, and little if any evidence can be found without wishful interpretation of the actual existence of a Jesus, the historical record would seem to support his non-existence.

I would suggest which ever way the story plays out, our friendly believers will once again just change the goal posts to suit their argument, just as they do with new scientific evidence.

So on an aside, if the earth is only 6000 years old as our YE friends claim, how do they explain the size of the universe, when it can be clearly demonstrated that the speed of light is approximately 300000 km/sec, and that gazillions of stars are farther away than 6000 light years? jcw

193. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #155706 by kaiserkriss on April 5, 2008 at 9:43 am

Cartomancer... As the resident historical expert , what is your take on Roland_F last two posts above?

Has there been consensus on the validity of the bone boxes and the subsequent conjecture?? jcw

194. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #155392 by kaiserkriss on April 4, 2008 at 12:27 pm

ALL HAIL THE PROPHET AL!! He correctly foretold the future. HE must be the true Prophet inspired by.. Hmm let me see Thor, Odin, Alla, or maybe even Quetz. (Take your pick)

Indeed, The prophet Al did better than the Jesus fellow, or even Mohamed in foretelling the future. This proves beyond doubt AL alone is the TRUE prophet. jcw

195. Anti-gay Okla. lawmaker attracts 1,000 backers

Comment #154472 by kaiserkriss on April 3, 2008 at 10:29 am

[I wonder if the cognitive dissonance causes headaches.]

No Al, it is called compartmentalization of fact from fiction, and never the twain shall meet. jcw

196. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #153651 by kaiserkriss on April 1, 2008 at 6:20 pm

Doc Benway... I LOVE it when cut through all the crap!!

Sooo, when are running for office? jcw

197. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #153571 by kaiserkriss on April 1, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Jeez Anna, you CAN herd cats.. :-) jcw

198. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #153533 by kaiserkriss on April 1, 2008 at 2:37 pm

Quetz- I made the mistake of thinking everyone types and thinks as slowly as I do...jcw

199. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #153518 by kaiserkriss on April 1, 2008 at 2:25 pm

Okay guys my turn.. It seems as though some contributors are "johnny-come-late" to this post and have either not read through ALL of the posts and arguments, or in their fervour to make a point forgotten some of the more reasonable points Al has actually made.

While some of his comments when taken out of context could be argued as fear mongering at worst, he has gone to great pains to put forward facts. Admittedly frustration on Al's part seems to have set in occasionally when he has been wrongfully been accused of having radical views. Not everyone here has the patience of St Steve.

Another thing, I suspect this is a cultural gap between the European corespondents and the New World corespondents, in assigning meaning to certain words and turns of phrases.

Have followed this thread with GREAT interest from beginning to end, I can say that Al, as well as Steve for example have almost turned over backwards trying to be reasonable.

However, we are dealing here with mortal humans, none of which is perfect in expression and understanding, so what can we expect but misunderstanding and conflict.

Basically, Al and Steve for example are not that far apart, if one leaves out and ignores the rhetoric.

Anna... GOOD LUCK in trying to heard this flock of cats.

Oh, by the way, do any of you have REAL jobs? I'm having trouble doing my work and just reading the posts, let alone contributing anything useful...

Before any one gets hot under the collar, that was just my poor attempt to lighten things up a bit..jcw

200. Anti-Quran Film Fitna Pulled From Web Due to 'Threats'

Comment #152770 by kaiserkriss on March 31, 2008 at 2:16 pm

'Toad.. While what you say is true enough for today where information more or less does flow freely in many parts of the world, but STILL not perfectly, I was referring to the "dark ages" of the early sixties and seventies, when many Brits were still fighting WW2.

When it comes to football, it seems some newspapers, judging by their vast circulation and popularity, STILL are (edit) fighting WW2

I agree about the generational aspect of education, but as you point out, "faith schools" sure do not help.

I remember a discussion I had with one of my Muslim friends in the mid 80ies about setting up faith schools here in Canada. IT seemed like a bad idea then, and it is still a bad idea.

My friend could not see the point of integrating his family into Canadian Culture at the time, even though he greatly enjoyed the benefits this culture gave him. He refused to recognize the potential harm a faith based education could do to collapsing the very benefits and freedoms he so greatly cherished. jcw