201. The smallest signs of retreat

Comment #68464 by Yorker on September 7, 2007 at 8:10 am

Well, I hope you look better than you sound, because I think what you need most is a good punting Ms Bunting!

202. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68461 by Yorker on September 7, 2007 at 8:02 am

46. Comment #68339 by Big T

Thanks for the nice compliment, but now you have me scared I'll have to live up to it!

203. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68459 by Yorker on September 7, 2007 at 7:59 am

48. Comment #68405 by pewkatchoo

Ok Pewk, I'll buy that and probably Tyler will as well. But I think you must admit the "childrens" part was unfortunate especially since it came after that which had went before, if you see what I mean.

Electronics hooked me as a kid also but I was torn between that and being a pilot as well. The pilot side won and I became a fast jet jockey, then I got wiser and decided I didn't want to kill people just because some politician said I should. So, back to school, got an electronics degree and did that until 1982 when I became a software engineer, went to America and did various apps and industrial control software but then ended up writing software for aircraft instrumentation! The cycle is complete, a short history of Yorker!

Did you realise your electronics dream? I hope so.

204. Interview with Richard Dawkins and John Cornwell

Comment #68389 by Yorker on September 7, 2007 at 3:59 am

I didn't listen to the interview but noticed that Johnny O had mentioned Pavarotti so I thought a little tribute to him is not out of place here.

As an opera aficionado, Luciano was not my favourite tenor but on the three occasions I heard him he was in stunning form. I think Sir Dennis Forman said it best in his marvellous book "A Night At The Opera": "Pavarotti can be a life-enhancing experience". He had a unique voice, not especially powerful and neither lirico nor spinto but one that was awe-inspiring nevertheless. Many credit him with bringing opera to the masses and dispelling its elitist image, but opera goers know that it was never elitist in the first place. There's no question however, that "Fat Lucy" as his fans called him, certainly raised consciousness about it.

I must admit it was difficult to stop the rolling of a tear down my cheek when I learned of his death. We have become the poorer for it.

205. Court bans Christian cross on private land in public park

Comment #68382 by Yorker on September 7, 2007 at 3:37 am

7. Comment #68379 by nickthelight

It's unconstitutional because the U.S. Constitution says it is...and rightly so!

The old story, give an inch...they'll take a mile.

206. Honest Mistakes or Willful Mendacity

Comment #68220 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 12:03 pm

19. Comment #68181 by jonecc

Your post reminds me strongly of the time Feynman was accused by an artist friend of being unable to appreciate the beauty of a flower. Feynman said he appreciated the flower's beauty in the same way but at a much deeper level, not just the one centimeter artists view but the one centimeter right down to the one nanometer view of the physicist. There's beauty at all levels.

A similar thing seems to be going on with religites of a certain flavour, they think they're ability to see the "truth" is better than that of non-believers, I think their love of being in love with themselves blinds them to actual truth. Even intelligent religites (oxymoron?) seem remarkably silly sometimes and I can't fully support the compartmentalisation idea, I think that's being too kind. Perhaps the embedded god virus really does prevent the firing of neurons critical to rationality, or better yet, hijacks pathways and keywords like a computer virus and makes sure that god code gets executed preferentially, causing the mouth to spasmodically spurt bullshit.

It's difficult to be certain about Cornwell, the evidence isn't strong enough to convict him.

207. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68174 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 9:38 am

Just to clarify; it was mainly jeepyjay's comment that set me off and I think an apology to Tyler would be the honourable thing for him to do.

Then I noticed pewkatchoo's reference to the Children's Illustrated Encyclopedia which sounds like it's meant as an insult but I can't be certain. I am certain however, that good as it is, Dawkins UTR is not the ideal book to learn about the electromagnetic spectrum. Like many scientific subjects, radio, perhaps more than most is a hazy subject to many, e.g. lots of people think Marconi invented radio; a falsehood.

208. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68134 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 8:23 am

35. Comment #68094 by Johnny O

Actually, when I made the wankers reference, your comment wasn't in my mind. As a lover of humour myself, I've found by experience that it doesn't always go down well here, so I stopped trying to be funny. I don't think I was wrong in what I said since Tyler himself and others clearly agree with me.

As for making me a wanker, I don't think so, that's a pleasure that even an old guy like me can still partake in, so I've always been one!

How about you, are you a wanker? Sounds like you might be!

209. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68084 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 4:58 am

I remember Sagan saying we had only just stuck our big toe into the ocean of space and found it to our liking.

Little did we know then that some humans mainly made funding available to ensure that other humans could not insert an even bigger toe. What a disgraceful, small-minded state of affairs that today is even worse. The prophetic Sagan also said we came from the stars and to them we shall return. There's no question he's right but I fear it will be as unconscious atoms, not sentient human beings.

210. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68081 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 4:35 am

31. Comment #68079 by Richard Morgan

"With science like that, who needs Bibles and Gods?"

People who fear science like that, and whose narrow geocentric view impoverishes their mind and stultifies their life.

211. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68080 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 4:26 am

14. Comment #67966 by Jiten

"Today I guess we'd send an ipod loaded up with audio and videos."

On reflection, I don't think we would. Such a device is far too susceptible to radiation, is fragile and requires a power supply. It's difficult to see what could be better and hardy than a low-tech record, all you have to do is spin it around, stick a pin in it and away you go!

212. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68078 by Yorker on September 6, 2007 at 4:14 am

Thanks to Baeoz and Damien White.

I don't want to appear as a "goody-goody" because I'm not above ridicule and aggression myself, but I only use these tactics where I feel they're warranted; never against innocent ignorance. As Rational G says, let's help those who need it, not insult them. Personally, I've learned a lot about biology and evolution here, it's one of the main reasons I keep coming back, religious discussion alone would bore me. I'm sure most people here feel they learn also, the whole experience then is a net positive result.

I think we must also be aware that in places like this, people behave in ways they wouldn't normally, probably because there's no face-to-face contact. Nothing can be done about that apart from keeping it in mind.

213. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68026 by Yorker on September 5, 2007 at 5:06 pm

18. Comment #68016 by Johnny O

"Sound waves need some kind of atmosphere to travel in"

No, it doesn't need to be atmosphere. Sound is a mechanical pressure wave that can travel through any medium such as water, wood, steel etc.

214. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #68020 by Yorker on September 5, 2007 at 4:45 pm

11. Comment #67962 by Tyler Durden

Tyler,

Even though you asked to be excused your ignorance, one or two wankers took the piss out of you for not knowing that radio is electromagnetic radiation, even though it's likely they don't know too much about radio themselves. Please excuse them, we're not all like that. We need all the support we can get from people like yourself and MIND_REBEL who dropped out of sight after being ridiculed excessively. We are giving ourselves a bad name with this kind of behaviour.

I think you made an understandable error; you probably thought that since radio is used to convey sound, that the waves themselves were sound. Radio transmission of sound uses electromagnetic radiation as a carrier which is modulated by electronically converted sound, this modulated carrier does travel at light speed.

215. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #67915 by Yorker on September 5, 2007 at 6:38 am

The Voyager record faced many objections. As Sagan mentioned, one of the silliest was a point made by some dorky general that it would be advertising our presence to a potential enemy. Sagan polite as ever, enlightened him to the fact we'd been doing that for more than half a century already. I always remember the scary fact that here was a general who could possibly make decisions affecting humanity who hadn't a grasp of even basic science.

216. Like any half-decent atheist, I'm fond of a bit of religion

Comment #67887 by Yorker on September 5, 2007 at 4:26 am

24. Comment #67871 by Richard Morgan

Been a long time since I attended a good funeral but they do exist. My last was the funeral of an uncle of mine who I despised because of the way he abused me when I was young, I mean violence not sexual abuse. My father had to sort him out more than once and when I grew into a strapping lad I took great pleasure in giving him a good thumping. He was one of those guys liked by friends and disliked by family and others who knew the real person. Being a religious hypocrite my uncle had a church funeral with the usual Scottish-style party afterwards.

It was great, the Rev made the mistake of having a drink with me and telling me of how well people thought of the evil bastard. I got to set him straight about my uncle and how pleased I was to see him dead, and I finally ended up drunk. All in all, I had a very nice time!

217. Psychiatrists are the least religious of all physicians

Comment #67671 by Yorker on September 4, 2007 at 9:51 am

19. Comment #67651 by oxytocin

I don't think I've ever addressed you directly before oxytocin, so hello.

Actually your comment surprised me by its mildness, I expected that someone would probably attempt to label me racist over my Jewish comment but sensibly you avoided that.

I think I probably have more experience than most in interacting with Jews, I lived in Florida for a long time and it's undeniably true that many Jews live there! I can honestly say that of all the multi-cultured colleagues I had, my most pleasant memories are of the many conversations and technical discussions that took place with Jewish ones; their thoughts and advice proved to be mostly wise, fruitful and on occasion, financially rewarding. I learned quite a few anti-Jewish jokes in Florida, mostly from Jewish friends, one of whom told me that if he wasn't in the gemstone business then psychiatry would be a good choice and in fact his son was hoping to become a psychiatrist! So you see; my comment was based entirely upon personal experience and general observation, just look around you; many highly lucrative businesses such as jewels and finance are Jewish-controlled. The years of persecution they suffered taught them a valuable lesson: keep your assets portable in case you're forced to move, what could be better than jewels or money? RD has said that Jews have a disproportionate share of political power in the USA, he's right, but it's not because of their religion, it's because of the financial power they wield. Incidentally almost all the Jews I know are Jewish in name only, they're actually atheistic. I'm certain all my Jewish friends wouldn't consider me racist and that's all that matters to me, anyone else's opinion means naught.

On psychiatry, I suspect your knowledge of that field exceeds mine so I won't argue with you about it, I merely reiterate what I've read, what psychiatrists themselves say and what I've heard from those who've had dealings with them. As I said earlier, I have suffered tragedies like the death of those most dear to me, divorce, huge financial loss and personal illness; these are everyday problems you say psychiatry is not needed for but I can't think of anything worse that might happen to me! I certainly agree that psychiatry started off on a premise without scientific foundation and I don't know if it now has such a basis, your assertion that it has will make me conduct some research to verify what you say and to satisfy my own curiosity. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that psychiatry can only be a matter of opinion, i.e. not strictly clinical.

218. Psychiatrists are the least religious of all physicians

Comment #67635 by Yorker on September 4, 2007 at 4:46 am

15. Comment #67634 by scooternyc

"The idea itself delegates responsibility and accountability to the "higher power" especially when it boasts, ""Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity" and most of the rest are just as inane."

I didn't know that; it's enough to make one turn to booze!

219. Psychiatrists are the least religious of all physicians

Comment #67633 by Yorker on September 4, 2007 at 4:41 am

This is perhaps not the right place for this, but I wonder how many people try to get a doctor whose religiosity -- or lack thereof -- matches their own?

I certainly did, how about you?

220. Psychiatrists are the least religious of all physicians

Comment #67630 by Yorker on September 4, 2007 at 4:19 am

1. Comment #67554 by BAEOZ

"So it's not just Tom Cruise and the his cadre of supernaturalists who dislike psychiatrists"

Correct. There are many people who dislike psychiatry because its basis is not scientifically sound. Richard Feynman was one of the first great scientists to point this out and felt insulted when he was forced to see a psychiatrist before working at Los Alamos, he told the guy what he thought and terminated the interview. They still wanted him though.

At a psychiatric conference a few years ago, several practitioners admitted in interview they'd never cured anyone of anything.

The article's conclusion is not surprising given the undeniable ability of Jewish people to make money; there's a lot of money in psychiatry, particulary in the USA. I make this comment based on years of experience working with Jewish people, indeed, some are among my best friends and most people I've admired throughout life have been Jews. The simple fact is I've never met a broke Jew, so it doesn't surprise me they find this job attractive.

Personally, I've never understood the need for psychiatry; like most, I've suffered tragedy and occasional depression but never even considered consulting a GP on such matters. If I was ever forced into psychiatric consultation it would inevitably become confrontational, I'd want a detailed explanation of how they could possibly help me overcome a mental problem I couldn't overcome myself. I don't think they could give me a satisfactory answer.

I well remember my father telling me the most important and kindest thing he could do for me was to make me independent and self-reliant as early as possible in life. It worked for me and I applied that philosophy to the upbringing of my own children, so far, it's worked for them also.

221. The Flea Circus moves to your iPod!

Comment #67429 by Yorker on September 3, 2007 at 12:05 pm

If his audio tutor is anything like his lightweight resume, you won't miss much if you don't buy it.

222. What do these atheists understand of religion?

Comment #67344 by Yorker on September 3, 2007 at 4:59 am

2. Comment #67256 by cyris8400

I agree.

Although the fact of Hitler's Muslim legions that numbered tens of thousands is well documented, nobody ever seems to mention it! These legions were affiliated to the SS and employed in the massacre thousands of Jews. Hitler stated that religious people made the best soldiers and Muslims in particular because of their fanaticism.

223. What do these atheists understand of religion?

Comment #67335 by Yorker on September 3, 2007 at 4:43 am

The degree of crap blethered here makes it difficult to decide what to say, so I'll choose just one point.

"...faith gives Muslims hope in many of the most hopeless of states, and for millions across the globe it may be the only defence against the spread of gross and dehumanising materialism."

My dear Yasmin, you have failed to notice that faith is a major CAUSE of the spread of gross and dehumanising materialism. Look at the number of evangelistic millionaires around that use faith to fleece the faithful! I think you're simply one of those whose love of belief blinds them to the sometimes harsh but true nature of reality.

224. In God we doubt

Comment #67325 by Yorker on September 3, 2007 at 4:12 am

Like others, I too like John Humphrys' work as a TV journalist but I'm disappointed by this performance, he seems internally torn and unable to bring his thoughts to a conclusion he seems to fear.

There are those who occasionally use what Devolved calls "foul language" and some who never do. But to make an appeal to RD about it shows he's a mere skimmer of the material here, clearly unaware the word "fuck" has been used by RD himself! Personally, I'm a follower of the Stephen Fry school of thought on this, using profanity occasionally is the mark of an intelligent person, one of those little extras that make life interesting. It is NOT a sign of poor education or a lack of vocabulary.

225. Review of Darwin's Angel: An Angelic Response to the God Delusion

Comment #66968 by Yorker on September 1, 2007 at 6:14 am

58. Comment #66935 by epeeist

I'm fully with you on your Diana analysis and the shit I saw on TV yesterday actually made me cover my ears whilst I groped for the remote channel-change button. I'd guess that at least 80% of the women and 70% of the men in this country would say they loved Diana, they all fell heavily for the "people's princess" bullshit spun by the Blair gang. The fact she was a spoiled brat dork wouldn't make any difference to Diana fans, in fact I think they'd love her more for it.

Sad and silly times we live in my friend.

226. Review of Darwin's Angel: An Angelic Response to the God Delusion

Comment #66965 by Yorker on September 1, 2007 at 6:00 am

Biased reviews like these are becoming boring as others have said. As soon as I saw the author's name I read no further, I mean, There just has to be something wrong with someone who puts an 'e' in the name Sally; a silly Sally I'd say.

Flagellant

I liked your old cat-o-nine-tails avatar much better than that silly girl's picture!

227. Polling Data on Science and Religion

Comment #66861 by Yorker on August 31, 2007 at 9:30 pm

In the long-term what religites believe is irrelevant, science isn't going to stop because everybody needs it, even religious hypocrites. Facts have a nasty habit of getting right in your face, refusing to be ignored and taking no account of anyone's god. Religites will simply become increasingly hypocritical to the point of hilarity as progress marches inexorably on, they know this and that's why they're vainly trying to get more political control.

If they got control they wouldn't halt scientific research -- they're nuts but not entirely stupid -- emerging facts not helpful to their cause would simply be hidden from the population. I think you could safely bet they'd increase expenditure on weapons development and "security", for which science is needed of course.

I think the best policy is for us to increase the criticism and ridicule of stupid religiously based political decisions, let them know in Churchillian vein that up with this we will not put!

228. Gene regulation in humans is closer than expected to simple organisms

Comment #66760 by Yorker on August 31, 2007 at 8:43 am

21. Comment #66720 by hungarianelephant

"Never did I think I'd start a debate about underscores! Can't stand the things myself."

No debate, they're a complete waste of space and serve no useful purpose not already better served by you-know-what!

229. Gene regulation in humans is closer than expected to simple organisms

Comment #66712 by Yorker on August 31, 2007 at 5:07 am

16. Comment #66686 by hungarianelephant

In my code that would be HungarianElephant in keeping with proper use of hungarian notation.

Let all those who use underscores shrivel up and die!

230. The importance of doubt

Comment #66641 by Yorker on August 30, 2007 at 6:59 pm

"John Cornwell struggled with his faith for two decades before finally returning to Christianity"

What a waste of decades! Sorry Mr. Cornwell, death is a fact and it really is the end, that is why religion is still around, you need its false comfort because you are unable to face the truth. As the life of humanity lengthens the life of religion shortens, sooner or later wishful thinking must die. I'd advise you to stop wasting your life writing useless text against those who have the courage to accept their life will end.

The most important thing Dawkins offers is not atheism, he more importantly tries to get people to value the only life they'll ever have and to make the most of it. A person taking this to heart is likely to be a far better contributor to humanity than one who wastes their life in the forlorn hope that magic will save the day for them, a sentiment whose very nature is selfish, demeaning and detrimental to humanity.

Try reality, it can be fun!

231. Another view

Comment #66341 by Yorker on August 29, 2007 at 6:06 pm

A last thought just struck me. I wonder how many homeopaths or acupuncturists are in the medical corps of the armed forces? Perhaps there are woo-woo soldiers who prefer "alternative" treatment when bullets have removed parts of their bodies. Where does one place a smouldering needle to remedy gut removal by shrapnel? What "memory of water" is needed to cure a sucking chest wound?

Questions beyond a simple man like me but it seems a bit like the god-hates-amputees thing doesn't it? "Alternativity" only seems to work on things we can't see. H'mm...

232. Another view

Comment #66326 by Yorker on August 29, 2007 at 5:34 pm

67. Comment #66279 by Bonzai


"But medicine is also about healing people…"

That's true, and maximizing healing efficiency is best done by gathering hard evidence, not hard anecdote.

"I see no problem that someone takes a placebo and it works for him…"

Neither do I. Although killer diseases sometimes go into remission themselves, placebos don't work against them; that's when real medicine is required. I know of no case where mumbo-jumbo or placebo-based remedies cured any kind of cancer. People with conditions amenable to treatment by such methods are simply wasting their money; they could get an NHS placebo or a self-generated one for free!

"Many pills are effective just as a way to control symptoms and doctors prescribe them almost by reflex."

Indeed, doctors have learned by experience which pills are most effective. It matters not that GP's are not scientists themselves, they don't need to be, the power of the science behind them is what counts.

"Most people don't go to the acupuncturist as the first resort. Many do when nothing else works."

I think that the mental condition of such people is possibly the main cause of their illness, imagined or real. Sometimes they try the mumbo-jumbo first which can be fatal. My mother had bowel cancer; she tried everything but her fear of what she suspected being confirmed is what killed her; she waited too long before seeking real treatment.

"But it apparently works for many people while more conventional treatments fail. I think it should not be dismissed out of hand based on that alone."

Yes, "apparently" is the key word here, things are often not as they appear, we need to be sure and we do that by testing rigorously, when "alternative" remedies are tested, they fail. When real medicine is tested it passes, perhaps the mental state of people does have a physical effect but so what? If that's the case then they should get themselves into the right mental state to overcome the illness! It is entirely impractical if not impossible to expect doctors to deal with the "whole" person, people are enormously complex and often mentally fucked up, ask any honest psychiatrist, they'll tell you they never cured anyone of anything!

Of all the sciences, biology has made by far the biggest strides in recent years, people who place their faith in MJM (Mumbo-Jumbo Medicine) ought to be reminded of that. Homeopathy and the other crap is all very well for people who want it but I see it as a form of hypocrisy, when they're writhing in agony on their death-bed distilled water doesn't cut it, they go for the scientifically produced morphine every time.

233. There is no God and Dawkins is his Prophet

Comment #66275 by Yorker on August 29, 2007 at 2:55 pm

I soon as I saw this was written by a "Father", I read no further, I'll leave that to you masochists. ;)

234. Another view

Comment #66271 by Yorker on August 29, 2007 at 2:41 pm

54. Comment #66257 by Bonzai

"Does it matter which way it is to the patient who is somehow healed while all the pills prescribed by the Western doctors don't do the job? If he used a placebo and it worked while "scientific" medicine didn't more power to him."

It doesn't matter to individual patients, but it matters to medicine in general hugely. Sane people need to see evidence that a treatment was the cause of the disappearance of an illness, that's how we know it might work on another patient. Most people don't know how to think correctly -- especially when ill -- and can easily be fooled about how they became well again.

For example, if I catch cold and take a remedy of any kind and a day or so later the cold goes away, it's very tempting to praise the remedy even if the remedy was dog-shit! The fact is that most illnesses are self-limiting, i.e. they go away even if the victim does nothing about it; if it were not so none of us would be here!

Acupuncture, as you say, does not violate physical law but neither does it provide any evidence other than our old friend placebo, for it's alleged efficacy. People fear the unknown, to most people science is unknown, that's why old-fashioned pre-scientific era remedies are still around. People like them, thats all that counts in the mind of those who want to believe. Thankfully, it is beyond doubt that science-based medicine is the reason that most of us live lives that would have been unthinkably long a few hundred years ago.

235. Another view

Comment #66199 by Yorker on August 29, 2007 at 8:50 am

Mr Arendt,

Others here have nicely highlighted your erroneous ways and simple-minded thinking, I have no need to expand; instead I shall sum up.

You sir, are a Woo-Woo Wanker of a variety all too common these days.

236. Richard Dawkins at the Edinburgh Book Festival

Comment #66103 by Yorker on August 28, 2007 at 5:21 pm

Yes, I too like Muriel, I've yet to read any of her writings I disagreed with and her atheism came across strongly. In places she had that enthusiastic catch in her voice that women sometimes display when aroused, I got the feeling she wanted Dawkins to give her one! I mean that in the nicest possible way of course. And yes, perhaps she was a bad choice if non-bias was expected but actually, I don't think it was.

I was slightly pissed off that I couldn't get a ticket even though I'd tried months ago and I had to listen to all those foreigners who had! :)

237. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #66074 by Yorker on August 28, 2007 at 10:44 am

After Ted's outburst on "ROAV" I can help wondering what RD thought even though he was gentlemanly enough never to say anything, but this sprang to mind:

A pastor named Ted made Dawkins see red
when he gave him a piece of his mind.
But Dawkins laughed last and got quite a blast
on learning of Teddy's behind!

238. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #66062 by Yorker on August 28, 2007 at 6:49 am

40. Comment #66040 by gcdavis

That one deserves high marks because I assume you invented it yourself!

239. Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'

Comment #66061 by Yorker on August 28, 2007 at 6:41 am

29. Comment #66029 by Veronique

Yes, a little bored but I feel another change coming on...

240. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #66008 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 7:38 pm

26. Comment #65999 by steveroot

Not bad, but the Earl of Buckingham is the all-time winner. It's more than coarse but brilliant also...I'll take the risk, it can only get flagged and me banned, here goes.

On the bridge sat the Earl of Buckingham,
thinking of tits and of sucking 'em.
Whilst watching the stunts of the cunts on the punts and the tricks of the pricks that were fucking 'em!

or an American one...

There was a young maid of Mobile,
whose pussy was made of blue steel.
she got all her thrills from pneumatic drills
and off-centered emery wheels.

I have about 50 limericks committed to memory since my student youth, but some are unprintable.

241. Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'

Comment #65979 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 4:42 pm

24. Comment #65977 by The Schuermannator

Let me know if you want to see...

242. Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'

Comment #65959 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 3:18 pm

15. Comment #65950 by ?

Hey that's pretty good, you're not the descendant of a biblical commitee writer are you?

243. Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'

Comment #65957 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 3:15 pm

14. Comment #65949 by USA_Limey

Excellent! I must admit you took me by surprise, now I'll have to make one and perhaps start a little web business making them!

244. Anger over 'blasphemous' balls

Comment #65945 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 1:47 pm

Balls are for kicking, especially religious ones!

245. Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'

Comment #65944 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 1:42 pm

Let's all have Muhammad avatars! Someone must know what he's supposed to look like even though we're not meant to. It would be a good way of knowing your enemy, the closet Islamists would spurn the avatar. :)

Many have said that it's time to mock and riducule religion, seems like this is a good place to start. They'd have a hard time beheading thousands of us with those kitchen knives they use and I for one would put up a fight.

246. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65941 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 1:27 pm

39. Comment #65852 by Dr Benway

No, I'm not carried away, I'll let you know if that happens. I used that phrase to be insulting as possible, I would have thought that most people would have understood it wasn't meant to be taken literally, apparently you didn't. Incidentally, when was the last time you saw the flea realise the folly of his notions?

247. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65940 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 1:21 pm

37. Comment #65848 by Quetzalcoatl

It's from the famous series of paintings made by George Catlin during his exploration of the West.

This one is a Piegan Blackfoot chief named "Stu-mick-o-sucks", which means, "buffalo bull's back-fat".

248. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65846 by Yorker on August 27, 2007 at 5:04 am

This idiot Robertson wants to start Christian schools and says it's not discriminatory, the fool is intellectually bankrupt and beneath contempt. Rational argument can take place only among human beings of reason, Robertson fails to qualify on that and other scores. Ridicule and insult is all he merits, he should be treated as a pest that needs eradication.

Unfortunately there will still be some here who can't see that talking to him is a waste of time; their logic escapes me. He won't be changed, can't see simple truths, and his last statement in that article is simply an insult to intelligent people. Isn't it about time you Robertson-lovers saw the light? Insult him, mock him, talk about him but amongst yourselves, addressing him directly makes you look silly; at least to me. Treat him as if he were dead because mentally, humanistically, and logically; he is.

249. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65788 by Yorker on August 26, 2007 at 3:10 pm

19. Comment #65746 by Student Grant

"The point is that it is almost impossible to overstate the harm that segregation (whether racial or religious) does to society."

Indeed. But it's much worse, segregation is built-in to every aspect of our lives, we're segregated by job status, class, background, financial means, nationality and even by regional accent as well as religion and race. We need to rid ourselves of all forms of segregation if humanity hopes to have a long-term future.

250. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65786 by Yorker on August 26, 2007 at 2:53 pm

As usual, the simplest arguments are best. Since 2+2=4 no matter what imaginary being one does or does not worship, there is clearly no need for religion in schools. No matter what facile bullshit politicians spout there is no way to deny that, whatever argument they make must therefore have nothing to do with education.