301. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #287473 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 8:37 am

Titania comments "I received an email from pbs.org today about their new clearance items. So I eagerly looked on the website and found an item for only $3.99 that I thought would be cool to watch with my niece and nephew. It was a video called Unlocking the Mystery of Life that had a picture of DNA on the cover. But then my bubble was burst when I read the description:"

Yep, that's the video that Truth in Science (aka Pack of Lies in Science), a cretinist group in the UK sent to heads of science departments at all British schools.

The DVD is basically backed by the Discovery Institute. Stephen Meyer worked on it. It's just fundie crapola. The people in it are nearly all the same bunch of wackaroons/crackpots associated with the Disco Institute.

We (the British Centre for Science Education) managed to get the issue raised in Parliament (through an early day motion).

Glad to see copies being sold at such a heavily discounted price.

302. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #287398 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 5:40 am

Captain Mandate says "He [Satan] suggested to Eve that you shouldn't always obey without question..."

Um, correct me if I am wrong but it was a snake, not Satan, that convinced Eve to change her dietary habits. Satan didn't appear in Biblical history until somewhat later.

I'd ask a fundie for the "correct" biblical facts but none of them I have ever come across have ever read the Bible and also seem to be pathologically averse to reading and undrestanding the ninth commandment.

303. Giving Up on God

Comment #287387 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 4:48 am

Acquilicane claims that "Most of the world's architectural treasures are a result slave labour and indentured (or blind) servitude."

Really? I think you'll find that very few of them were. Sounds like you have a touch of the fundies about you - getting the "facts" wrong to match the ideology.

304. Giving Up on God

Comment #287384 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 4:37 am

JSHuey says "The truth is that the majority of Americans are conservative and/or libertarian in their politics and lives. They moved left this time because of the things you mention and more, but will shift back to the center-right as soon as they realize what Obama's economic policies mean to growth and jobs. The 2010 mid-terms will tell the story."

Wishful thinking. The repugs are living in a fantasy world if they think that all they have to do is sit back and "wait" whilst Obama fails.

The days of Reaganite/Chicago School economcis that have pevailed for the last 30 years are well and truely over and the writing for them has been on the wall since the start of this decade.

The Zeigeist has changed. The wingnuts better get used to it.

305. Giving Up on God

Comment #287376 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 4:04 am

Even in my wildest imagination I would not describe Michael Moore as an "outlandish character".

Heaven, even Europe's leading business newspaper, the Financial Times, is to the left of the Democrats in the USA. Heck, even the main business lobby in the UK, the Confederation of British Industry, is to the left of the Democrats.

306. God enough

Comment #287340 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 2:39 am

Adult Americans can't speak with an English accent. The journalist Brenda Maddox, who, IIRC, is actually Canadian, has lived in London for years. She tried to get the Britsh accent, spent a fortune on elocution lessons. When she finished her last, she called a cab to get home. After telling the driver, in her best English accent, where whe wanted to go, the cabbie asked her where abouts in America she came from.

She gave up.

307. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #287337 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 2:33 am

"The people who believe Obama is the Antichrist are perhaps jumping to conclusions, but they're not nuts: "They are expressing a concern and a fear that is widely shared," Staver says."

Yet again Liberty University advertises to the world that it is a sink of ignorance and stupidity.

308. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #287333 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 2:30 am

Steve says "I think you are being way too alarmist. The economic structures we have today will probably mean that no matter how bad things get, people will not suffer like in the 1930s. There are ways to fund government works to prevent mass unemployment.

Here in the UK, as the economic crisis becomes more apparent, the public seem to be switching more towards the left wing, not the extreme right."

I hope you are right Steve. But the UK is not the USA. We don't have the bitter culture wars here; nor are we basically religious. Whilst we don't basically have much respect for our politicians, we don't hate them in the way half of America does.

Obama jimself was right to point out that faced with tough economic circumstances, many Americans turn to bittereness, guns and religion, not to politics.

For what it is worth, I'm impressed by Hedges anaysis. As a world-class war correspondent, he has seen it happen time and time again.

309. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #287311 by Roger Stanyard on November 20, 2008 at 1:40 am

JimM says "Everyone is worried about racists trying to assasinate Obama, but I think these nutjobs worry me more. I can't imagine many racist rednecks willing to attempt what would likely be a suicide mission. Somebody who thinks he is taking out an enemy of God may be more open to the idea of such a mission."

Sure right that everyone should be worried about these End Times death cultists. Read American Fascists by Chris Hedges.

Hedges argues that if the USA has a deep economic recession, they may well end up in political office. Hedges wrote about this a couple of years back and, indeed, today, the USA looks to be going into the deepest economic recession since the 1930s - exactly the same type of recession that led to Hitler.

In the next few weeks, if not months, the big three US car manufacturers are likely to go broke. That could put one in ten Americans out of work. Once overall unemplyoment reaches 20-25% we are back to the 1930s. It looks as if the USA (and the UK) is heading that way, very quickly.

Don't forget that the US financial industry has all but collpased and is no longer doing what it is supposed to - provide finance for capitalism.

It's worse than that, though because the fundamentalists have infiltrated the US military. The guy that heads up Rapture Ready is (or was) an NCO in the USAF. Ted Haggard's church was deliberaly built outside a USAF base to get "converts" there.

310. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #286799 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 11:13 am

Caudimordax et al, why bother with the Rapture Ready web site? The best of the gems are posted daily on Fundies Say The Darndest Things.

The Rapture Readyites are also raging homophobes, cretinists and wingnuts.

311. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #286791 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 11:06 am

Sciros says "This guy needs to be committed to a mental institution. Seriously."

Maybe, but the End Timers/Anti-Christ brigade is huge in the USA. There are an awful lot of nutters who believe this crapola. John Hagee, who McCain tried to get an endorsement from, is one of their "leaders". IIRC so is Pat Robertson and so was Jerry Falwell.

One of the biggest selling series of books ever are the End Time series by Tim LaHaye. IIRC 50 million copies have been sold, far, far more, I guess, than all of RD's books combined.

A lot of them supported Bush because they wanted a war in the Middle East to hasten end times. They are basically a death cult.

"Anyone who honestly believes that pretty soon now, God's armies will fight the Antichrist's armies and the world will end, is certifiable."

Well, they think the anti-Christ will emerge in the European Union. If they ever get into political office in the White House, the End Timers will undoubtedly consider pointing the nuclear missiles at the EU.

They probably account for 15-20% of the population of the USA.

312. Is Obama the Antichrist?

Comment #286762 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 10:35 am

Rapture Ready = Poe's law in operation.

Makes Wooter look clever.

313. Giving Up on God

Comment #286753 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 10:25 am

I suspect that once the fundies had become deeply politicised, the writing was on the wall for their politics. Despite their big mouths (literally and metaphorically - see Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson), they have not really achieved anything because the core of the Republican Party knows that they are basically nutters.

What is going to be fun in coming months and over the next couple of years will be the internecine warfar in the Republican Party over fundies.

314. Richard Dawkins: An Exclusive Profile

Comment #286697 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 7:27 am

GF Ferre lies through his back teeth about Richard Dawkins

1. "He says that if we look at the details of bio-chemistry and molecular biology, we can see some evidence for it."

And then he's stupid enough to post the actual statement (totally different) that RD said "and I suppose that you might find evidence for that(*) if you look at the details of bio-chemistry and molecular biology, you might find a signature of some sort of a designer."

"Can see" is not the same as a sarcastic "might find".

OK, so now we know you are a lying bastard GF Ferre you might want to retract you lies as follows:

1. By apologising to Richard Dawkins, here, personally, for libel.

2. By apologising to the rest of the people reading this forum for deliberately deceiving them.

While you are at it, you might also want to look up what the ninth commandment says.

You might also want to now consider your own credibility in this forum.

315. Richard Dawkins: An Exclusive Profile

Comment #286612 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 4:05 am

Anyone get the feeling that GF Ferre is, in fact, Wooter?

316. The Sea Turtle's Tale: Back to the sea, and back again to the land

Comment #286605 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 3:04 am

Elles, well how do non-English pronounce Iguana?

317. Richard Dawkins: An Exclusive Profile

Comment #286604 by Roger Stanyard on November 19, 2008 at 3:02 am

GF Ferre says "Dawkins is talking about the signature that aliens might have left in the Human DNA. He says that if we look at the details of bio-chemistry and molecular biology, we can see some evidence for it."

Complete piffle. He has never made such a claim.

So why are you lying?

318. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286269 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 12:23 pm

DP, they do have deals with foreign car makers and I am pretty certain Toyota is one. It has or had equity in the venture.

The roblem they have now is that nearly all the installations are OEM. Existing car owners appear none to keen to cough up for installation.

319. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286265 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 12:20 pm

righton - Sirius/XM might have got it right had there only been just the one operation right from the start.

Some complex issues there in the drive to work market where terrestrial station coverage dates way back to FCC allocations years back. Drivers can't get continuous reception of tererstrial stations on journey too and from work.

I'm told the quality of service is very good - much of it advertising free (quite a lot not).

Truckers like it because coverage available outside of urban/suburban areas.

320. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286260 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 12:13 pm

Al Rawandi - thanks for the reminder there. I havn't looked at the financials since the Spring. Been working, btw, on mobile television hence interest in the likes of TerreStar and MSV. Sirius/XM we used to model Mobile TV. Big gamble in mobile TV until they get the obvious sorted out - seems to us this side of the pond that the only viable model for mobile TV is FTA. Has Qualcomm sold its mobile TV operation?

321. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286254 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 12:08 pm

DP: Good management in combined operation and scope for cost cutting but growth opportunities limited for Sirius/XM.

Highly leveraged, big future cash calls for replacement of satellite fleet. Competition probably from TerresStar and MSV platforms also offering return path and mobile TV. Severe spectrum shortage for Sirius/MSV mobile TV as incompatible technologies. Current "Backseat" TV offering severly limited. Limited growth outside of core commute to work types 30-40 years old. No expansion outside of North America. Model not being copied elsewhere in the world - see death fo Worldspace. May be overtaken by new mobile TV/radio services using released tererstrial spectrum (Qualcomm, etc..)

Yesterday's business model.

PS, I was associated with the project concept as far back as 1991, IIRC. A complex history to put it mildly.

322. Religion's Misguided Missiles

Comment #286241 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 11:43 am

Goldy: "But then, how many times were a people persecuted and killed? Many places speaking English with a population that is stereotypically Anglo-Saxon are in fact populated by immigrants who subjugated the indigenous population. Surely that too is a holocaust."

Yep, the Anglo Saxons have nothing to be proud of there and it was all done when the vast majority of Anglo-Saxons were practising Christians. Let's have a look at a few of the examples - the famine in Ireland in the 1840s, the near wipe out of aboriginies in Australia, the treatement of Native Americans, our "occupation" of Africa, the invention of the concentration camp in the Boer War, the occupation of what is now Zimbabwe.

What the first thing we sent in after we "conquered" these people - missionaries to relieve our consciences by saving souls!

Re my previous post: I'm not here in the business of bashing religion but when the religious start arguing that what Hitler did was because of atheism, something seriously does not add up.

This whole game of equating Hitler with atheism is just another fundamentalist pack of lies. It is lifted straight from the crapola that Darwinism was responsible for the Holocaust. He wasn't. It was a Christian nation that was.

323. Religion's Misguided Missiles

Comment #286237 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 11:28 am

JDBriggs talks out of his backside: "The Holocaust was created by a staunch atheist, Hitler."

One thing Hitler was not was a staunch atheist. What evidence there is suggests that he probably never rejected Catholocism. He seems never to have left the church. Moreover, the evidence actually strongly points the other way - that he was religious.

Worse still, Germany in the 1920s and 1930s was deeply religious - far more so than it is now.

That the churches did so little to stop either Hitler or the anti-semitism remains a serious issue to this day. How many Nazis and perpetrators of the Holocaust were ever ex-communicated for their actions? As far as I am aware, none, not even Father Tiso, the Nazi head of state in Slovakia.

The issue is even more alarming when we take into account that the RCC backed the fascists in Italy, Portugal and Spain (and, I assume, the Vichy regime in France). The Greek Orthodox Church also backed the military take-over in Greece in 1967.

Quite frankly organised religion's defense of freedom against the mass killings of fascism in Europe during the 20s, 30s and 40s was pathetic.

Indeed, we in Western Europe owe a far greater debt to the Red Army than organised religion for our freedoms. It was the Red Army that broke the back of the Wermacht and, as a result, broke Hitler.

American fundies need not gloat either about Europe's so called moral shortcomings. According to McIver (quoted on Talk Origins, IIRC) 40,000 US pastors joined the Ku Klux Klan at one time or another. You can bet your bottom dollar that not a single one of them was black.

Strange isn't it that today just about every white supremecist or militia group in the USA claims to be Christian and the BNP in the UK has been trying to set up its own religious organisation.

324. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286227 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 11:04 am

I know all about Sirius/XM Radio - still a long shot. Could be hit very hard with OEM sales.

Trouble with mobile satcoms is the huge list of failures (on a staggering scale). Worldspace is the latest to go belly up.

325. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286224 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 11:00 am

Al Rawandi - especially when one gets through 40 a day.

326. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286221 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 10:55 am

DP: How about for soup kitchens for all those brilliant people on Wall Street or in the City of London of whom their employers are kindly releasing from the not inconsiderable burden of work?

Ah!! the marvels of modern capitalism!

327. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286218 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 10:49 am

DP, well when I get my next tax rebate do I wisely spend it all on beer and fags or do I waste it all by investing in leading financial institutions such as Bear Sterns, AIG or the Royal Bank of Scotland?

328. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286205 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 10:08 am

Diacanu - and turn RD.net into Comedy Central?

329. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286202 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 10:03 am

DP's latest "Why would I be against something like that? I think its your duty to find out that information when making any kind of large purchase and if you don't then you suffer the consequences if what you bought ends up being a piece of crap."

Yep, DP knows all about buying such investments in finance.

330. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286190 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 9:25 am

Irate atheist - DP's got you in an intellectual corner there.

331. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286185 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 9:22 am

root2squared "What would be the argument for taxing fast food?"

Obvious isn't it? To keep the feckless poor in their well deserved place in society. At the bottom of the dung heap.

332. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286179 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 9:16 am

Irate Atheist "He doesn't use toilet paper. He has the Daily Mail shipped over from the UK, specially for him."

And, um, no doubt has Fox News on a TV in his bog.

333. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286172 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 9:10 am

DP "I can take care of them easily by throwing a ham sandwich outside and letting them kill each other over it. Then I'll come out and finish off the survivors who will already be beat up and bruised."

Why don't you just let them eat cake?

334. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286171 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 9:09 am

Another deep, meaningful and brilliant insight from DP into the current issues surrounding extending Heathrow Airport:

"Airlines can take care of airports."

(Shakes head at the utter, breathtaking, banality.)

335. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286167 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 9:03 am

Ah! DP's latest wit and wisdom on environment sciences:

"Who I meant by "wacko environmentalist", are the nutty people protest every single little thing someone tries to do. There are normal environmentalist who actually try to do something and then there are wacko environmentalist who just like to cause chaos and annoy people. For example, Arnold Schwarzeggas(whatever) had to postpone installing wind farms because some wacko environmentalists didn't want the wires carries electricity from the wind farms to the city passing through the desert because it might interfere with the lives of some animals. But here is the good part: They don't know if these animals exist!! Their argument is there might be animals they have yet not discovered living in the areas where the wires would pass through. These people do nothing but hold everyone back. They are wacko environmentalist."

Obviously DP, environmentalists are wackojob liberals!

336. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286160 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 8:59 am

Another gem from DP "See now your thinking. Poor people don't have cars anyway so it wouldn't affect them, unless they put wheels on a cardboard box or something. Then they get charged."

Wanna bet that poor people don't use roads or bridges?

How are they gonna turn up at your house come the revolution and help themselves to your toothbrush and lavatory paper?

337. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286135 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 8:21 am

Tyler Durden "I wonder what DP did with his tax refund from Dubya back in 2001? "

No doubt wisely invested it in Bear, Sterns and AIG. ;-)

338. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286131 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 8:14 am

root2squared "I think everyone should pay the same amount of taxes towards education as it is a necessity for a modern civilized society."

I assume that you are talking about income taxes here rather than taxes in general. For what it is worth, in the UK income tax accounts for less than a quarter of taxation and less than that of public sector expenditure.

in fact, a lot of tax is actually near-voluntary. Someone in the UK who spends all his dosh on booze, fags and petrol guzzling cars is, cetra parabis, paying much more in taxes than a miserly skinflint like me on the same income.

339. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286127 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 8:03 am

DP's strange, convoluted thinking for today "I find it fun to argue about politics and hear what people actually believe a society should do. I find it fascinating what people think the role of government is, what the economy is suppose to do and what people think they are entitled to in this world. "

Um, the issue is about economics and what a lot of people have been presenting to you is not normative. We are describing the way things are, not the way they should be.

So, um, what about the roads?

340. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #286089 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 6:36 am

DP's strange reasoning of today "Its also only fair that someone with no kids pay less in school tax."

Why? I benefited from state education, why shouldn't I pay regardless of whether or not I have children. Business benefits from state education. Why shouldn't it carry part of the costs?

341. Educated Catholics have sown dissent and confusion in the Church, claims bishop

Comment #286082 by Roger Stanyard on November 18, 2008 at 6:07 am

Surfdude claims "There is nothing better then catholic school itself for producing irreverent atheists like me.."

Nah, the Church of England beats it hands down.

342. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285654 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 12:41 pm

Bonzai "Well don't you get it, when the free market doesn't works, it is always someone else's fault or people are not acting in ways that the market demands of them."

Absolutely spot on Bonzai! It's exactly the way fundies work for exactly the same reason. It's used as an ideology and all ideologues resort to claiming that when the system doesn't work it is some-one else's fault. They NEVER admit that there might be shortcomings in their own "opinions".

343. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285635 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Hungarianelephant: You'd probably get monopolies in any sector that are not subject to significant diseconomies of scale. All profit maiximising businesses seek monopoly power of some sort. If there were such a thing as a laissez faire economy, monpolies would arise even without state "sponsorship" or help.

There is a huge body of economic and regulatory theory (and practice) on this if you care to look it up some time. The number of examples I could think of (if I wanted to) would be enormous. It's exceedingly common for there to be monopolies of some sort that the state is probably totally unaware of.

344. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285620 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 11:47 am

Tyler - for years we used to get paddies to fix the roads for us. Now, for some unknown reason, they keep sticking two fingers up at us. ;-)

345. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285613 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 11:35 am

DP - Um? what about the roads problem?

346. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285594 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 11:03 am

DP: Oh, go on then and give us your run down on natural monopoly in provision of roads and exactly what you think the state should be doing.

347. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285574 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 10:39 am

DP runs away!

348. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285569 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 10:36 am

I still thing you are wrong. What you are talking here about is preditory pricing, a classic strategy to enhance a monopoly position.

349. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285566 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 10:31 am

Ahhh! DP's latest dazzling brilliance - do away with all governments. No currencies, no money, no defence, no police forces, no legal system, no roads, no education....

Sounds really smart DP. The Disassembled States of Nothing.

350. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #285551 by Roger Stanyard on November 17, 2008 at 10:08 am

Hungarianelephant - I suspect that you are still wrong. As the action was taken under competition laws, the price/performance critera are central to the issue.