The Homeopathic poll – Justifying how you should vote.

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The UK’s Guardian is running a homeopathic poll in which they ask you to vote “yes” or “no” in response to the question, “Should homeopathic treatments be available on the National Health Service?”.  Perhaps you have already had this pointed out and have been encourage to vote “no”, but have you really thought about it?

Hey it’s an easy question, the answer is obvious … or is it? (Don’t panic, it is, I just want you to think through the arguments and to also explain why the NHS still has it on offer)

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Pastor Mike – Atheist = Sex Offender, so lets register them all

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I’m always tempted to think that I’ve come across all the variations of idiot, but every now and then somebody attempts to push their boat further out into the unexplored territory of crass-stupidity, and thus proves me quite wrong. Here now is the latest example of this that has just come to light. It comes from a blog run by Pastor Michael Stahl in Florida (Warning, prepare to be offended). He actually wrote this on his blog in Sept last year, but nobody noticed until he recently published a link to it on his Facebook page. Right now, it looks like he has locked folks out of his blog, but here is what he wrote:

Brothers and Sisters , I have been seriously considering forming a ( Christian ) grassroots type of organization to be named “The Christian National Registry of Atheists” or something similar . I mean , think about it . There are already National Registrys for convicted sex offenders , ex-convicts , terrorist cells , hate groups like the KKK , skinheads , radical Islamists , etc..

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Republicans Against Science

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Yesterday’s Op-Ed column in the New York Times by Paul Krugman, is quite disturbing to read. In essence the GOP contenders appear to be frantically striving to present themselves as complete lunatics. He puts it more politely and uses the term, “Anti-Science” (well it is the NYT, they tend not to publish if you use terms such as “Clueless Gobshite”, even if it is accurate). He writes:

Mr. Perry, the governor of Texas, recently made headlines by dismissing evolution as “just a theory,” one that has “got some gaps in it” — an observation that will come as news to the vast majority of biologists. But what really got peoples’ attention was what he said about climate change: “I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. And I think we are seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change.”

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Underground river ‘Rio Hamza’ discovered 4km beneath the Amazon

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The news is that Brazilian scientists have found a new river in the Amazon basin – around 4km underneath the Amazon river. They have called it the Rio Hamza after the bloke who led the team that found it. Its fascinating … but does warrant a little bit of clarification, because its not quite what you might think it is from the description given.

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Asset Management is almost akin to Voodoo and is just as credible

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Most specializations end up developing their own language, for example immerse yourself into either the Medical or IT arena, and you soon find yourself swimming in a tide of weird terms that often befuddle the uninitiated.

Here now, just to entertain you, is a “translation” from the “Asset management” universe. It amused me, because I received a letter just like it a few weeks ago that tripped my “skeptic” bullshit alarm. These folks only tend  to send out letters when some huge screw up has happened, so regardless of what the letter says, you know in your heart of hearts its an “Oh Shit” moment, because they are most probably explaining why your pension fund has shrunk (with a rich sugar coat wrapping). Anyway, here now is the text and the translation …

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The 9/11 Cross – I’ve changed my mind

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Awhile back I blogged about the 9/11 Cross lawsuit (here and also here). Basically, I argued in defense of the lawsuit that …

“we simply want an even playing field. The reality that we face is that it is religion that seeks to exclude all, we simply want to open up that closed shop“.

Well, I’ve changed my mind and now argue that the lawsuit is a really bad idea and was totally inappropriate. No I’ve not suddenly converted, nor have I moved into the accommodationist camp, nor am I concerned that this was unpopular. Instead, I now have a clearer view of what is going on here and it is that clarity, the new facts, that have changed my mind.

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