All entries by this author

McCormick Planned Improvements to ADE-651 *

Jan 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

‘The machine does look a little primitive. We are working on a new model that has flashing lights.’… Read the rest



150 Bodies Found in Nigeria After Religious Riots *

Jan 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

Many of the bodies found in Kuru Karama had massive burns, other victims were hacked to death or shot. … Read the rest



Phil Plait on the Arrest of Jim McCormick *

Jan 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

Say it twice: he has been arrested on suspicion of fraud. … Read the rest



Jim McCormack Arrested on Suspicion of Fraud *

Jan 23rd, 2010 | Filed by

Sold ‘bomb detectors’ to Iraq for $40,000 apiece.… Read the rest



Export Ban on Useless Bomb Detector *

Jan 22nd, 2010 | Filed by

Iraq paid $40,000 apiece for a device that contains a cheap electronicky tag-thing that detects nothing.… Read the rest



Jesus and Mo on Science and Religion *

Jan 22nd, 2010 | Filed by

Religious scientists do exist, as do pedophile priests. That’s simply a fact.… Read the rest



Nick Cohen on Chomsky *

Jan 22nd, 2010 | Filed by

Chomsky doesn’t seem to get the nature of clerical fascism.… Read the rest



National Association of Muslim Police Protest *

Jan 22nd, 2010 | Filed by

Stigma, communities, faith, black, ethnic, wrong to blame Islam.… Read the rest



Wall St Journal Gloats Over Freedom of Bribery *

Jan 22nd, 2010 | Filed by

‘Corporations are entitled to the same right that individuals have to spend money on political speech.’… Read the rest



It won’t work unless the operator is relaxed

Jan 22nd, 2010 11:57 am | By

Another entry for the ‘I thought I was beyond being shocked’ category – a very expensive ‘bomb detector’ that has nothing in it but ‘the type of anti-theft tag used to prevent stealing in high street stores.’ Iraq has been paying $40,000 apiece for them – and using them to detect bombs – and they can’t detect bombs because all they have is ‘the cheapest bit of electronics that you can get that look vaguely electronic and are sufficiently flat to fit inside a card.’

Well that’s a nice way to make money!

The Iraqi government has spent $85m on the ADE-651 and there are concerns that they have failed to stop bomb attacks that have killed hundreds of people…The

Read the rest


Fresh Air on 36 Arguments for the Existence of God *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

Part academic farce, part metaphysical romance, all novel of ideas.… Read the rest



A Visit to the Creation Museum *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

There’s a room that has all the stuff God made on each day; the exhibit looks like holiday photographs.… Read the rest



A Jump Too Many *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

From contempt for philosophy to contempt for the idea that we should strive to have beliefs that make sense.… Read the rest



Christian-Muslim Riots Spread in Nigeria *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

As street clashes broke out in Pankshin and Mangu, one report said 464 people had died in Jos.… Read the rest



Religion’s Role in California’s Prop 8 *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

Experts said religion has been used to justify discrimination against African Americans, women and gays.… Read the rest



Maia Caron Interviews OB *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

On religion and women, compliance and fear, misogyny and habit.… Read the rest



A Bad Earthquake and a Good God? *

Jan 21st, 2010 | Filed by

No. [link fixed]… Read the rest



Straightening out the kinks

Jan 20th, 2010 5:42 pm | By

Chad Orzel said a strange thing the other day.

OK, fine, as a formal philosophical matter, I agree that it’s basically impossible to reconcile the religious worldview with the scientific worldview. Of course, as a formal philosophical matter, it’s kind of difficult to show that motion is possible. We don’t live in a formal philosophical world, though, and the vast majority of humans are not philosophers (and that’s a good thing, because if we did, it would take forever to get to work in the morning). Humans in the real world happily accept all sorts of logical contradictions that would drive philosophers batty. And that includes accepting both science and religion at the same time.

That’s very blithe – … Read the rest



A moral desert

Jan 20th, 2010 5:16 pm | By

An impoverished religious mind at work:

Recently, atheists seem intent on proving they can be good without God. I always get a kick out of evangelizing atheists and how they’re so desperate to prove that they’re as good (and usually better) than us religious types.

No, we’re not desperate, but we do like to counter the slanders of many theists to the effect that we can’t be good without God. If Matt Archbold were making a good faith argument (so to speak), he would acknowledge that many theists claim that atheists are necessarily immoral, and that we naturally disagree with that. But he’s not, so he didn’t.

But let’s give Dawkins the benefit of the doubt because us religious

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Separation of Church and Medicine *

Jan 20th, 2010 | Filed by

The religious ideologies that permeate BU’s academic policies may harm scientific progress at BCM.… Read the rest