All entries by this author

Abramoff Pleads Guilty to Three Felony Counts *

Jan 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Is now star witness in sweeping federal investigation into public corruption in Washington.… Read the rest



Sacranie Says Homosexuality is not Acceptable *

Jan 4th, 2006 | Filed by

‘He said he was guided by the teachings of the Muslim faith.’ Oh, well fine then.… Read the rest



Lipstadt Says Let the Guy Go Home *

Jan 4th, 2006 | Filed by

But also understands why Germany and Austria have laws against Holocaust denial.… Read the rest



The MLA Convention *

Jan 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Passed a resolution opposing David Horowitz’s ‘Academic Bill of Rights’ and potential legislation.… Read the rest



Could be a Space Alien

Jan 3rd, 2006 7:20 pm | By

I’ve been reading Judge Jones’s decision. It really is a great read, you know. So I think I will occasionally share selected favourites with you.

Page 25.

The only apparent difference between the argument made by
Paley and the argument for ID, as expressed by defense expert witnesses Behe and
Minnich, is that ID’s “official position” does not acknowledge that the designer is
God. However, as Dr. Haught testified, anyone familiar with Western religious
thought would immediately make the association that the tactically unnamed
designer is God, as the description of the designer in Of Pandas and People
(hereinafter “Pandas”) is a “master intellect,” strongly suggesting a supernatural
deity as opposed to any intelligent actor known to exist in

Read the rest


A Couple of Items

Jan 3rd, 2006 6:36 pm | By

So there’s this creationist ‘Zoo Farm’ place in Somerset.

A donkey was led in and the presenter traced a marking on its back. Did we know that the domesticated donkey has a dark cross marked on its back, he asked us casually, whereas the wild donkey doesn’t? Did the cross not remind us that the donkey carried Jesus? In retrospect, I was intrigued by my shock at this mild evangelical interjection, a reaction that reflects a more general antipathy towards creationism. Anthony Bush hopes “to give people permission to believe in God”, by disputing the truth of Darwin’s theories. However, the prospect of a religious world-view having any authority fills non-believers with dread.

Well exactly. And that’s not just some … Read the rest



Simon Singh Reviews Steve Jones’s Single Helix *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

‘In addition to the amusing and sinister essays, there are the angry ones, which are my real favourites.’… Read the rest



Wot’s the Big Idea *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Goodhart, Brockman, Greenfield, Bentley on Sen. Also Bunting, Klein. Oh well.… Read the rest



Philip Pullman *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Some themes are too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.… Read the rest



Evidence for Jesus Hauled into Court *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus are all hearsay. Next?… Read the rest



Noah’s Ark [Creationist] Zoo Farm *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Note the cross on the donkey’s back. Think that’s an accident? Think again.… Read the rest



Colin McGinn Goes to the Movies *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

‘The highbrow and lowbrow do daily battle in this man.’… Read the rest



‘Gay Magazine in Race Row’ *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Magazine of Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association criticized for comments.… Read the rest



Dawkins Does God for Channel 4 *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

The God Delusion and the Virus of Faith.… Read the rest



Incompetent Design Maybe? Infernal? *

Jan 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Incomplete? … Read the rest



Insipid Design

Jan 3rd, 2006 2:31 am | By

Well, yes. It’s an obvious thought, isn’t it. One of the first that occurs to us, in fact. If the Designer is so damn intelligent, why aren’t we better? Why isn’t everything? I mean, is this supposed to be optimal? You’re kidding, right?

Far be it from me to kick an idea when it’s down, but I do wonder whether proponents of ID have really thought this through…Because if we were designed by God, it wasn’t on one of His better days.

Yeah you could say that.

Why would an intelligent designer equip each of us with an appendix — an organ whose sole purpose is to become infected and periodically explode? If this was Intelligent Design, then it

Read the rest


Einstein as a Philosopher of Science *

Jan 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

Philosophical habit of mind had a profound effect on the way he did physics.… Read the rest



Top Science Stories of 2005 *

Jan 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

Climate science and tipping point, bird flu, ID, chimpanzee genome, more.… Read the rest



Turkey Admits Pamuk Trial Not an Image-booster *

Jan 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

Laws that limit freedom of expression may be changed.… Read the rest



The Edge Question for 2006 *

Jan 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

What is your dangerous idea? Dawkins, Dennett, Pinker and many more.… Read the rest