BLOGICAL - A Blog for the Logical-Minded

Time for Some Campaignin'

2008-09-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

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The latest from JibJab...

Hannah Montana the Billionaire?

2008-09-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

You may need to sit down for this one. Miley Cyrus, whose alter-ego is Hannah Montana, is on course to become a billionaire by the time she is 18. When you're done being depressed about your own life, read t his article.

Give the Girl a Break!

2008-09-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

A professor at Yeshiva University left two years ago as a man - and returned last week as a woman (see story here). As described on Wikipedia, the school is a private Jewish university in New York City...(whose) programs operate according to the Modern Orthodox Judaism philosophy of Torah Umadda — meaning "Torah combined with secular studies").

That alone does not warrant the story making this blog. What struck me was this quote from the article:

"He's not a woman. He's a male with enlarged breasts," said Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a senior dean at Yeshiva's rabbinical school and a professor of biology and medical ethics. "He's a person who represents a kind of amorality which runs counter to everything Yeshiva University stands for. There is just no leeway in Jewish law for a transsexual.

"There is no niche where he can hide out as a female without being in massive violation of Torah law, Torah ethics and Torah morality."

As usual, a religious fundamentalist is using religion to justify bigotry and prejudice, which in turn can foment hatred, even if that is not the intention. And it is not a misinterpretation of biblical texts that allows these closed-minded lunkheads to squeeze this insight out of religious teachings. In believing that these antiquated texts are the word of God, they are applying Iron Age values to 21st Century society. And yet, many of their more moderate co-religionists believe them to be wise and learned.

They are neither!

I have a lot more respect for reform and secularized religious leaders who reinterpret age-old scriptures and traditions in a modern and enlightened context. I may disagree with many of their supernatural claims and beliefs, but I share their values, which is what ultimately drives behavior. But it is the responsibility of moderate religious leaders to publicly denounce ignorant comments by insane fundamentalists. While the road from bigoted religious leader to the murderous psychopath he inspires is clearly visible in the Muslim Middle East, it is by no means restricted to Islam. Remember, Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister of Israel, was murdered by an orthodox Jewish Israeli, Yigal Amir, in 1995.

I should add, however, that I would not object on legal grounds if Yeshiva University were to succeed in firing this professor. From a libertarian standpoint, a private business should be able to hire and fire its employees on any basis it chooses, and I completely agree with this viewpoint. I also believe that the free market should decide if this behavior by a business - in this case a University - is acceptable. If its customers - the students - don't support its policies, the school will lose revenue in the form of tuition dollars.

A restaurant that refused to serve blacks would go out of business in a hearbeat, if this policy were legal. In the case of Yeshiva University, however, the majority of students might agree that this professor doesn't belong on the teaching staff. In that case, the professor needs to teach where his/her lifestyle is welcomed. (I must point out that from a libertarian standpoint, the free market should only have this role in the private sector. The government - and all public institutions - should not and cannot discriminate on any basis in a free society.)

Hypocrisy!

2008-09-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin and Creationism

2008-09-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting since Sunday for NBC to post it's "Meet the Press" transcript from Tom Brokaw's interview with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, in which they discussed Sarah Palin's support for the teaching of creationism/intelligent design in public school science classes.

So that there is no confusion over my position on this issue, let me state it clearly: Creationism is an utterly insane belief that flies in the face of mountains of scientific evidence collected since Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" in 1859. To claim that evolution is a theory, and therefore not scientifically sound, is to not understand what the word "theory" means. From its page in Wikipedia:

In science a theory is a testable model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise verified through empirical observation. For the scientist, "theory" is not in any way an antonym of "fact". For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theories commonly used to describe and explain this behavior are Newton's theory of universal gravitation...and the general theory of relativity.

Visit this article in Wikipedia to see Evolution explained in this context.

Every single argument in support of creationism, and against evolution, falls apart under scientific scrutiny. Let's be clear: The only reason any person would believe in creationism is because they are a biblical literalist, and lacking any logical way to reconcile the Book of Genesis with science, they choose to dismiss scientific evidence. "The sky is blue? I just don't believe it."

Not that any definition of God could be considered logical, but I would propose that the most logical definition would be that God created the laws of science, and everything else happened as a consequence. This would include evolution.

So how does this relate to politics? It relates to the power of politicians to determine what your children are taught in public school. What is taught in science class should be based on the most current consensus of the scientific community. We don't teach that the Earth is flat, even though - believe it or not - some people still believe this. (You don't believe me? See this blog entry.) If creationism is taught at all, it should be in the context of "religious studies," an objective review of what people of different faiths believe. Frankly, this is probably better suited to the college level anyway. Creationism absolutely does not belong in a science classroom. Any politician who promotes this is demonstrating that their capacity for sound decision-making is compromised by their religious beliefs. Is this the kind of person you want with their finger anywhere near the nuclear trigger?

Here is the part of the "Meet the Press" transcript that I was referring to:

MR. BROKAW: In the governor's race, (Sarah Palin) refused to be specific about her views on creationism vs. evolution, but as I understand it, she did say that she thought that the two subjects should be taught side by side in public schools. Do you think that's a good idea?

GOV. PAWLENTY: I saw her comments on it yesterday, and I thought they were appropriate, which is, you know, let's--if there are competing theories, and they are credible, her view of it was, according to comments in the newspaper, allow them all to be presented, or allow them both to be presented so students could be exposed to both, and--or more, and have a chance to be exposed to the, to the various theories and make up their own minds.

MR. BROKAW: In the vast scientific community, do you think that creationism has the same weight as evolution, and at a time in American education when we are in a crisis when it comes to science that there ought to be parallel tracks for creationism vs. evolution in the teaching?

GOV. PAWLENTY: In the scientific community, it seems like intelligent design is dismissed. Not entirely, there are a lot of scientists who would make the case that it is appropriate to be taught and appropriate to be demonstrated. But in terms of the curriculum in the schools, in Minnesota we've taken the approach that that's a local decision, but I know Senator Palin, or Governor Palin, has said intelligent design is something she thinks should be taught along with evolution in the schools, and I think that's appropriate from my standpoint.

MR. BROKAW: Given, given...

GOV. PAWLENTY: But I believe--my personal view is that's a local decision.

MR. BROKAW: Given equal weight.

GOV. PAWLENTY: At the local school board.

MR. BROKAW: And you would recommend it be given equal weight.

GOV. PAWLENTY: We've said in Minnesota, in my view this is a local decision. Intelligent design is something that in my view is a plausible and credible and something that I personally believe in; but more importantly, from an educational and scientific standpoint, it should be decided by local school boards, by--at the local school district level.

100-Year-Old Woman Shot Dead

2008-09-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Does it get any sicker than this? From this article:

Jessie Burke celebrated her 100th birthday on Aug. 7. Three and half weeks later the matriarch of a well known family here was found shot dead in the back of the head, sitting in a chair in the den of her daughter's home...

Roman Invasion Promotes AIDS

2008-09-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of. Enjoy this bizarre science story.

Islam's War on Freedom

2008-09-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

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This fantastic commentary by my favorite YouTube commentator, Pat Condell, cuts right to the heart of how and why the Organization of the Islamic Conference is using the amoral, corrupt, destructive and useless United Nations to pursue their goal of fundamentalist Islamic world domination.

Jewish Dogs

2008-08-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Koran teaches that Jews are - or are descended from - apes and pigs, as you can read about in this article. This is obviously insane if taken literally - as is often the case in the uneducated, brainwashed Muslim world - and is hateful, bigoted and destructive if taken figuratively - which is often the case in the educated, brainwashed Muslim world.

Let me just state as a disclaimer that obviously not all Muslims feel this way, but I have read a TON of books and articles concerning those who do. To those citizens of the non-brainwashed Muslim world: Thank you for not believing this garbage literally or figuratively, and we'd appreciate your help spreading the message.

It is on this sour note that I offer comedy as consolation. If Jewish apes and pigs need two more mammals for a "minyan," these dogs are ready to "daven."

Click on those links above for a quick Hebrew lesson.

Religious Belief and Practices in the U.S.

2008-08-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

USA Today online has a very interesting interactive web page relating to U.S. religious beliefs and practices. You can visit it here.

Agnostic Bar Mitzvah Speech

2008-08-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

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This 13-year-old boy demonstrates a lot more wisdom than the millions of people of every creed who express fundamentalist religious beliefs, or absolute certainty in their unsupportable convictions.

Bill O'Reilly Goes Berzerk

2008-08-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

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This isn't new by any means, but it's funny nonetheless. Enjoy!

Al Qa'eda in Iraq Bans Women Buying Cucumbers

2008-08-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

This story lives at the crossroads between insanity, comedy and cruelty. Some quotes from the article:

"(Al-Qa'eda's rules) include a ban on women buying suggestively-shaped vegetables."

"They regarded the cucumber as male and tomato as female. Women were not allowed to buy cucumbers, only men."

"Other farcical stipulations include an edict not to buy or sell ice-cream, because it did not exist in the time of the Prophet, while hair salons and shops selling cosmetics have also been bombed."

"They even killed female goats because their private parts were not covered and their tails were pointed upward, which they said was haram."

And on a less comical note:

"I saw them slaughter a nine-year old boy like a sheep because his family didn't pledge allegiance to them."

It's on this last note that we should be reminded why we must kick the crap out of Al Qu'eda wherever it rears its disgusting head.

No Reason...I Just Like This Image

2008-08-24T16:37:00.001-07:00

Saudi Girl Executed for Becoming Christian

2008-08-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

As if the world needed yet another example of the brutality and inhumanity of Islamist thugs, this story was reported by Israel Today:

A young girl in Saudi Arabia was brutally executed by her Muslim father this week after he learned his daughter had converted to Christianity.

Middle East business news website Zawya.com reported that the man, who is a prominent member of a "virtue committee," first cut out his daughter's tongue and held a one-sided religious debate with her. He then burned his daughter alive.

Observant Muslims hold that their Prophet Mohammed taught that Muslims who convert to any other religion must be killed, often in extremely brutal fashion.

When these scumbags treat their own daughters this way, what do you think they would do to yours?

Presidential Candidates' Space Policy

2008-08-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

This blog has yet to endorse Obama or McCain, as both remain ripe for compliment or criticism, depending on what they say and do between now and November. But anything that either does that relates to the themes of this blog - science, religion, skepticism, general oddities - will be brought to your attention.

On that note, your reading assignment for today is Obama's space policy and McCain's space policy.

A disclaimer on the graphic above: This graphic is the weirdest image I could find online related to this topic. It does not, however, provide an endorsement of Obama.

Spaceship Could Fly Faster Than Light

2008-08-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

The speed of light - about 670,616,629.4 miles per hour - is the ultimate speed limit of the universe, according to Einstein's theories and the vast quantity of supporting evidence and observation. As a result, this makes all but our most immediate cosmic neighborhood even remotely accessible. As a frame of reference, it takes light 4 years to reach the nearest star (other than the sun), and at the fastest speed currently attained by a manned vehicle, the journey would take about 110,000 years.

But maybe the ultimate speed limit can be "broken." Enjoy this article.

Corpse Kept Upright During 3-Day Wake

2008-08-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

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A picture is worth 1000 words. But if you want to read the story, click here.

Woman Covered in Ticks from Head to Toe on Ferry

2008-08-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Think twice before taking your next Italian ferry ride. Once you read this story, you'll probably prefer to swim across the sea.

Guitarist for the 70's Band Queen Publishes Astrophysics Thesis

2008-08-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

I couldn't have made this story up, it's so unbelievable...and impressive!

UFOs Are Real! (Claims Astronaut)

2008-07-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is a story that I actually have mixed feelings about ridiculing, because I greatly wish it to be true. A former NASA astronaut, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission, claims that the government has been covering up repeated alien contacts for the last six decades.

How a government that could not cover up Watergate or Clinton's sexcapades could hide proof of little green men is not noted in the article.

By the way...BLOGICAL is back after a four month hiatus. This story seemed quite appropriate for its rebirth. Be sure to visit the archives for more interesting and entertaining reading!

Religious Nuts Nail Themselves to Crosses

2008-03-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Allow me to provide some choice quotes from this article:

"A 15-year-old boy has been crucified in the Philipines today in a gory ritual to mark the death of Jesus Christ."

"Dozens of Filipinos, including the boy and an 18-year-old girl, were nailed to crosses and scores more whipped their backs into a bloody pulp as the country's devout Roman Catholics marked Good Friday."

"In the small village of Cutud...men cried out as nails the size of pencils were driven into their hands and feet before they were hoisted up in the scorching heat."

"For hours before the crucifixions lines of men, hooded and half naked, flayed their backs with bamboo whips and paddles tipped with broken glass. Blood splattered over the road."

"The atmosphere was festive, with hawkers selling beer, ice-cream and souvenir whips."

"Some foreigners have previously been crucified including a Belgian nun and a Japanese man, who later allowed footage of his ordeal to be used in a pornographic film."

As entertaining as this spectacle must be, I'd recommend this alternative, safe and proven method for those wishing to celebrate Easter:

Iran's Anti-Gay Jihad

2008-03-17T11:29:00.001-07:00

"On July 19, 2005...two teenage boys, Mahmoud Asgari, 14, and Ayaz Marhoni, 16, were hanged in a particularly brutal manner in Iran for the crime of homosexual activity."

This occurred despite the contention by "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who famously declared at Columbia University last year: 'We don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country. We don’t have this phenomenon; I don’t know who’s told you we have it.'"

What a deranged son-of-a-bitch.

These quotes come from this article, which discusses Iran's executions of homosexuals in the context of an asylum issue in Britain, which almost exported an Iranian gay man towards the same fate as the boys pictured above.

Yet again, Iran shows itself to be unworthy of membership in the community of nations. That it takes its legal code from the Koran and Hadith should demonstrate - as does jurisprudence in Saudi Arabia and Taliban-era Afghanistan - that any society that institutionalizes Islam in its legal code is at odds with our civilization.

The de-Islamification of these governments - as opposed to its population - is the first and most critical step towards peaceful coexistence. Until that happens - and it will only be successful when undertaken from within by their own populations - these countries should be isolated and detached from the world community. Unfortunately, the power they've been granted by the oil under their soil makes this isolation exceedingly difficult... another argument for investing in alternative energy resources.

Boyfriend Might Be Charged in Toilet Case

2008-03-13T17:04:00.001-07:00

An update in the disturbing toilet case.

Hostages' Severed Fingers Sent to U.S. Military in Iraq

2008-03-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

"Severed fingers of five Western contractors were sent to the U.S. military in Iraq, giving the men's relatives hope that they are still alive...The men were abducted in two separate incidents that occurred a month and a half apart more than two years ago."

Is there any better example of the inhumanity of whom we're fighting? These are the same animals that brought you the tragic Nick Berg beheading, among others.

Whether or not you believe we should remain in Iraq or not, there should be no doubt that our enemy - there, in Afghanistan and in Islamist jihadist enclaves across the Middle East - is barbaric and incapable of living peacibly with its neighbors. No matter how it is accomplished, our end goal should be nothing short of disempowering and isolating these monsters until they are ready to join the human race. I doubt this will happen in the lifetime of anyone currently alive today.

Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years

2008-03-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

You've got to read it to believe it.

Arabic Debate About Islam

2008-03-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

Below is a debate between Wafa Sultan, the Syrian-born American critic of Islam, and an Egyptian Islamist on an Arabic television program. This is yet another example of the complete and utter disconnect between the "realities" of the Western and Islamic worlds. There are two totally different world histories presented (despite historical evidence) and two totally different perceptions of current world events.

Until Islam is reformed from within, including the elimination of the fantasy world in which many of its inherents live, peace with the West is so unlikely that it is practically impossible.

An Insider's View of Scientology

2008-03-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

Below you can hear an interview of Tory Christman, a 30-year member of the Church of Scientology, from the podcast Point of Inquiry. Most interesting is her perspective on the aggressive anti-free speech activities of the church.

One needs only listen to Tom Cruise to get an idea of how nonsensical this oddball church is (not to mention its having been founded by a science fiction author). But to understand the most bizarre aspects of its theology/cosmology, read this article on Xenu, an alien through whom science fiction meets religious cult fact.

Moms Allegedly Brawl at Chuck E. Cheese

2008-03-03T18:33:00.001-08:00

From the Associated Press:

NATICK, Mass. (AP) -- A child's birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant was cut short after a fight broke out between two mothers. Natick police said the mom of the 9-year-old birthday boy apparently became enraged because the other woman's son was "hogging" an arcade game.

Sgt. Paul Thompson said Catherine Aliaga, 38, and Tarsha Williams, 33, both of Boston, would be summoned into court to answer charges of simple assault and battery stemming from the scuffle.

Thompson told the MetroWest Daily News that police received a number of 911 calls about the fight Saturday night.

He said what started as a birthday celebration turned into a "birthday melee."

The Great Silence

2008-02-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Today's reading assignment considers the possibility that we might never meet other civilizations in the universe, and that we ourselves might unavoidably be doomed to extinction.

This article provides an interesting counter-argument to my post from December 31, 2007.

Such a sobering thought...

The End of the World is Predicted

2008-02-26T22:21:00.001-08:00

This is no story from the Weekly World News. Scientists are predicting that the Earth will spiral into an expanding Sun in 7.6 billion years. But long before this happens, in "a billion years or so you've got an Earth with no atmosphere, no water and a surface temperature of hundreds of degrees, way above the boiling point of water...It will become completely impossible for life of any kind to exist. It's a pretty gloomy forecast."

Unfortunately, the latest prediction for time until there is peace in the Middle East is 7.7 billion years, so all this fighting may prove to be for naught.

On a more serious note, according to physicist Stephen Hawking, "The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe." Let's just hope that in the near future, the level of enthusiasm for space travel returns to that of the days of the space race of the 1960's.

Saudis Arrested for Flirting at Shopping Mall

2008-02-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

5 7 men were arrested this past Thursday in Saudi Arabia for flirting with women outside a shopping mall. Their lawbreaking behavior "included dancing to pop music blaring from their cars and wearing improper clothing." This is one sick society.

Of course, these men have it a lot better than the Saudi woman accused of witchcraft, who faces beheading for her "crimes:"

2001: A Space Odyssey - 40 Years Old and Still a Masterpiece

2008-02-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

This year marks the 40th anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film was - and remains - a landmark science fiction movie (as well as a novel), groundbreaking in its storytelling and special effects.

Those familiar with the movie might enjoy this unique Flash animation called "Kubrick 2001 - The Space Odyssey Explained."

Below you will find the last 22 minutes of the film (split into three videos), which might be the most unique, mind-bending, psychedelic - and for the new viewer, confusing and aggravating - 22 minutes of film in movie history.

Iranian Sentenced to 4 Months in Jail and 30 Lashes for Walking Dog

2008-02-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

In yet another example that the Muslim world wishes to squeeze all the happiness out of the lives of its citizens, an Iranian Man has been punished as the title suggests for walking his dog, because "Islam considers dogs to be impure." Jailing and beating dog owners, on the other hand, is a fine example of purity.

Demonstrating the hypocrasy of a Saudi prince, "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently provoked debate in Iran about dog ownership when he took possession of four guard dogs, bought in Germany for approximately $161,040 each."

Scientists on Iraqi TV Debate Whether the Earth is Flat

2008-02-22T13:03:00.000-08:00

The video below shows excerpts from a debate on Iraqi television, between a physicist who argues that the Earth is a sphere, and an "astronomer" who believes it is flat.

The basis for the flat-earther's argument is:

"No verse in the Koran indicates that the Earth is round or that it rotates. Anything that has no indication in the Koran is false."

While this particular debate is comical, its implications are not. Aristotle declared that the Earth was a sphere about 2350 years ago, yet the absence of this information in the Koran is enough for an Iraqi "astronomer" to disbelieve the blatantly obvious. If the Koran says the sky is purple, then by god, it must be purple!

The formal education for many Muslims, especially in the Middle East, is limited to memorization of the Koran, an understanding of the Hadith, and a distorted history of Islam. If there are those capable of believing that the world is flat, how can you "unlearn" their beliefs about killing infidels?

Ahmadinejad Calls for Death to Israel

2008-02-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

Clash of Civilizations

2008-02-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

In the four days since my last posting, there have been three news stories from the Arab/Muslim world that clearly demonstrate the complete lack of common ground we in the West have with their societies. Many people find the concept of a "clash of civilizations" to be offensive, but as these news items demonstrate, the term is only inappropriate in that it elevates these dysfunctional states to the level of "civilization," when in fact they are as uncivilized as the Nazis were.

Cases in point:

In Egypt, people with HIV are being arrested and forcibly put into "special clinics." Furthermore, in the typical Islamic treatment of homosexuals, "four men were convicted in mid-January of 'habitual practice of debauchery,' a term used in the Egyptian legal system for consensual homosexual acts...Those men have been sentenced to one-year prison terms." Too bad for Egypt that they can't be like Iran, which according to President Ahmadinejad has no homosexuals, despite evidence that homosexuals are executed there.

A woman in Saudi Arabia is set to be executed for practicing witchcraft and performing supernatural acts. This places their backwards government at least 300 years behind the United States, to the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Part of the evidence against this poor Saudi woman is that "a man allegedly became impotent after being bewitched by" the woman. Unbelievable!

Also in Saudi Arabia, Valentine's Day was banned, as was the color red, on February 14, because the holiday was deemed "un-Islamic:"

"Buying, selling, wearing, or displaying anything red including red roses, clothes, wrapping paper, teddy bears and gift boxes were all illegal on this holiday for those in love. A few days prior to Valentine’s Day, flower shops and other stores were warned that they must remove all red items from their shelves...Government authorities let it be known that they were not going to tolerate any public displays of affection on February 14th. Though they claimed that Valentine’s Day promotes prohibited relations between unmarried men and women, public expressions of affection between married couples on that date was equally prohibited."

Despite Albert Brooks' attempt to find comedy in the Muslim world, the reality is that these are humorless, repressed, emotionally stunted societies, and that's largely the reason behind this clash of civilizations. That's not to say that there is something different in the nature of these people. Any religion followed in strict adherence to its ancient, tribal, desert ideology, traditions and laws is going to be soul-crushing. But Islam is alone in today's world in its being institutionalized in theocratic dictatorships. Any citizen of these countries who would prefer not to be ruled by lunatic dictates of the Koran have no choice but to restrict their objections to their own quiet thoughts.

Lucky for us, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are our allies. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Man Claims to be JFK's Love Child

2008-02-13T22:59:00.001-08:00

I know this sounds like a story worthy of the Weekly World News, but it's true: An American living in Canada claims to be JFK's illegitimate son, and wants to take a DNA test to prove it.

At least Bill Clinton practiced safe extramarital sex.

World's Largest Christ Statue Struck by Lightning

2008-02-12T16:06:00.001-08:00

Lightning has struck the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I'm sure the religious and superstitious the world over will be reading meaning into this event. And like a work of art, it is open to any and all interpretations. Mine would be that:

"Electricity seeks the path of lowest resistance. Arcing to a tall (typically wet) thing usually has a much lower electrical resistance than arcing through the air to the ground."

But then, I'm just a caustic skeptic.

The Plight of Women in Basra

2008-02-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

"We warn against not wearing a headscarf and wearing makeup.
Those who do not abide by this will be punished.
God is our witness, we have notified you."

These words were painted in Arabic in red paint just outside the main downtown market in Basra, Iraq. And they are no mere threat. Last year, 133 women were killed in Basra - 79 for violation of "Islamic teachings" and 47 for honor killings:

"There are many motives for these crimes and parties involved in killing women, by strangling, beheading, chopping off their hands, legs, heads...two women were killed in front of their kids. Their blood was flowing in front of their kids, they were crying. Another woman was killed in front of her 6-year-old son, another in front of her 11-year-old child, and yet another who was pregnant."

"The attacks on the women of Basra have intensified since British forces withdrew to their base at the airport back in September, police say. Iraqi security forces took over after British troops pulled back, but are heavily infiltrated by militias."

Whether or not you feel we were justified in going to war, and whether or not you think we should leave, let's be honest about two things:

(1) To call the people we're fighting "animals" is unfair to animals.

(2) If and when we leave, there will be a bloodbath and barbarism beyond belief in the civil war that will follow.

To agree with these statements does not necessarily commit you to either side of the "leave or stay" debate, but to deny them suggests that you cannot or will not look reality in the face.

Exorcism Center to Open in Poland

2008-02-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

It looks like I'm not the only one noticing all these exorcism stories in the news recently (here, here, here and here). A Polish priest "plans to build a 'spiritual oasis' that will serve as Europe's only center dedicated to performing exorcisms."

"With the blessing of the local Catholic archbishop and theological support from the Vatican, the center will aid a growing number of Poles possessed by evil forces or the devil himself."

Let me check my watch. This is the 21st Century, right? How could anyone be cynical about religion when the most recognizable religious figure on the planet, the Pope, provides his stamp of approval on such nonsense? A Catholic university in Rome even began offering courses in exorcism in 2005, obviously recognizing that demand for demon expulsion might exceed the availability of trained exorcists.

My favorite quote from the article: "Exorcists said they are careful not to treat people suffering from mental illness." Apparently this criteria is not applied to the exorcists themselves.

Newspapers Refuse to Print Cartoon That Satirizes Radical Islam

2008-02-10T21:25:00.001-08:00

Growing up, my favorite comic strip was "Bloom County" by Berkeley Breathed. It offered a hilarious social commentary during its 1980-89 run. Breathed now has a comic strip called "Opus," which I stumbled upon today when thumbing through a newspaper over a latte at Starbucks. That led me to looking up these comic strips on Wikipedia, which in turn led me to discovering a news story from this past August.

It seems that several newspapers refused to run the August 26 Opus strip because a character decides she wants to become a radical Islamist...and goes on to explain why. One frame of the strip is above, but you can see the whole comic here.

Newsflash: We're at WAR with radical Islam. If the country had been scared to satirize Nazis during World War II, we might have found ourselves speaking German today. And when we did poke fun at the enemy, we weren't implicating every German, just as poking fun at fundamentalists doesn't denigrate moderate Muslims.

These newspapers were likely afraid to set off riots in the form of those in Europe and across the world during the Mohammed cartoon controversy (which resulted in over 100 deaths). I must wonder if the same sensitivity would have been exercised if the comic strip had satirized radical Christians or Jews...because you must be careful about rioting rabbis.

Archbishop of Canterbury Calls for "Constructive Accommodation" of Sharia into British Law

2008-02-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

The spiritual leader of the Anglican church "said on Thursday the introduction in Britain of some aspects of sharia, Islamic law, was unavoidable." While his intentions were surely aimed at finding a way to coexist peacefully with a rising Muslim population, the reality is that Sharia is the basis for law in such shining examples of human rights as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan under the Taliban. Whatever its merits, any system of law that allows men to beat their wives and executes adulterers and homosexuals does not belong among the jursiprudence of Western civilization.

In 2003 and 2004, the European Court of Human Rights ruled "that sharia s incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy." In the unfortunately growing trend of European liberals willing to snap to the most unmoderate of Islamic demands, the Archbishop of Canterbury is applying yet another nail in Europe's coffin.

When the future Dhimmis of Europe look back at how they ended up as second-class citizens in their societies, they'll think about well-intentioned individuals like the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Hamas Continues to Launch Rockets from Gaza as TIME Condemns Israel

2008-02-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

I think I'm going to cancel my subscription to TIME Magazine. I've noticed for awhile that their coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unbalanced. But this article about the Gaza border breach might be the straw that broke this camel's back. There is ample space given to describing the difficulties under which the Gazan Paelestinians live, with blame laid squarely on Israel. But almost no indication is given as to why Israel has blockaded this dysfunctional political entity. The primary notice that is given is:

"The wild exodus from Gaza, which included more than one-fifth of the territory's 1.5 million people, was just a brief respite from the reality of life under Israel's blockade, which had been tightened on Jan. 17 in response to rocket attacks from Gaza soil."

"In response to rocket attacks from Gaza soil?" Who launched the rockets from Gaza? Colonel Sanders and his army of fry cooks?

This is a classic example of framing Israel's actions in an active voice (as you will see by the article), but framing the Palestinian role in a passive voice, as if they had no role in their own actions. Unbelievable!

The photos above come from a Gaza rocket factory, where up to 100 rockets are produced per night (and this is just from ONE factory). Up to fifty rockets per day rain down on southern Israel.

Israel provides Gaza with nearly 70% of its electrical power, which would be analogous to the United States providing electrical power to Mexico while under rocket attack from its customers. No other society on Earth would be expected to provide electricity - as well as fuel - to an enemy seeking its destruction (and if you doubt that, then explain why the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state).

Israel escalated its existing blockade of Gaza (in response to the unending rocket barrage) on January 17. "They stopped the flow of commercial goods, reduced the flow of fuel, and began letting through only humanitarian aid, such as food and medicines." They did NOT cut electrical power. But in response, "Hamas closed the single power plant that provided most of the power to Gaza City," in order to elicit world sympathy and pressure Israel, as usual, without addressing the reasons for the blockade in the first place. They even staged blackouts to fool journalists.

This drama led to Hamas blowing up parts of the border wall between Gaza and Egypt, and 12 days of free movement of Gazans into Egypt (until Egypt resealed the border last week). During the breach, the Gazans were able to "bolster their stores of weapons and explosives," which will inevitably aid them in more attacks against Israel.

For Israel, can you say, "No win situation?"

But none of this was reflected in the TIME Magazine article, which only painted the sad plight of the average Gazan, and denounced Israel for creating this situation. Now if I could find so much evidence to the contrary in a simple article search - reflected in the numerous links above, which I encourage you to review - could there be any excuse for TIME other than a severe bias against Israel?

Priorities

2008-02-06T22:49:00.000-08:00

A woman in St. Augustine, Florida was pulled over yesterday after running a red light. The police deputy discovered her priorities when he found that she "had a case of beer belted in her front seat, but a young child unrestrained" in the back seat.

When the deputy asked the woman, Tina Williams, "for a driver's license, she replied, 'I never had one.'"

Police said Williams had bloodshot and watery eyes and staggered when she got out of the vehicle. Asked if she'd been drinking, she told the deputy, 'I had a few.'"

To vote for Tina Williams as Mother of the Year, please drop your ballot off at the nearest pub.

Iranian Sisters Face Stoning for Adultery

2008-02-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

Those "civilized" Persians, the children of one of the great ancient empires, have yet again shown themselves to be just another society stuck in the backward wasteland of fundamentalist Islam, the tribal trappings of the desert forever impeding the development of a modern society.

"Two Iranian sisters convicted of adultery face being stoned to death after the supreme court upheld the death sentences against them."

In a family of dysfunctional Muslim countries, Iran is the Grandfather of Dysfunction. With stories like this being unfortunately commonplace, it should be clear that Iran has no interest in being part of the community of nations, no interest in developing a peaceful nuclear program, no interest in stopping its support of terrorism, no interest in helping to create peace in Iraq, no interest in backing away from its aggression toward Israel.

Like the Wahabbis of Saudi Arabia and the Taliban of Afghanistan, the Iranians want to export their diseased beliefs, their horrific application of Sharia, across the region and eventually the world. We must remain steadfast in our confrontation with Iran, and make sure that they are not provided the opportunity to acquire or develop nuclear weapons.

Man Says Exorcism Led to Wife's Death

2008-02-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Four days after my last exorcism story posting, which was a month after my previous exorcism story, a Texas man has been accused of killing his wife while "trying to exorcise a demon from her when the devil entered his body and caused her to die." The woman's body was "wrapped in a bed sheet with a cross and sword on top of it."

I'm starting to wonder if I should create a blog specifically devoted to tracking and reporting on exorcism stories. Of all the nonsensical religious beliefs that people have, possession by, and eviction of, demons is among the most incredible. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 42% of Americans believe in demonic possession. Some other incredible beliefs reported in this poll:

- Extrasensory perception (41%)
- Haunted houses (37%)
- Ghosts (32%)
- Telepathy (31%)
- Clairvoyance (26%)
- Astrology (25%)
- Communication with the dead (21%)
- Witches (21%)
- Reincarnation (20%)

"Gallup's analysis of the raw data revealed that 73 percent, almost three quarters of the people who responded to the poll, believe in at least one of the ten items that were presented to them."

I guess I'm the weird one.

Middle School in Camden, Maine Bans Intentional Flatulence

2008-02-04T21:57:00.001-08:00

It seems that eighth-grade boys at Camden-Rockport Middle School are "making a game of seeing who can expel the loudest and grossest flatus." So "the penalty for 'intentional farting' is now a detention."

This may be the best news story I've ever read.

Al-Qaeda Reaches the Height of Barbarity...So Will the Politicians Finally Be Honest?

2008-02-02T14:45:00.001-08:00

In case more evidence was needed that Islamist terrorists are depraved, psychotic, inhuman barbarians, on Febuary 1 Al-Qaeda in Iraq strapped suicide bombs on two mentally retarded women with Down's Syndrome and exploded them remotely, killing 99 people in two crowded pet markets.

As the article notes, this is not the first time that the mentally disabled have been used, unwittingly, in suicide attacks. There have been precedents in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel, showing that the Nazis are not the only group capable of scraping the bottom of the barrel of human depravity.

We are stuck between a rock and a hard place in an unwinnable war (assuming "win" means leaving a democratic, peaceful ally behind). I'd like to see some honesty by both sides of the American political aisle regarding this predicament:

- The Right refuses to admit that the reasons given for this war proved flawed at best, that no notable quantities of WMD were found, nor was any reasonable connection between Saddam's regime and Al-Qaeda proven. No link between Iraq and 9/11 was ever established. And no matter how many times it is repeated, it is NOT true that the reason for going into Iraq was to free the Iraqis from Saddam's totalitarian regime and bring democracy to the country. There is also no acknowledgement that we've effectively turned Iraq into an incubator for terrorists, which is precisely what we were supposed to eliminate in Afghanistan (an effort that has been highly complicated by drain of resources into the Iraqi campaign). Finally, I have to credit John McCain with being honest in the speech below, in stating that if we stay in Iraq, we may need to be there for 100 years:

The irony is that after 100 years, the situation could easily be no different than it is now, and we may consider ourselves lucky to find another brutal, murderous, nationalistic tyrant (like Saddam) to suppress the armies of jihad. Staying in Iraq for decades is certainly not what the public believed it was signing up for, nor is it something that all but the most hardcore foreign policy conservatives would savor. The Republicans continue to repeat the mantra that "the surge is working" and that "we're winning," without admitting that even if we win militarily, it is meaningless if the price of "winning" is to remain in Iraq indefinitely as a police force holding back an inevitable civil war.

- The Left scores no better, however. The Democratic presidential candidates (especially when there were more than two) fought to outdo each other in how quickly they would leave Iraq if elected, and how they either didn't support the war from the beginning, or were "lied to" when they followed the herd. The focus is continually on the past, why we shouldn't have gone into Iraq in the first place. This ignores the fact that WE ARE THERE NOW, and as such, are responsible for the outcome of our presence. If we set and announce a timetable for withdrawal of troops, the terrorists of all stripes will escalate their civil war, murder more Iraqis and Americans, and chase the last of our troops out the door. Many of those Iraqis who want us there will follow the almost 2 million current refugees out of Iraq, primarily into Syria and Jordan. Others will try to escape with the Americans, as happened when we left Vietnam:

And most importantly, there will be a bloodbath as the civil war is escalated far, far beyond what is possible with American troops playing referee. If our experience in Indo-China is a comparable example, after our evacuation, 100,000 Vietnamese and 2.5 million Cambodians were murdered. And of course, this will set off a tidal wave of enthusiasm for jihad and Islamic terrorism, as the perception will be that the soldiers of Allah defeated the United States just as they did the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. These terrorists thrive on any sign of weakness, and our departure will embolden them to rebuild in Iraq what we destroyed in Afghanistan. In the end, we will meet them in battle again...time and place to be determined.

There is no easy solution. Neither the Right or the Left, neither conservatives or liberals, neither Republicans or Democrats, offer a full, balanced picture of Iraq that progress us toward any result other than getting their candidates elected. Only with honesty by the leaders and decision-makers on both sides of this debate can we as a country decide which of the horrible options available will best serve the interest of America now and in the future.

Ex-Priest Jailed Over Exorcism Death

2008-01-31T14:18:00.000-08:00

A month after I reported that the Pope was setting up exorcism squads (a claim the Vatican denies), another exorcism story is in the news...and this one isn't funny, I'm afraid. A former Romanian priest has received a jail sentence for "murdering a young nun during an exorcism ritual when she was bound, chained to a cross and denied food and water for days." Four nuns aided the ex-priest in this psychotic ritual.

The victim "who had previously been treated for schizophrenia, had believed she heard the devil talking to her."

On a positive note, the Romanian Orthodox Church condemned the "techniques" as "abominable". But I would have preferred to hear them say that devil possession and exorcism are ludicrous superstitions. That this ancient practice has made it to the 21st Century is mind-blowing.

Such is the fine line between comedy and tragedy.

Smuggling Booze into Iran

2008-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Another compelling PBS Frontline mini-documentary, this one about Iraqi Kurds smuggling European liquor into Iran...where drinking alcohol is forbidden by Sharia law. Yet another wonderful example of hypocrisy in the Muslim world.

* Note that there is a problem with the video in that it freezes up 43 seconds before the end.

Prostitution in Dubai

2008-01-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

This interesting PBS Frontline documentary shows that Muslims can be infidels too. Maybe there's hope yet.

An Israeli Perspective on the Gaza Border Breach

2008-01-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

This morning, driving to work, I saw the above bumper sticker. This is truly the height of naiivity, for it assumes that every breed of every group represented by these symbols wants to coexist...a thought that is truly a pipe dream.

Case in point: The continuing flow of Palestinians from Gaza, over the breached security wall, across the Philadelphia Corridor, into Egypt's Sinai Desert...and the return to Gaza of weapons that will be used against Israel.

An interesting Israeli perspective can be heard here at this streaming podcast from Marty Roberts, a New Yorker now living in Israel, and host of The Marty Roberts Show. Given the potential disaster for Israel that is unfolding, it gives an alternate perspective to the post I submitted yesterday. Egypt, it seems, is incapable or unwilling to control the flow from "Hamastan," although in fairness, it appears that Israel is equally paralyzed.

I fear that the situation will get much worse before it gets better. John Lennon wrote:

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

Yeah, imagine. Fat chance!

A Relaxing Video of the Sun's Outer Atmosphere

2008-01-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

Give Gaza to Egypt

2008-01-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

In light of the wave of Gazans flowing into Egypt over the toppled border wall, this article provides an excellent solution to Israel's Gaza problem: Return Gaza to Egypt.

The Gaza Strip was a protectorate of Egypt from 1948 until 1967, when Israel acquired it as one of the spoils of the Six-Day War (a war launched in response to Egypt's call "for a unified Arab action against Israel").

The Gazans, like their fellow Palestinians in the West Bank, have not demonstrated their ability to self-govern - by a long shot - or to be capable of living peacefully side-by-side with Israel.

Having Gaza annexed by Egypt would return responsibility for maintaining peace to the major country that created this problem in the first place. This would also enable Israel to stop having to provide electricity and fuel to an entity that returns the favor by launching a continual barrage of rockets into Israeli border towns.

Israeli Knesset Member Exhibits Anti-Gay Bigotry

2008-01-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

Israel is an island of democracy and secular Western values in a sea of theocracies and dictatorships. I find it incredibly disappointing when the ultra-Orthodox minority - who exercise disproportionately large political influence in a system that requires coalitions of political parties - behave as bigoted, archaic and insane as their undemocratic neighbors.

One case in point: The story I posted two weeks ago about ultra-Orthodox men relegating women to the back of Israeli buses that travel through their neighborhoods, and insulting and physically threatening women who wear trousers.

Another case in point: An Israeli Knesset member named Nissim Ze'ev has suggested "establishing 'rehabilitation centers' to suppress the sexual tendencies of gay people." Furthermore, according to the article, he has stated that:

"These people are dangerous and we must keep an eye on them."

"Gay people must be made aware of how 'their lifestyle is destroying our existence.'"

Ze'ev, along with fellow Knesset member Eli Gabbay, would also like to outlaw gay pride parades in Jerusalem, proposing an amendment that "would enable the Jerusalem Municipal Council to ban gay parades and rallies for considerations of disturbance to public order, offending the public's sensitivities or for religious considerations."

These hateful attitudes and behavior are an embarrassment for civilized people of every nationality, race and creed. The damage that this kind of behavior does to Israel - a tiny country struggling to survive against tremendous hatred and ill will - is immeasurable. The more examples there are of fundamentalist religious bigotry and uncivilized behavior by the ultra-Orthodox in Israel, the harder it is to argue for the moral superiority of their society.

I can only hope that secular and religiously moderate Israelis will remove individuals like Ze'ev and Gabbay from power, and will stand up to the lunatic ultra-Orthodox and say, "No more!"

Update: Martian Rock is a Rock

2008-01-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

The human-like shape found in a photo by NASA's Spirit rover turns out to be a rock...as if there were any doubt.

Still...I'm a little disappointed.

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall

2008-01-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

I realize that this is terribly blasphemous and offensive, but it is also funny as hell. I found it on the website of Pat Condell, a British comedian who has a collection of YouTube videos that are as blasphemous and offensive as they come, but they are also hysterical social commentaries. Not recommeded for the religious or the politcally correct.

Dennis Kucinich Spotted on Mars

2008-01-23T19:42:00.001-08:00

Actually, this photo by NASA's Spirit rover likely shows a rock formation. But the Internet is apparently abuzz with theories of what this might be, from proof of alien life to the Virgin Mary. You can read about it here and here.

With all these theories floating around, I think mine is as valid as any. To read more about Dennis Kucinich and UFOs, see my post from January 15.

Al Gore Speaks Out in Support of Gay Marriage

2008-01-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

I salute Al Gore for having the guts to release this video in support of gay marriage. I wonder if he would have done the same had he been president?

I have yet to hear one solid argument, backed up by statistical evidence, that shows any reason whatsoever why gay marriage would be detrimental to individuals or society. On the other hand, every single argument I have heard made against gay marriage has, at its root, religiously-rooted fear and bigotry.

That said, my libertarian belief is that people should be allowed to dislike whomever they choose, and religious institutions should be free to refuse to marry whomever they choose.

But with marriage being a social contract based in law, with special rights provided to individuals who sign that contract, it is clearly discriminatory for gay men and women to not be allowed to make the same social contract as their heterosexual fellow citizens.

There are over a thousand federal laws that treat married people differently from single people, in all spheres of society. Allowing special rights to pairs of individuals only if they are heterosexual is discrimination any way you look at it.

So how do you allow people to remain bigoted within their religious institutions and not translate this bigotry into the laws of the land? My answer is to remove marriage from the law. Marriage should be considered a religious practice that is managed by religious institutions.

"So if gay people can get married," I've heard, "why not brothers and sisters?"...To which I respond, "Why not?"

The social contract in American law that provides special rights to interested pairs of individuals should have nothing to do with romantic and sexual intimacy. Any two individuals should be able to participate in this social contract if they meet reasonable criteria (for example, be of legal age and living under the same roof).

While people married within their religious institutions would usually also commit to a civil union, there would be no necessary relationship between the two. As such, gay couples would be allowed the same - and by that I mean the exact same - rights as heterosexual couples in the eyes of the law, without offending the archaic religious opposition that most individuals appear to have against gay marriage.

World's Largest Swimming Pool

2008-01-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

A swimming pool located in Algarrobo, Chile and measuring 3500 feet in length and with a surface area of 20 acres, has been named the world's largest by the Guiness Book of World Records. Up for a game of Marco Polo, anyone?

More Tribal Justice from the Twisted Kingdom

2008-01-21T15:28:00.001-08:00

In Saudi Arabia, a country whose most notable contribution to world culture has been the psychotic flavor of Islam known as Wahhabism, a couple's marriage has been annulled because the wife's relatives believed she had married beneath her tribe. By secretly continuing to live with her husband, the wife ended up in jail for nine months.

It could be worse for the wife. She could be forced to die in a burning building because religious police wouldn't let her outside without proper attire, as happened in 2002.

These are our allies, mind you.

Is India an Ally?

2008-01-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Today's reading assignment on this topic is from Commentary Magazine.

Activists Brave Snow and Irony to Protest Global Warming

2008-01-19T22:09:00.001-08:00

On Thursday, January 17, about 400 activists staged a global warming protest during a snowstorm in Annapolis, Maryland.

Good Riddance, Bobby Fischer

2008-01-19T21:09:00.001-08:00

"The United States is 'a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew bastards.'"

...or so believed Bobby Fischer, the chess champion who died January 17. Which goes to show, chess may require intelligence, but it certainly does not require wisdom or kindness.

Good riddance, Bobby Fischer. I wish for you an eternity of losing games to Anatoly Karpov.

Man Clones Himself

2008-01-19T20:47:00.001-08:00

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I just don't share the ethical problem that many people have with human cloning. That's not to say that I think we should populate the world with replicas of ourselves and dead relatives (which strikes me as cruel to the cloned individuals). But given the possibility of treating and curing diseases by harvesting cloned embryos and stem cells, it would be unethical not to exploit this technology...at least in my humble opinion.

Such is the debate that continues to rage, as it was announced that a scientist has managed to clone himself, creating embryos that were smaller than a pinhead and survived for five days.

It seems that those who object to human cloning fall into two camps: those with religious issues, claiming that we are treading on "God's Turf," and those who fear the science will lead us to the world of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, where babies are harvested in the laboratory. In other words, the objections come from those who fear science, and those who oppose it.

I tend to wonder how members of either camp would respond if faced with an illness and offered a cure that required human cloning to implement?

Another Example of Jihadi Barbarism

2008-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

"We have the heads, the hands, the feet and even a nearly intact cadavre from the head down to the pelvis."

This pronouncement comes from Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, referring to Israeli soldiers.

One can only hope these barbarians find a time machine to take them back to the 7th century. What a disgusting display of inhumanity.

And The Moron of the Year Award Goes To...

2008-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

This video shows "stunt junkee" Jeb Corliss attempting to jump off the Empire State Building last year, unbeknownst to building officials or a rooftop full of tourists.

Now Corliss is filing a $30 million lawsuit against the Empire State Building, "arguing that the guards who prevented his jump not only caused him 'severe emotional distress' but endangered his life as well."

In retrospect, the security guards should have let him jump, but replaced his parachute with a lawyer.

Israel 'Back of the Bus' Rule Sparks Religious Row

2008-01-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

According to this article, the nutty ultra-orthodox Jews of Israel are behaving like their medieval neighbors in the Middle East, insulting and physically threatening women who ride the bus wearing trousers, and relegating women to the back of the bus, as if this were the pre-Civil Rights Movement era of the American south. I suppose we should give them credit for not stoning women to death as is done in some Muslim countries, but it just seems like a reward for not being as crazy as possible...only almost as crazy.

In discussing middle eastern politics, I take pride in defending Israel as an island of democracy and western values in a sea of Islamic fundamentalist insanity. But stories like this destroy the credibility of this argument, and make Israelis look like any other religious lunatics. I can only hope that the secular majority will eventually disempower this embarrassing minority.

If these religious chauvinists want to live in a country where men and women don't mix, they should move to the sandy paradise of Saudi Arabia.

Dozens in Texas Town Report Seeing UFO

2008-01-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

According to this article, dozens of residents of Stephenville, Texas, have reported seeing "a large silent object with bright lights flying low and fast," which of course MUST be a UFO. No other explanation could possibly be plausible.

One quote from the article that stands out as evidence of the credibility of aliens choosing their first contact with Earth to be a small farming community where no one owns a camera is:

"People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times."

My own suspicion is that the UFO that Dennis Kucinich saw was coming back to vote for him in the Texas Democratic primary. You can hear Kucinich comment on his encounter below:

Finally Some Balanced Global Warming Reporting

2008-01-13T19:12:00.001-08:00

When science becomes politicized, it is an assault on the truth. Case in point: Man-Made Global Warming. On one side you have faith that is on par with religious fanatacism, so much so that Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe wrote that "Global Warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers." This side claims that the other side - namely, the Bush Administration - has attempted to "mislead the public by injecting doubt into the science of Global Warming and minimize the potential danger"...which may be true.

The loser in this debate is science. In the words of Steven Chu, a Nobel Laureate in Physics:

"Good scientists are their own worst critics. They're always trying to prove themselves wrong, which is hard, because sometimes you've got an idea and you think you're right and you have to force yourself [to ask], 'Where are the weak points of this argument, or the weak points of my experiment?'"

The reason that the science of evolution by natural selection is challenged only by religious crackpots is that it has undergone scientific scrutiny since the publication of On the Origin of Species 150 years ago. The theory is overwhelmingly supported by available evidence.

When it comes to Man-made Global Warming - as opposed to global warming by natural causes - there is significant evidence for and against this theory. I want to see more evidence that is untainted by politics, the media and public hysteria. But this requires objective analysis on both sides of the debate.

You can therefore imagine my satisfaction at discovering the Climate Debate Daily website. At last, some balance! This website provides numerous articles in support of, and opposed to, the theory of Man-made Global Warming. I have yet to explore the site in depth, so I may find its claim of neutrality to be inaccurate, but my hopes remain high.

Islamic Children's Television

2008-01-13T09:48:00.000-08:00

Is it any wonder that the Muslim world is in turmoil when Middle Eastern societies turn generation after generation of children into psychopaths by filling their education and entertainment with hatred and the glorification of violence and martyrdom? These videos provide a few chilling examples:

Iranian Children's Show

Egyptian Children's Show

Saudi Arabian Children's Show

Palestinian Children's Shows

Words to Avoid in 2008

2008-01-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

An article for you wordsmiths...and happy new year, one and all.

Some Staggering Numbers

2007-12-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

The latest estimate for the number of stars in the observable universe is now 70 sextillion, or 70 thousand million million million. This "is greater than the estimated number of sand grains on all the world's beaches and deserts - about 10 times more." Note that this is just the estimate for the observable universe, as the scope of the actual universe "could be much, much larger still - some people think it is infinite."

As of December, 2007, 270 planets outside the solar system have been discovered. It "is estimated that at least 10% of sun-like stars have planets, and the true proportion may be much higher."

If only one in a million stars had a planet that could support life, and one in a million of those had a planet that did support life, that would provide 70 billion planets with life in the observable universe. If advanced civilizations such as ours occurred on only one in a million worlds with life, there would be 70,000 advanced civilizations in the observable universe.

With these odds, doesn't it seem unlikely that we're alone in the universe?

Now for some more mind-boggling numbers. The age of the universe is estimated to be 13.7 billion years (the clock having started at the Big Bang). When we look out at those 70 sextillion stars, we are looking into the past, seeing the light from these distant objects looking as it did when it was emitted. Therefore, the furtherst objects appear 13+ billion light years away and are 13+ billion light years old.

But the universe is expanding at a rate faster than the speed of light, so the current position of these furthest stars is estimated to be over 40 billion light years away. "The observable universe is thus a sphere with a diameter of 92–94 billion light-years."

Stay with me, I'm about to make a point...

The fastest craft ever launched from Earth, Voyager 1, has had a top speed of 38,000 mph. Though not headed in the direction of Proxima Centauri, our closest celestial neighbor at 4.2 light years, it could have reached this star in 72,000 years. Even if far-future technology were able to attain half the speed of light, it would still take over 8 years to reach just the closest star. Forget about the 70 sextillion!

The universe is mind-blowingly large, and we are incomprehensively small. If the universe were created for the sake of humanity - as many people believe - why would it need to be so big? A little excessive, wouldn't you say?

Chabad Messianists Lose Court Ruling

2007-12-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

You may be familiar with Chabad, an ultra-orthodox Jewish movement that has become very visible in recent years in their opening of "Chabad Houses" across the world. They are also one of the modern populizers of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism (Madonna has jumped into the craze, as you can read about here).

(A little sidebar: Perhaps we should replace the ineffective U.N. with Kabbalist Madonna, Buddhist Richard Gere and Scientologist Tom Cruise. They certainly couldn't do any worse in solving the world's problems.)

Anyway, Chabad is more formally known as Lubavitcher Hasidism, a sect that goes back to 18th century Russia. During the tenure of their latest leader, the "Rebbe" Menachem Mendel Schneerson, many followers claimed he was the Messiah. This belief got only stranger after his death in 1994 (he hasn't been replaced yet as Rebbe). You can read more about the background of this movement here.

The latest development in this bizarre drama is a court case that has evicted a Messianist congregation from the movement's main synagogue in Brooklyn. While this drama has not been widely known outside of New York - where one could find posters on the subway with photos like the one above and captions reading "Messiah Now" - I'm pleased to see this development.

Fundamentalism and extremism of all colors are an embarrassment to logic and reason.

Update: Vatican Denies Exorcist Expansion

2007-12-29T17:42:00.000-08:00

In an update from my last posting: The Vatican denies that it is expanding its legion of exorcists (article from United Press International). Luckily, the article provides another humorous quote:

"A priest at Vatican University who teaches how to recognize and expel Satan said exorcists increasingly are in demand because devil worship has become so common."

You just can't make up stuff like this.

Pope's Exorcist Squads Will Wage War on Satan

2007-12-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

According to an article in The Daily Mail, "The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism."

Rather than make light of this critical problem facing the world, I thought I would point out some key quotes from the article:

"Each bishop is to be told to have in his diocese a number of priests trained to fight demonic possession."

"Thanks be to God, we have a Pope who has decided to fight the Devil head-on."

"Too many bishops are not taking this seriously and are not delegating their priests in the fight against the Devil. You have to hunt high and low for a properly trained exorcist."

"We are being bombarded by requests for exorcisms."

"The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through rock music and the Internet."

Thank goodness the Vatican has decided to confront this menace!

God vs. Science

2007-12-28T23:16:00.001-08:00

I read an interesting article from Time Magazine online, a bit dated (11/5/06) though no less relevant, called "God vs. Science." The bulk of the article is a debate between Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary scientist at Oxford University and author of "The God Delusion," and Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and author of "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."

It's captivating to finally read this debate framed from a scientific perspective (more so with Dawkins, of course), rather than between scientist and theologian. The line that most resonated with me was the closing comment from Dawkins:

"If there is a God, it's going to be a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more incomprehensible than anything that any theologian of any religion has ever proposed."

The graphic image above, by the way, is from another really interesting article I read in Cosmos Magazine, "Hunt for the God Particle," about the Large Hadron Collider being built outside Geneva.

And now you have your reading assignments for today.

Al Qaeda Behind Bhutto Assassination

2007-12-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

According to an article in The Sun online, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan claims that there is "irrefutable evidence" that Al Qaeda was behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. I would prefer to hear that this information has been verified by the United States government, if that's possible, because I trust the honesty of the Interior Minsitry of Pakistan as much as I trust the ethics of Saudi Arabia's Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice...which is to say, not at all.

But if this proves to be true, it should be a wakeup call for anyone who thinks that the War on Islamic Terrorism - as it should be called - is overblown hype and fearmongering. I just finished reading Lawrence Wright's Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." These barbarians are in this fight for the long haul, and believe that this struggle might take decades. Bin Laden and his band of barbarians believe that their years of fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan collapsed that empire, and that eventually they will cause the same fate to befall America, which they see as the largest impediment to creating a new Islamic caliphate. In their view, destabalizing Muslim states that are not Islamist - and even worse, allied with the U.S. - will drive more recruits to their cause and allow them to overthrow these "takfir" regimes.

We've become so buried in the quagmire of Iraq that our focus has been turned away from stamping out the Islamist terrorists. Iraq was at most minimally associated with Al Qaeda, but now has become the quicksand of the majority of our military resources. Meanwhile, Bin Laden, Zawahiri, Mullah Omar and countless other Al Qaeda and Taliban are likely hiding in the Wild West that is the tribal areas of Pakistan near the Afghanistan border (official site). Bhutto offered hope that Pakistan might fulfill its promise to take control of these areas and root out the terrorists.

I can only hope that this assassination strengthens our resolve to continue this fight, especially past the presidential election in November. By this I don't necessarily mean Iraq, but rather, the larger war against Islamist Terrorism. And I hope that Pakistan will finally root out the barbarians at the gate. If not, another 9/11 will be inevitable.

Will There Be Rallies?

2007-12-27T12:24:00.000-08:00

In the wake of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, will there be rallies and demonstrations across the Muslim world? Insulting cartoons and inflammatory comments by the Pope set off mass hysteria across the Middle East, as well as Europe. Will the murder of a Muslim leader who promoted democratic reforms engender the same rage and initiate a call to arms by moderate Muslims to take control of their societies from the forces of terror, anarchy and barbarism? I doubt it.

Here's an interesting post-assassination analysis from the Jerusalem Post.

Hilarious Japanese Game Show

2007-12-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

I wanted to test embedding a video into this blog, and this is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Not to be a Scrooge...But I Love This Story

2007-12-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

RACY 'SANTA' CITED FOR DUI

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A beefy gent wearing a red Santa hat and purple G-string in Los Angeles this holiday season not only didn't pass for Santa but failed a Breathalyzer test, too.

Rick Carroll, 53, of Long Beach, Calif., who also sported a blond wig, black leg warmers and red, lace camisole, allegedly registered just over the legal blood-alcohol limit of .08 percent when officers tested him after he pulled up in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater Sunday night, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Carroll was booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge and released on $5,000 bail, the newspaper said. His car was impounded.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Ken Garner said officers were "pretty sure this is not ... Santa Claus."

"There was no Mel Gibson treatment for him," Garner added, referring to the help the actor received from deputies after his drunken driving arrest last year. "He had to sober up and find his own reindeer."

Click here for the story on the UPI website.

Church and State Crash Head On in the House

2007-12-25T21:35:00.001-08:00

On Dec. 11, H.R. 847 was passed in the House of Representatives. The text, according to a Washington Post article, includes:

"Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States. . . ."

"Christianity [is] the religion of over three-fourths of the American population"

"American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ"

"Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace."

"Now, therefore be it Resolved, that the House of Representatives . . . expresses continued support for Christians in the United States . . . acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States . . . rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and expresses its deepest respect to American Christians."

This is nauseating, frankly. Is it just me, or have politicians gone off the deep end recently in their declarations of faith? Every presidential debate has been chock full of professions of Christian belief. There's no embarrassment in admitting you don't believe in evolution (as a number of Republican candidates did), but God help an atheist if he or she ever runs for office.

This House resolution spits in the face of the Founding Fathers, who designed our government on a separation of church and state. They may have primarily been Christians, but they created a secular government that was inclusive of all religions, or those who choose no religion.

A politician who doesn't believe in evolution wouldn't get my vote for dog catcher, because I wouldn't trust his ability to exercise logical judgment. I can only hope that enough constituents feel the same as I do, and let their opinions be heard, or there will be more ridiculous resolutions like H.R. 847.

Institute for Creation Research in San Diego

2007-12-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

It was with great delight that I discovered a relatively nearby destination, the Institute for Creation Research, and its Museum of Creation and Earth History.

I am fascinated by the absurdity of religious fundamentalism, and respectful of the capacity of science to discover the underlying truths in the universe. As long as the Creationists aren't trying to force this affront to science into the public education system, I can enjoy a stroll through Fantasyland without feeling guilty.

I have yet to visit this museum, but it has become my new #1 destination in Southern California. I'll provide a full report once I've been there.