The View from Number 80

April 7th 2004

Power Pledge - amid all the ballyhoo about the inclusion of the words "under God" in the US Pledge of Allegiance, added in 1954 to exclude the godless commies, and now the subject of a Supreme Court Case, Slate are doing their bit to bring a little clarity to the debate, by recasting the pledge in a form more accessible to today's high-tech citizen - as a PowerPoint presentation. Great stuff.

Scam on the Moon - it must be the perfect business, selling something that you don't own, to someone who will never get their hands on it, and who apparently don't care anyway. The Lunar Embassy has been selling lunar real estate for years, and, as 80 mentioned in February 2003 (see Looney Real Estate) the list of dupes/customers includes some famous names including two former US presidents. (Not that any great degree of intelligence is a prerequisite of that post, just take a look at the present incumbent) Dennis Hope, a Nevada-based entrepreneur "claims to own the entire moon and eight other celestial bodies in the solar system. He says he has sold 410 million acres on the moon and properties on Mars, Venus and one of the moons of Jupiter to nearly 2.5 million people." according to the Arizona Republic. And all they actually get for parting with their dough is a nice, framed, certificate. A business like this is almost as good as founding your own religion, like L Ron Hubbard or Sun Myung Moon. Hope, former actor, ventriloquist and self-described "head cheese", told the Washington Times that "I don't consider myself to be a scam artist, I don't consider myself to be anything other than a businessperson that has found an opportunity." Well, he would say that, wouldn't he? Hope cleverly sells "ambassadorships" to foreign businessmen for $75000 so that they may peddle lunar plots in their respective countries. They have to sell a certain number each month, for the ever resourceful Hope's contract obliges them to do so. The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, which bars national ownership of other moons and planets, says nothing about individuals doing so, and this is Hope's, and his ambassadors', justification for their activities. The UN's legal officers say such claims are without merit. Virgilu Pop, of Glasgow University, no admirer of Hope and his lucrative activities, has recently laid claim to the sun and threatened to charge for solar energy. His stated intention was to expose Hope's scam. This has made no difference, the Lunar Embassy defends its right to fleece the dim, and has shutdown copycat businesses by threatening litigation. Hope's biggest rival, the Lunar Registry, is due for legal action if they persist in selling lunar plots. (Their snappy trademark is "Nothing could be greater than to own your own crater") Looking at Hope's claimed 2.5 million customer base, 80 can only repeat once more the words of David Hannum, there's a sucker born every minute.

Brian is Back! - perhaps the power of prayer really does work after all. A short while ago 80 mentioned a review of The Passion of the Christ that described it as "a two-hour-long murder scene". Sick of all the blood and suffering (and hype), the heartfelt cry went up "when is the Life of Brian going to be re-released? At least that had plenty of laughs and was no less authentic............" Well, it seems that Brian heard 80's humble supplication and has acquiesced to his request - according to BBC news "Monty Python's film The Life of Brian is to return to US cinemas next month following the success of The Passion of the Christ. The Biblical satire will be re-released in Los Angeles, New York and other US cities to mark its 25th anniversary. Adverts will challenge Mel Gibson's blockbuster with the lines "Mel or Monty?", "The Passion or the Python?".

April 10th 2004

Joshua's Gospel - here is an absolutely fascinating interview with Prof. Joshua Efron, professor emeritus of the Department of the History of the Jewish People at Tel Aviv University. In talking of his new book "The Origin of Christianity and Apocalypticism" he also discusses, among many other things, Gibson's "The Passion", what the historical Pontius Pilate was really like, and how the Christian New Testament came to be, complete with anti-semitic elements, special pleading and propaganda. He summarizes his outlook thus, "I find an advantage in the monotheistic faith, because it intimates equality for the human seed. Everyone is the offspring of the first Adam and all are the children of the same God. But I am an atheist." It is unlikely that Prof. Efron is aware of the Jesus Puzzle website and book by Earl Doherty, but 80 is sure he would find a great deal with which he would agree. If you have not read Doherty's scholarly analysis of the evidence, or lack of it, for a historical Jesus do take a look now.

Effective Treatment At Last - here is news of a medical breakthrough from a most unlikely source, which will be welcomed by sufferers of one of the world's most common afflictions. Read all about it here.

Is Nothing Sacred? - not much in the world of biblical antiquities it seems. After the fiascos of the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Tablet here is the Ivory Pomegranate. This bauble was hailed as the only remnant of King Solomon's First Temple and had supposedly belonged to the High Priest. Now that spoilsport, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), having trashed claims of authenticity for the aforementioned Ossuary and Tablet, now has the pomegranate in its sights. Like those two objects, the ivory fruit was not recovered from an archaeological dig and therefore lacks context. Not only does this diminish any historical significance it may have, but it immediately raises suspicions about its authenticity. Furthermore the purchase itself of this object, in 1988 for $600,000, could be viewed as condoning the trade in stolen antiquities. Perhaps a little embarrassingly, the transaction was authorized by the then head of the IAA. The current director, Shuka Dorfman, has asked the Israel Museum, where the Pomegranate is on display, to release the item for examination by experts of the Antiquities Authority. All the while there is a desperate need for believers, whose faith needs a boost from some solid evidence, there will be a lucrative trade in so-called Biblical relics such as these. It seems merely a more sophisticated, updated version of the myriad medieval True Cross fragments, vials of blood and nails that our ancestors collected (and manufactured) so assiduously.

Hot Yoga - may not be quite so hot after all. A short while back 80 looked at a row that had erupted in yogadom. (Choudhury Fried Yoga) Bikram Choudhury, apparent inventor of his own brand of "Bikram" yoga, derived from traditional techniques, has been running a profitable business for many years. His system involves a set of exercises performed in a room heated to a punishing 105 degrees F (40C) which he has made sure are his, and his alone. He has " copyrighted, trademarked and franchised his poses, breathing techniques and dialogue, creating the first chain of its kind." Exactly what the famously litigious Choudhury thinks about the recent concerns voiced by the medical profession regarding his "hot" yoga is not known. Dr. Robert Gotlin, director of orthopedic and sports rehabilitation at the Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan told the New York Times (reg rqd) "Heat increases one's metabolic rate, and by warming you up, it allows you to stretch more, but once you stretch a muscle beyond 20 or 25 percent of its resting length, you begin to damage a muscle." Each week, Dr. Gotlin said, he sees as many as five yoga-related injuries to the knees or the lower back. Postures that require extreme bending of the knees — squats and sitting backward on folded legs, for example — are the most likely to cause tears in knee cartilage. Now, call 80 old fashioned, but that sounds far from healthy and more than a little painful. The NYT article goes on to detail the various drawbacks of practising "hot" yoga. It will be interesting to see if Choudhury will himself be on the receiving end of legal action by folk claiming his regimen harmed their health.

April 15th 2004

Holy Oily Jesus - an icon of Christ behind the altar in the St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is attracting attention from believers, as it has apparently started seeping oil - which is, of course, regarded by many as a miracle. One woman was quoted as saying "I think he's trying to send us a message". Just what sort of message seeping oil is supposed to convey she did not elaborate, but to 80 it seems a pretty obscure way of communicating. Not only obscure but very traditional and old-fashioned. In this day and age a miraculous website, perhaps, or heaven-sent text messages on your cellphone would be much more impressive. The church authorities have not called the appearance of the oil a miracle, but word has, as it tends to, spread. There are no official plans for for the substance to be tested scientifically, although folk have been dipping swabs in the fluid to take away with them, so maybe some will find its way to a laboratory after all. Perhaps the Church has heard about the unfortunate incident of the Madonna statuette in Civitavecchia, Rome, back in 1995, which started weeping blood. A church team arranged for the blood to be analysed and it was definitely found to be human blood - male human blood. A local mayor did not endear himself to the faithful, who had flocked to see the miracle, when he suggested that the Madonna had cut herself shaving. (Another great interpretation of the blood's significance can be found here) One believer at the scene regarded the St Nicholas seepage as a "joyous event" and offered this explanation. "It's because of the oil," he said. "Oil is always for healing." Always? How about cooking, heating, and lubrication? St. Nicholas' senior pastor, the Rev. Michael Varvarelis, who was the first to spot the oil, has said that the icon "may provoke skeptics to try praying, reading the Bible or thinking about God." In the immortal words of Bart Simpson, yeah, right.

National Secular Society - Peter Ustinov, writer, actor, raconteur and ambassador for UNICEF, who died recently, had one more string to his bow that the obituaries seem to have missed - he was an atheist. 80 was made aware of this by the UK National Secular Society's email newsletter, Newsline. Ustinov's attitude is illustrated by some choice quotes, three of which are reproduced below. If you are concerned at the totally disproportionate influence of religious groups upon the policies of the Blair government in a largely secular nation, particularly in the field of education, why not join the NSS? Do you wonder why "The Vatican has a special status at the United Nations that is granted to no other religion. It is seeking to gain full status that would give it even more power to impose its will on an unwilling world."?  Here is a link to the current Newsline newsletter - if you like what you see why not become a member? There are many folk out there who have a rational, humanist outlook on life who feel that they are struggling against the tide alone - a look at Newsline will reveal many who share their views. Honorary associates of the NSS include Iain Banks, Dr Francis Crick, Prof Richard Dawkins, and Gore Vidal, so you would be in excellent company. (Also see other groups in the left margin of this page.) To see others who find no need for religion, take a look at the Celebrity Atheists page - more than a few of the names listed were a surprise to 80.

“Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them.”

“The habit of religion is oppressive, an easy way out of thought.”

“Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of.”

 Peter Ustinov 1921 - 2004

Free Speech? - forget it if you are a supporter of John Kerry, Democratic presidential contender, and you also work for the Catholic church. According to this item from the National Catholic Reporter it could cost you your job. Kerry's pro-choice stance on the subject of abortion would seem to be reason enough for at least one of his Catholic supporters to lose their livelihood. The subject of the article Ono Ekeh, founder and moderator of the e-mail discussion list, Catholics for Kerry, and now no longer an employee of the US Bishop's Secretariat for African-American Catholics put his view thus "Conservatives approach [abortion] from the 'supply side' and want to criminalize the providers; I come at from the demand side: Why do women consider having abortions and what can we do to remove it from the matrix of choices?" Which in the eyes of the bishops was enough to "invite" Ekeh to resign. He agreed, as they had made his position untenable. Ekeh has also written a science fiction novel described here as "... a story that highlights the conflicts and convergence between religious and secular goals of human progress." More on Kerry's faith, and Ekeh, can be had from this Time article.

April 17th 2004

Talking Turkey - Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, has conceded recently that the Weapons of Mass Destruction presentation he gave to the UN as a rationale for the attack on Iraq, contained information that may have been wrong. He now says, in a somewhat weaselly fashion, “it appears not to be the case that it was that solid.” in reference to claimed biological warfare trailers. It doesn't seem like Colin's week. You would assume that he would know quite a bit about a key ally in the war on terror, namely Turkey, but he has one major fact quite wrong. He referred to Turkey as an Islamic Republic when holding up that country and Pakistan (!) as models for the future of Iraq. Turkey's US ambassador, Faruk Logoglu has swiftly enlightened and admonished Powell at a conference held by the American-Turkish Council. “Friendly relations between Turkey and the United States have been continuing for a long time,” he said. “However, some long-term friends should discover certain aspects of their relations from time to time.” He went on to point out that Turkey is a democratic and secular republic, with complete separation of religion and politics. As indeed the US is supposed to be, although Powell's boss seems to be doing his level best to reverse that situation.

Devils and Miracles - it looks like elements of the Christian church in Scotland are determined to return to the good old days - of the Middle Ages. Firstly was a recent report that the Church of Scotland "is to recognise that exorcisms can be effective in delivering people from demonic possession." This is despite warnings from mental health campaigners that such recognition would only stigmatise sufferers. How are they helping someone with a mental illness by telling them they are possessed by a devil? If someone already has that delusion the church's acknowledgement will only serve to confirm and strengthen it. How that can be construed in any way beneficial is mystifying. Also from Scotland is the news that a Baptist minister is to open the country's first dedicated "miracle" healing centre in Glasgow. The minister claims to have trained "an inter-denominational team of healers to cure the sick, including the blind and those suffering from cancer." The Rev. Steven Anderson also says "I know not everyone prayed for will be healed and I can’t explain that." 80 can sympathise with him there. How come an all powerful and benevolent God caused cancer in the first place, and then heals only some of those who pray to him for help, and not others? This seems somewhat cruel and capricious behavior for a deity who is supposed to love us all. Moreover there is always the danger that a sufferer will forgo conventional and evidence-based medical treatment in favor of faith-healing to the detriment of their health, whether mental or physical.

Mercury Rising - just how consistent are the policies of the Bush administration when it tries to accommodate religious dogma and the demands of big business, in this instance coal-fired power plants? Not very, on the face of it. Recently legislation was passed by the Senate that makes it a separate offence to harm a fetus during an attack on a pregnant woman. Opponents of this have no quarrel with increased penalties for such attacks but what worries them is the definition of a fetus as "a member of the species homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb". This loose definition is seen by some as a backdoor way to attack the legality of abortion and is, in the most part, religiously motivated. (More on the possible consequences can be found here) Yet when it comes to the regulation of coal-fired power plants, the White House has been accused of playing down the environmental risks from the toxic effects of mercury by using phrasing that "minimized the links between power plants and elevated levels of mercury in fish, the primary source from which Americans accumulate mercury in their bodies, in a form known as methylmercury." according to the New York Times (reg rqd) Studies have shown that elevated levels of mercury "can damage the brains of children and fetuses." The only thing here that is consistent is the inconsistency.

Stop the God Squad - 80 has written a couple of times before (see here and here) about the push by certain states in the European Union (EU) and the Vatican (which is not even an EU member) to include an acknowledgement of a deity, namely by inclusion of Article 51 in the draft European Constitution (see details below). For those readers who live in Europe who do not wish to see this divisive and retrograde article included there is now an online petition to sign to register your opinion. Please go along to http://www.radicalparty.org/art51/form.php and sign up - it takes less than a minute. For more information see what the Irish Humanists  the European Humanist Federation and the British Humanist Association have to say on this.

This paragraph is from the petition site articulating the very real concerns about the inclusion of this article.
Whereas article 51 of the Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe:
A. contradicts the principle of separation between public institutions and religious institutions;
B. obliges EU to a regular dialogue with churches and religious associations and communities recognising so to religious institutions a right of interference in the exercise of European public powers;
C. guarantees the perpetuation of privileges acquired at national level by religious institutions, preventing the scrutiny of their compatibility with the fundamental rights and freedoms of European citizens as with EU policies and Law

Those of you who live in the UK should also be concerned that the Blair government does not intend to hold a referendum on the adoption of the Constitution. (but see Update below) Blair is a committed Christian as are many of his cabinet colleagues, and they are already giving religious institutions a wholly unmerited influence on the education system and government of the UK. Visit the National Secular Society for more on this and how to combat it.

Update - the British will get a chance to vote on the European Constitution after all. Blair has relented (80 hates that cliche "U-turn") and a referendum will be held. Now begins the process of when it will be held and how it will be worded - plenty of room for weasel tactics there, going on past performance.

Barbie News- occasionally 80 can manage a small scoop. As regular readers know the fortunes of that cultural icon Barbie are closely followed in these pages. From her frightening encounter with the sordid Saudi religious police to the Food Chain Barbie court case 80 has followed her every move. It was 80 that suggested that Barbie's tastes have changed and offered this as a reason for her recent break-up with longtime close friend, Ken. Now the cat is out of the bag elsewhere with the story of the New York teenager who was suspended from school over her "Barbie is a lesbian" T-shirt. The school were sued and have made an out of court settlement of $30,000 - which will buy a hell of a lot of T-shirts - and a lot of Barbies.

Papal Sport - the pope will get more than he bargains for if he interferes with Australia's foremost religion. Or, as this great article puts it, "Clearly, the Pope seems to have forgotten the time-honoured doctrine separating church and State of Origin. Even worse, His Holiness has had the temerity to suggest that weekends dominated by sport are a "secular concept". Secular? There's nothing secular about Sunday sport, mate. It's a bloody religion." This time the hard old man in the Vatican has met his match after complaining about the Aussie devotion to sporting Sundays. Here is a lesson in theology for Karol Wojtyla about the real meaning of Sunday "If God had intended that we spend our Sundays in church, he wouldn't have given us rugby league. Or cricket. Or soccer. And I'm sorry, but if attendances at Mass have fallen 13 per cent in the past five years, it's time the Catholic Church got itself a marketing manager." Do read the whole piece, it's bloody good.

April 23rd 2004

No Buck For Bush - this is from an article in the New York Times (reg rqd) "Still, Mr. Bush for the first time suggested that others in his administration may not have done enough to head off the attacks. "That's what the 9/11 commission should look into, and I hope it does," he said." (Just so long as they leave you alone, George, is that it?) This was Bush's reaction to evidence before the commission investigating the administration's response to intelligence briefings leading up to the 9/11 atrocity. One such is the recently disclosed "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S" report, dated August 6th 2001. Bush's response brought this observation from Samuel Popkin, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, "Truman said, `The buck stops here,' Bush is saying, `The buck never got to me.' " It is a pity that George Bush and Dick Cheney's dual appearance before the commission is to be in private. It would have been interesting to see when Bush talks whether Cheney's lips move.............. (See here for an animated buck passing fest involving some familiar characters from Mark Fiore.)

Target Earth - two astronauts, Rusty Schweickart and Edward Lu, respectively a moonwalking geologist and a shuttle/International Space Station astronaut, think (quite rightly, in 80's opinion) not enough is being done about the threat to Earth from asteroids that cross our orbit. They suggest that an uncrewed spacecraft should test various technologies for deflecting these potential threats. As this BBC report quotes Schweickart "More and more people are coming to know that some few of these asteroids do not silently pass the Earth, but indeed crash in, largely unannounced. On the rare occasions when this happens they can wreak havoc of a magnitude unprecedented in human history." He points out that even relatively small asteroids can strike with a blast more powerful than any nuclear weapon in the US arsenal. Which raises another concern not addressed in the BBC piece - how would the rest of the world feel about a nation that could wield such power? If deflection technology could nudge these huge rocks off target, they could also nudge them onto one - a "rogue state" perhaps? If such a mission is mounted the only acceptable form would that of an international project, to allay fears of any one nation dominating the entire planet. Whether the argumentative and violent species of ape called humankind is capable of such cooperation is not known - our record so far is not too hot. For those with a morbid curiosity you can go here and learn about the horrific effect of such asteroidal impacts. Far from being Isaac Newton's God-designed celestial clockwork, the more we learn about the Solar System, the more it looks like a chaotic shooting gallery - with Earth as one of the targets. (For more information see the Spaceguard Foundation and if you want somewhat weirder threats to life on Earth to worry about, see what Bruce Sterling has to offer in "5 ways this planet is going to hell".) 

The Passion of the Bunny - parents who had taken their youngsters to an Easter show found something very different from their expectations. The performance mounted by Glassport Assembly of God, Pennsylvania, involved some rather bizarre items such as the breaking of Easter eggs and the onstage whipping of the Easter Bunny. (I kid you not). The show "also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman" according to one shocked parent, reported in the SF Chronicle. The reason for this offensive weirdness? "We wanted to convey that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny, it is about Jesus Christ," said Patty Bickerton, a youth minister at the Assembly, who played the role of the Bunny. What she and her fellows actually achieved was to frighten small children with their idiocies. Furthermore, Easter was about the Easter Bunny for many centuries before the time Jesus is supposed to have lived. The very name Easter is derived from Eostre, a pagan spring goddess and has nothing to do with Christianity, which merely, as elsewhere, took over an existing celebration. The original Easter Beast was a hare, sacred to Eostre, which time has changed into the familiar Bunny. Many ancient cultures also celebrated a dying and resurrected god at this time of year, under various names such as Tammuz and Attis. Again Christianity has appropriated an existing pagan custom. It is painfully obvious the Glassport Assembly of God are an ignorant bunch who really have no idea of the "true meaning" of Easter and are incapable of placing their upstart festival in its proper context. Easter is all about the Easter Bunny and not some Jesus-come-lately.

April 24th 2004

Thoughts on Tape - many newspapers and websites carry reports of the latest audiotape purporting to come from Osama bin Laden, which the CIA believes is authentic. Unusually, instead of being addressed to jihadists, it was pitched at European states, offering a deal of sorts, whereby if they pull out any troops they have in Muslim countries and promise not to interfere in said countries, they would not be targeted by Islamic terrorists. The offer has been decisively rejected. The reasons and motives behind the message are worth taking a moment to examine. The first aim was obvious enough, an attempt to drive a wedge between the USA and Europe. This shows a basic misunderstanding on the part of bin Laden. While most European countries had no enthusiasm for Bush's Iraq crusade they are all for the fight against terrorists. The attempt by Bush/Cheney to blur the distinction between the Iraq invasion and the "War on Terror" has been taken on board by practically no one in Europe - except Britain's Blair, who thinks that by humoring the Bush administration he will be able to influence its behavior - there is no evidence that this ploy has been at all successful. The firm rejection of bin Laden's offer by European states at first sight looks like a good move, emphasizing their determination not to be intimidated by this fanatic. A moment's thought can reveal a less beneficial side to their action. By deigning to answer bin Laden at all they are perhaps according him a status he does not deserve. A capital mistake would be to give him what Margaret Thatcher once described as "the oxygen of publicity". Why has he made this offer now? It is likely that the Europe wide crackdown following the Madrid atrocity is effectively hampering al Qaeda and affiliated groups in their terror war. Perhaps his offer comes not from strength, from the evil mastermind pulling strings around the planet, but very possibly from weakness, from a fugitive hiding in a cave on the Afghani/Pakistani border, increasingly pinned down by Afghan army and coalition special forces on one side and the Pakistani army and tribesmen on the other. The last thing the western democracies should do is give the terrorists a renewed cause, a confirmation of their beliefs - and with one exception they haven't. The exception is Bush's America, where electoral expediency carries all before it. The unilateral backing of Sharon's Gaza withdrawal proposals by George Bush was not only a surprise to European governments, which Bush, with his usual arrogance, did not consult or inform, but also a gift to those hoping to demonstrate that the US is not an even-handed peace broker but a willing partner in Israel's actions. Effectively Bush has given the terrorists another rallying cry, as he has already done so with the botched situation in Iraq post invasion. Even if he is unelected for a second term the results of his actions will be around to haunt and destabilize the world for a long time to come.

Cuba Thumping - here is a little advice for the Cuban diplomatic team at the UN. If the U.N. Commission on Human Rights condemns your country's record (albeit narrowly) for the fifth straight year don't react by punching a Cuban-American activist (no matter how provoking) in the head, knocking him out. This does little to help your case. On the other hand, drawing attention to possible Human Rights abuses elsewhere on the island of Cuba, namely Guantanamo Bay, while by no means excusing your own poor record, at least demonstrates that yours is far from the only country guilty of hypocrisy.

Beyond Parody - 80 recently mentioned the antics of Richard Hoagland and the other clowns at the Enterprise Mission website. They are the ones so adept at spotting unlikely objects in NASA Mars surface pictures, from the supposed Face in Cydonia to an assemblage of artifacts littering the ground near the rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Their ideas are so daft that they are impossible to parody, although this site makes a valiant effort, featuring mushrooms, cats and mice and dinosaurs. The problem is that this is no sillier than the original interpretation of the images by Hoagland's fantasists. For a comprehensive shredding of the Enterprise Mission hooey see this from Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy fame.

Incurious George - this is from a man who admits no mistakes and who has no doubts about his actions, when asked what might he have done differently after the events of 9/11. "I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it ... You know, I just, err ... I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet ... I would have gone into Afghanistan the way we went into Afghanistan." George W Bush, 43rd President of the USA and arguably the most powerful man in the world ('cept Uncle Dick of course). By the way, George, if you want to convince the Islamic world that you are not on a crusade, do try to avoid saying things like this "I also have this belief, strong belief that freedom is not this country's gift to the world. Freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man and woman in this world. And as the greatest power on the face of the earth we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom." Note this must be from a script, not one hesitation, but even so, religious war talk is not going to help one bit. Such statements may play well with certain sections of the US electorate (as does his trashing of the Middle East "roadmap"), but to anyone else it all sounds just a touch too messianic.

Lying Test - it still has not sunk in with many organizations that polygraph (lie detector) tests just don't work - at least not consistently enough to be of any use, except as a scare tactic. This BBC report tells of polygraph tests on employees at the Prosecutor General's office in Colombia, that returned a failure rate of 20 per cent. The tests, administered by the FBI, were supposed to combat the high levels of corruption amongst staff fighting well-heeled drug barons and paramilitaries. The Prosecutor General himself, Luis Camilo Osorio, has played down the results and still intends to continue the use of the polygraph "particularly for individuals holding or aspiring to top posts and others involved in US programmes." If Osorio had bothered to do even a little investigation of his own he would have found plenty of evidence of the test's fallibility - in this instance a notorious serial killer passed the test twice. 80 has looked at lie detectors before, in The Pinocchio Error and A Better Detector.

Women of Courage - one thing that fundamentalist religions, be they Islamic, Christian, whatever, have in common is their oppression of women. See here for how the Christian bible is full of insults to women, and here for the same sort of thing in the Quran. Well, some women have had enough. This article from NZoom.com describes how "Women's groups from Europe, North America, North Africa and the Middle East said they had founded an alliance to fight religious 'fundamentalism'." The Women's International Federation Against Fundamentalism and for Equality held their founding conference in Geneva, attended by nearly 100 women from 18 countries. They are seeking non-governmental organization status from the United Nations. Founder member and British human rights lawyer, Margaret Owen, outlined their mission thus "We will ... be working against religious fundamentalism and its attack on women everywhere, including by Christian fundamentalist groups in the United States." 80 will be following their progress with great interest, for confronting these repressive patriarchal religions is a dangerous and difficult task. You only have to read about the threats to Yanar Mohamed to realize the risks run by these brave women.

27th April 2004

The Day After Tomorrow? - the Bush administration has been accused of manipulating scientific reports and ignoring any findings that would, in any way, hamper big business. The dismissal of the Kyoto Protocol is an example of such behavior. There is now convincing evidence that human industrial activities affect world climate. Chief among the pollutants leading to a rise in average global temperatures is carbon dioxide, and the Kyoto Protocol is supposed to address this. The USA, the planet's leading producer of CO2, does not accept what is a fast approaching consensus among scientists that this gas (and others) is responsible for the rise in temperature. Claiming that to rein in CO2 production would damage the economy, the Bush administration says the jury is still out on a global climate change link to human activities. It would appear that to these people scientific findings are just like any other information, and can be twisted, spun or ignored when it is expedient to do so - and seeing Vice President Dick Cheney's cosiness with big energy producers it seems expedient right now. A movie, to be released May 28th, may snag the attention of the American people in ways that scientific findings, especially those backed by the UN, do not. The Day After Tomorrow (TDAT) purports to show what will happen if ocean currents are disrupted by climate change, and vividly shows North America hit by what is effectively a new, and sudden Ice Age. As is the rule these days the special effects are impressive (trailers can be downloaded here) - but what of the movies' plausibility, if any? The director's previous efforts are not overly encouraging (Stargate, Godzilla, Independence Day and, in 80's opinion, worst of all, The Patriot). The UK Guardian calls TDAT an eco-armageddon movie and claims that it could even push voters into the Democrat camp, unlikely though this may seem. In a display of ecological correctness the moviemakers are planting trees to offset the CO2 emitted by the production process. The main cause of the coming Ice Age in the movie is what happens when melting glaciers and ice sheets reduce the salinity of the oceans, thereby disrupting the Gulf Stream. This is part of a vast ocean circulation system that helps keep the British Isles, Ireland and the east coast of the US warmer than they would otherwise be. In this New Scientist piece the idea of a sudden and catastrophic change in climate is ridiculed by some, but a US Department of Defense report that is quoted (also see here) claims that a Gulf Stream "shutdown could put the northern hemisphere into a deep freeze and trigger global famine within 15 years." Whether a film, no matter how impressive, would affect voting in the forthcoming US presidential election or government policies on climate change does seem fantastic and yet a new report from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center says satellite observations record "a weakening of North Atlantic Current". Sirpa Hakkinen, lead author and a researcher at Goddard went on to say "It is a signal of large climate variability in the high latitudes. If this trend continues, it could indicate reorganization of the ocean climate system, perhaps with changes in the whole climate system, but we need another good five to 10 years to say something like that is happening." Despite Hakkinen's tentative note, the signs are not looking too good.

Update to the above - NASA has issued a memo banning staff from commenting on the movie. According to the New York Times (reg rqd)  "No one from NASA is to do interviews or otherwise comment on anything having to do with" the film, said the April 1 message, which was sent by Goddard's top press officer. "Any news media wanting to discuss science fiction vs. science fact about climate change will need to seek comment from individuals or organizations not associated with NASA." Apparently the agency has now backpedalled a little, and staff can criticize the science of the movie. (There is a good piece on the Bush administration's response to the Union of Concerned Scientists (see Deaf Ears) by Chris Mooney at the CSICOP site - "Don't Listen to Those Pesky Scientists")

Interfering Bishops - further to the piece about religious, mainly Roman Catholic, meddling in the draft European Constitution (see Stop the God Squad) here is a news item about the Catholic bishops in Poland attempting to influence the way citizens vote for European Parliament candidates - by telling them not to vote for candidates whose views conflict with the Church's official stance on abortion and same-sex relationships. This BBC report is revealing about these religious busybodies' attitude to democracy "On the one hand they see it as a natural expression of the dignity and spiritual integrity on the individual. On the other, they appear to believe that certain principles are beyond discussion." Although this is being too kind - if it was possible for democratic government to be replaced by a Roman Catholic theocracy they would jump at the chance. (The roots of democracy are to be found in pagan ancient Greece and parliament in pagan northern Europe - not the Catholic church, which is an inherently authoritarian organization. The word bishop is from from the Greek word episcopas, meaning overseer.) As this is not likely to happen their aim is to have "as many Catholic Christians as possible to sit in the European Parliament". The head of the Polish bishops' conference would go further than this "Jozef Michalik - a noted conservative - has said he cannot see a place for himself in a European Union which fails to ban abortion or to "acknowledge God" - a reference to the absence of a reference to God in the preamble to the EU draft constitution." OK then, Michalik - why don't you emigrate? Happily the Polish electorate are not sheep and will make up their own minds at the ballot box.

Interfering Imam - the separation between church and state is a subject often discussed on this site, most recently when the Turkish ambassador to the US had to remind Colin Powell that Turkey is not an Islamic republic but a secular one. It would appear that the church/state separation in Turkey applies right down to grassroots level. A year ago the small village of Kotanduzu was assigned a new Imam, one Mustafa Platin. It seems he fancied himself as a hardline kind of cleric and started laying down the law. For starters he forbade women from travelling on the same bus as men, accusing the women of indecency by dint of their physical proximity to the men. He also ordered women to don the fully enveloping chador garment and told their husbands to keep them indoors if they did not comply. The villagers responded by boycotting him and refusing to use the mosque until he was replaced. By his actions and rhetoric Platin was pushing his luck under Turkey's secular constitution and could have been prosecuted. In the nick of time his superiors have recalled him to undergo medical examinations, using his apparent epilepsy as a defence against prosecution. This report, in the UK Daily Telegraph, quotes one villager as saying "I hope he finds a new job, after all he has three children and a wife to feed, but we won't let him or any other imam interfere in our lives again."

April 28th 2004

Solomon, Arthur and Dubya - somewhat belatedly, George Monbiot, writing in the UK Guardian, alerts us to what is now a potent driving force behind the Bush administration's policy toward the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. It has long been known that the powerful Jewish lobby has skewed US attitudes to Israel, enabling the occupation of Palestinian territories, by means of what are euphemistically called "settlers". What Monbiot has now latched onto is the other lobby that holds tremendous sway with the Bush Whitehouse, namely the fundamentalist Christians, reckoned by Monbiot to represent 15% of the US electorate. (80 looked at Bush's own religious stance here) Taking the Bible as the irrefutable divine word of God, they not only push their narrow-minded agenda at home but, by their influence on right-wing conservative politicians, affect the dire situation in the Middle East. They believe that the end of the world will be preceded by a literally apocalyptic battle at Megiddo, Israel (Armageddon, get it?). Before this can happen and the faithful are raptured (see Velocirapture) to meet the returning Jesus in the sky, the Jews must reestablish the Israel of David and Solomon, Greater Israel, in which there is no room for the Palestinians. This makes the Christians in accord with the equally deluded right-wing Jewish religious parties in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. In order to function, most Israeli governments, even those far less rabid than Sharon's, have to cut a deal with these types, in particular by backing the foundation of the illegal settlements. Anyone who reads the Bible and then looks at the archaeological record will find no evidence of Solomon's empire of Greater Israel. This is only surprising to those who think the Bible is an accurate historical record, and to those archaeologists who work with trowel in one hand and the Good Book in the other. These "biblical archaeologists" have already made up their minds and dig only to confirm their own prejudices. For fundamentalist Jews and Christians to use the Bible as justification for the occupation of Greater Israel makes as much sense as Britain claiming large parts of mainland Europe because they were once conquered by King Arthur, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth. Solomon's "empire" was no more real than Arthur's, and cannot be used as a rationale for illegal land-grabbing. Monbiot's conclusion is accurate and chilling "For 15% of the electorate, the Middle East is not just a domestic matter, it's a personal one: if the president fails to start a conflagration there, his core voters don't get to sit at the right hand of God. Bush, in other words, stands to lose fewer votes by encouraging Israeli aggression than he stands to lose by restraining it. He would be mad to listen to these people. He would also be mad not to." (For more on the historical reality behind the stories of ancient Israel 80 recommends The Bible In History - How Writers Create A Past by Thomas L. Thompson ISBN 0-224-03977-6)

Time Theft - 80 spent a tedious 3 hours yesterday removing something called JS.CSSPopupE trojan (also known as Bookmark.Trojan.E) from his computer. It had hijacked the home page in Internet Explorer and placed internet shortcuts on the desktop to various dubious "services". The home page was changed to an outfit called http://www.motor-search.info. Every time the offending files placed on the hard drive were deleted they were recreated, leading to a point where 80 was practically spitting blood. The most puzzling aspect is what did the morons who sent out this little gem hope to achieve? The last thing that any sane person, after such an intrusion, would do is use the "services" offered by these irritating idiots. Life is too short to spend time undoing their unasked for changes to your computer. What is flabbergasting is that apparently some people must accept these changes and follow the links and, ultimately, spend money with these crooks, otherwise said crooks would not persist in their underhand business methods. Some may dispute whether the term crooks is applicable in such a case and they may have a point - thieves is more like it, stealing folk's time by intrusive and offensive hijacking of their computers. Advice On What To Do - If you are similarly afflicted try these free programs, AdAware, SpyBot and HijackThis. Also install WinPatrol to stop any further homepage hijacking and dodgy start programs. Just put the names in a search engine to find download sites. Also open Internet Explorer, click Tools, Internet Options, General, Accessibility and make sure "Format Documents Using My Style Sheet" is unchecked. See more here or here on removal instructions from Computer Associates or Norton. For a general overview of browser hijacking and the genuine grief it can cause this article from Wired is highly recommended)

April 30th 2004

History Repeats Itself ? - recently attention was focused on the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda and how the inaction of the western democracies effectively allowed it to happen. Now history is doing what it does best - repeating itself. While the world's media have concentrated on the dire situation in Iraq, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and the activities of Islamic terrorists, horrific things are happening in Darfur, Sudan. To quote Declan Walsh writing in the UK Independent, "This is ethnic cleansing Sudanese-style. A government-sponsored campaign, led by Arab tribesmen against their black African neighbours, has triggered the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time and - with the world's eyes fixed on Iraq - its most forgotten calamity." Indiscriminate bombing of villages, the murder of men and boys and the rape of women and girls are the tactics pursued by the Janjaweed, an Arab militia backed by the Sudanese government. The President, Omar el-Bashir has been instrumental in blocking international aid reaching those in Darfur. He claims the Janjaweed are rebels not supported by his government - which makes it odd that this same militia can sell goods stolen from the people of Darfur in government-controlled towns and drive government vehicles. It is obvious Omar el-Bashir is presiding not only over Sudan but also over ethnic cleansing on a large and murderous scale - and little is being done to prevent it. As has happened before, the situation in an African country is effectively being ignored by the very people who should be doing something about it. A debate is due to resume at the UN Human Rights Commission in the midst of a row over a leaked UN report "which describes the actions of government-backed militias against non-Arabs as "crimes against humanity". " which has been withheld from the discussions. A UN mission is due to travel to Darfur investigate the atrocity allegations there. Whether decisive action will follow to stop this state-sponsored terrorism and genocide remains to be seen. (For more, see this Human Rights Watch report - also worth noting is the fact that 80 cannot find any condemnation of this horror in reports from the recent 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference - so, it is not just the western democracies that are ignoring genocide.)

Animated Thinking - Flash animation on websites is too often used for ads or "portal" pages that spend so long trying to dazzle you with their cleverness you forget why you clicked on the link in the first place. The creators of these pages obviously realize how tedious their artwork can be, otherwise why do they put in a "skip intro" link? 80 takes that to be a tacit admission of guilt. Having said that, there are some cartoonists, animators and others who can put a message across brilliantly with the format. One such is Mark Fiore, whose work is regularly featured in SFGate.com, the online wing of the SF Chronicle. Some of his work can be cruel, some of it hilarious and some upsetting, but whichever the effect of the moment is, he succeeds in his objective of making you think. This week's effort is well worth a moment of your time, pointing out what can be happening elsewhere in the world, practically unnoticed, while the media focuses on the big story of the day.

Bone Bane - those who believe in the supernatural (and those who don't) will be keeping a close eye on Australian premier, John Howard, for the next few weeks. If he so much as cuts himself shaving or stubs his toe you can bet it will be attributed to the fact that he is cursed. Howard recently scrapped an elected aboriginal commission saying it had become preoccupied by "symbolic issues" according to Stuff. As the symbolic issues are "land rights and an apology for past injustices" you can imagine that does not sit well with many native Australians, although others were in favor of the scrapping. One response to Howard's action involved an aboriginal woman, dressed in possum skin and tribal makeup, pointing a kangaroo bone, cursing the Prime Minister. This curse apparently is pretty heavy stuff, and can even be fatal, although the result could also be the more vague sounding "ill fortune". As what is considered to be ill fortune can be pretty wide ranging, particularly for a national leader who has troops in Iraq, there will be plenty of chances to claim the curse worked. Sadly a real curse, as Stuff reminds us, seems to be operating elsewhere, "Aborigines remain the nation's most disadvantaged group, dying 20 years younger than other Australians and suffering far higher rates of unemployment and alcohol and drug abuse."

May 2nd 2004

Nothing To Be Proud Of - this BBC news piece takes a look at various countries in the soon-to-be-enlarged European Union and rates them by extremes. Latvia is mentioned as the poorest, Finland the most northerly, and Malta as the most devout. Hold on, devout? You may well think, is this anything a country would want noised about? It is certain Malta would not like to be rated as the most superstitious, but surely it amounts to the same thing. The population is 98% Roman Catholic which explains why abortion is equated with murder and women can be prevented leaving the island to obtain one. (see here for more) In fact according to this page on the European Conference on Philosophy of Medicine and Health Care, "Malta is the only country in Europe where abortion, for whatever reason it is performed, is a criminal act. There is in Malta no such concept as abortion for medical reasons." The Maltese constitution provides for freedom of religion, but also establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Naturally divorce is banned and religious instruction in Catholicism is compulsory in all state schools, although a student can refuse this, but in a country as devout as Malta the peer pressure to conform must be well nigh intolerable. Perhaps after it has joined the EU, Malta might like to join the 21st century as well.

Bushworld - not a nice place to visit and, given the choice, who would want to live there? Read this hardhitting piece by Maureen Dowd in the New York Times (reg rqd) on the fantasy world the rest of the planet has been forced to share. (More columns by Dowd are archived here - recommended)

Pass on the Pledge - here is a nice little item about some brave souls who have abandoned saying the US Pledge of Allegiance before their meetings. And no, it is not about any reference or not to God, but something far more practical.

Prim Profit - last year 80 looked at the handful of companies who mutilate movies so that the squeamish, the prudish and the religious puritans are not offended (see Vandals or Censors?). To do this to the finished work of a director is insulting and nannyish - but it earns the firms that commit such vandalism money. Now Mark Morford, writes in his inimitable way about Utah-based Clearplay, one of the companies happy to be maiming and distorting other people's creations for profit and examines the wider implications. (Also see this article from Wired)

Dr Dino Debited - Kent Hovind, creationist and theme park owner, has long offered a reward of $250,000 "to anyone who can give any empirical evidence (scientific proof) for evolution. My $250,000 offer demonstrates that the hypothesis of evolution is nothing more than a religious belief." As no kind of evidence is likely to sway this ignorant individual (see below) the money is, as yet, unclaimed. But now a new claimant for Hovind's cash has appeared, one even more unwelcome than an evolutionist, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) otherwise known as the tax man. Agents raided the home of Hovind, or Dr Dino as he styles himself, saying he owes taxes on proceeds of $1 million from his theme park and museum. No charges have yet been filed but that hasn't stopped Hovind whining that "he is being targeted because of his religious beliefs". The IRS has better things to do than worry about Hovind's delusions - they are interested only in his apparent tax evasion. According to NewsObserver.com Dr Dino already has a court date involving his refusal to obtain building permits, his objection being that the process was an undue expense on his church. Perhaps he thinks he can hide behind a religious smokescreen while coining it in from his theme park, audiotapes, videos, DVDs, fossils and the rather sinister sounding "Witnessing Tools". For once 80 finds himself on the side of the tax man. (By the way it would seem Hovind's $250,000 offer is less than it appears - see here. This current problem is not the first time Hovind and the IRS have not seen eye to eye. Thanks to TalkOrigins)

May 4th 2004

OK, You're Crazy - in an uncritical, gushing, saccharine-soaked piece on guardian angels Bronwyn Frazer says "Call us crazy, but we love the idea of guardian angels." 80 is only too happy to oblige. She goes on to say "After all, who doesn't like the thought of someone, or something, looking over our shoulders and ensuring that all is as it should be." 80, for one, does not like the idea of some kind of spiritual surveillance squad keeping an eye on you to make sure "all is as it should be". The idea of God's own CCTV network watching your every move sounds more like a totalitarian state rather than anything any sane person would desire. What evidence Frazer supplies to back up this angel nonsense is in the form of anecdotes that are mind-numbingly trivial, even by the lax standards applied to this sort of silliness. One guy believes an angel returned his missing cellphone, no less than one angel and two saints answered a women's plea to cure her sick dog (Raphael, Francis of Assisi and St Bernard, since you ask. St Bernard was included as the owner judged him suitable because "Pyrenean-Mountain (sic) dogs are so close to St Bernard's". Another woman had a close shave in an auto accident and says "I feel very, very lucky. I definitely had the feeling that someone was watching out for me that day." If she was that lucky, why did she have the accident in the first place? Perhaps her angel was late on the scene, held up by looking for a missing cellphone. It is odd that these angels have time for such petty matters, considering the parlous state of the world. Fraser offers a list of four steps for calling on your guardian angel. None of them suggest contacting a mental health professional. The item finishes with a handy tip - "Sometimes, for whatever reason, we are not meant to do or get what we ask for. If this happens, don't be disheartened. It may not be the right time, or there may be a personal lesson to be learned before "it" happens." Or it just may be that the whole guardian angel schtick is claptrap and these people should get a grip. As an old friend, who certainly was no angel, used to say "Shit happens, live with it".

Not Wanted - Anywhere - French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen received a warm welcome in the UK Sunday when he dropped in to express support for Britain's own homegrown fascists, the BNP. So secret was the venue for their conference that no one seemed to know where it was to be held. Instead there was a scuffle at an impromptu press briefing held, for some reason, in the car park of an office supplies depot. It must have been then that Le Pen realized that he was as welcome in England as the proverbial turd in a swimming pool. Some papers have said he should never have been let into the country but it is good to see the likes of Le Pen and his British chums out in the open - it is then that you can appreciate what an anachronistic bunch of sad, racist thugs they truly are. The real conference, held later, was a quieter affair apparently - at least until the end, when Le Pen's car drove off to a typically appreciative British shower "of eggs, rocks and waste bins". The UK is far from perfect but there is one thing that the British cannot stand, and that is Nazis, regardless of their country of origin. The same can be said for hate-preaching religious fanatics too. Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza is fighting deportation from the UK. According to the lawyer representing Britain's Home Secretary in the case, Abu Hamza  "encouraged and supported the promotion of individuals in physical aspects of jihad fighting overseas and engaging in terrorist acts". The authorities want to strip him of his British citizenship (which he has surely forfeited by his actions) and send him back to Yemen - where no doubt he will be given the reception that he deserves. He is not alone, there are plenty of fanatical Islamists (reg rqd) singing the praises of bin Laden and crying jihad, who all the while are happy to take advantage of the free speech and social security systems offered by European democracies. But when a parasite threatens the host's way of life, intervention of some kind becomes necessary - as the French have recently demonstrated. (Or perhaps not, according to this later item)

May 6th 2004

Conspiracy or Cock-Up? - according to a report in The Scientist Italian minister of education, Letizia Moratti, plans to ban the teaching of evolutionary theory to young teenagers. This has caused more than 40,000 outraged citizens to sign a petition decrying the move, amid fears it may encourage the teaching of creationism. (Can you imagine a popular protest like this happening in the US? There is a lot to be said for "old Europe") Prominent scientists, including Nobel laureates, have also signed the petition which calls for the education minister to “review the secondary schools programs and to rectify an oversight which is detrimental to the scientific culture of future generations. Ignoring the theory of evolution is a cultural limitation sacrificing the scientific curiosity of youth.” The plan would entail kids of 12 to 14 years having no knowledge of evolution as "the new teaching programs for secondary schools make no mention of the history of human evolution, nor of the relationship between mankind and other species." The big question is, if this is a religious/creationist conspiracy, who is behind it? It would not seem to be Italy's main faith, Roman Catholicism, as Karol Wojtyla, aka the Pope, has no problem with evolutionary theory announcing back in 1996 "new knowledge leads us to recognize in the theory of evolution more than a hypothesis. ... The convergence, neither sought nor induced, of results of work done independently one from the other, constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of this theory." So, if it isn't the Catholic church behind this retrograde step for Italian schooling, who is? In this instance 80 tends toward the theory of ineptitude (cock-up) on the part of the minister, although of course he could be a closet creationist (conspiracy). This will be one to keep an eye on.

Geller Idea Adopted? - ABC, the US television network, has found itself in the middle of a row over its latest "reality" show. The 20/20 show was promoted as featuring couples "competing" for the right to adopt a child, says a BBC report. Backing down, and denying that the show does anything more than document the adoption process, Barbara Walters, co-host of 20/20, described the promotion as "heated" and that there had been a "mistake". In the promo the show's other host, John Stossel had announced, "Barbara will bring you what might be called the ultimate reality show. As you watch, a pregnant teenager will decide which of five couples gets her baby." This, not unnaturally, has led to many complaints - but ABC could have been in much hotter water if it had not retracted. The formula for a reality show involving teams of parents competing to adopt a child has already been patented - by the famously litigious, spoonbending conjuror, Uri Geller. The sordid details of Geller's scheme were highlighted by 80 in Patently Absurd back in March 2003. Had ABC stolen Geller's nasty little scheme? Perhaps Uri could use his amazing psychic powers to get to the bottom of the matter.......

March for Women's Lives - take a look at this week's Humanist Network News for an excellent report (with many good pictures) on the March for Women's Lives, that took place in Washington, DC on Sunday. Here is a snippet "As we approached the area of the Capitol, an anti-choicer on the sidelines shouted an insult about the message on my daughter's sign. She stepped out of the moving crowd, turned to face him, took off her sunglasses, and tried to make eye contact. He immediately looked down and away."You'll criticize my opinion, but you can't look me in the eye, can you?" she demanded. No answer. "Look me in the eye and say it again," she dared him in a level voice. He turned around to skulk away from her challenge. Face front, chin up, and on with the sunglasses, she began to walk again. "What an asshole," said my carefully-raised daughter to her mom, sticking her poster even higher in the air. I wouldn't have criticized her profanity for anything. You go, girl."
Also featured in the Network News, along with many other items, is the sadly unremarkable finding that atheists are the most despised group in the US - given the views expressed by George Bush Snr. some years ago, nothing much has changed (see Do Atheists Have Morals?). Keep yourself simultaneously informed, enraged and amused - sign up for the Humanist Network News or use the link in the sidebar on this site.

Unmissable Opportunity - for those discerning aficionados of action figures who already have the George W Bush Elite Force Aviator and Lesbian Barbie, here is the jewel in the crown of any enthusiast's collection. (Thanks Brian, your taste is impeccable, as ever)

May 8th 2004

UFO Camouflage - as this page from Science@NASA, entitled UFO Planet, reminds us, the most popular night sky object taken for a UFO is the planet Venus. It can look amazingly bright, owing to sunshine reflected from its permanent covering of white clouds. This week Venus is at maximum brightness and can be seen by looking west at sunset. When low in the sky, glimpsed through trees from a moving vehicle, the illusion that it is following or even chasing you can be pretty convincing. It is likely the famous Jimmy Carter UFO sighting was in fact Venus. Mind you, when you think about it, if you were a cunning alien wishing to visit Earth unobserved, intending to abduct folk in order to insert various probes into unlikely places, this week would be the perfect time to do it. If you were spotted zooming along, dear old Venus will be blamed instead, and you can pursue your nefarious plans unhindered. For those Earthlings who live in constant fear of abduction (and probes) why not take out the insurance policy offered by these enterprising folks?

Little Black Book - but which little black book? That is the question. Slate, the online magazine, has a great section called "Explainer - Answers to your questions about the news". This particular column undertakes to explain where the practice of oath-taking originated. This is in response to the 9/11 commission's questioning of Condoleezza Rice, who was compelled to testify under oath, and the Bush/Cheney conjoined twins, who were not. Do read the whole Slate article by Brendan I. Koerner, it is interesting stuff. 80's jaundiced eye alighted on a paragraph where it is explained that those of other faiths, or none, can opt to "affirm" rather than swear an oath on the Christian bible. Koerner goes on to say "Witnesses of non-Judeo-Christian faiths can also ask to substitute an alternate text for the Bible. And atheists can ask to affirm atop a plain black book." A plain black book? We are not told why the book is necessary at all, or whether the atheists can choose their own book. 80 would be torn between Ambrose Beirce's The Devil's Dictionary or Mark Twain's Letters from the Earth. Other suggestions for a soberly black-clad volume are welcome, and will, if suitable, appear on this page. (Mark Morford has some tough questions here for the President, oath or no oath.)

Mammoth Fraud - a veritable cottage industry in the Christian Europe of the Middle Ages was the manufacture of relics to impress the faithful and win converts. Such "pious frauds" included various nails from the crucifixion (shades of Mel Gibson's trash peddling), enough pieces of the "True Cross" to make a hundred new ones, shrouds enough for several Christs, to vials of blood and more bones of prophets and saints than would fill even the biggest charnelhouse. Modern Islam seems happy to play the same game - witness this item from the FaithFreedom.org website. They take to task The New Nation, described as Bangladesh's Independent News Source, which would also seem to be independent of a few other constraints, such as veracity, journalistic integrity, and respect for other's previously published and copyrighted material - all of which should apply to a serious news source. Instead, they are happy to print a ridiculous story, complete with picture, claiming that a giant human skeleton had been found in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia. The finding is touted as confirmation of stories of giants in the Quran who "were so tall, wide and very power full (sic) that they were able to pull out big trees just with the one hand." The folk at FaithFreedom did a little digging and found the original of the "giant" skeleton photograph - which was, before the application of a little devout PhotoShopping, a mastodon skeleton, excavated in the US in 2000. FaithFreedom also helpfully finds justification of such lying and deception in Islamic scripture, in much the same way as the medieval Christians validated their fakes - using the same old line that anything goes in the service of the faith. (Thanks to Steven OKeefe)

May 10th 2004

Flood Facts - if you read no other newspaper column today, please spare a moment to read David Aaronovitch's Whatever happened to the deluge? in the UK Guardian. The UK right-wing newspapers have been wringing their hands for months, warning of the influx of East Europeans, desperate to avail themselves of Britain's social security system the moment the European Union was enlarged to include their former Eastern Bloc countries. The papers' scaremongering xenophobia is held up to ridicule with hilarious results by Aaronovitch, courtesy of his "Influx-watch" column. Not content with trashing one instance of deluge daftness, he then skewers the latest instance of an idiot Biblical literalists' expedition to find, yes, you guessed it, Noah's Ark.

Obvious Question - obvious, if unpleasant, answer. If you are in charge of mounting a large, international, very high profile event this summer, how do you prepare for the very likely, some would say inevitable, terrorist attack? You would certainly look back over the last few years to see what you can learn about the likely source of such an attack. Even with the fairest and most objective assessment, the conclusion would be that the people you most definitely wish to keep a close eye on are Muslims. This is not prejudice, racial profiling or anything that rightly raises cries of outrage, but sadly just plain common sense. To do anything else would be illogical and totally unrealistic, based upon the record of terrorist atrocities in recent years. That is the cold and unpleasant truth. This is what faces the Greek authorities preparing for this summer's Olympic Games. So be prepared for articles like this one, from the Independent Race and Refugee News Network (IRR), accusing the Greeks of "anti-Muslim racism". This is an odd term that seems to assume that a prudent security policy, based upon recent history, is racism. The writer of this piece seems more than a little confused. A Muslim is someone who follows the precepts of the religion called Islam and has nothing whatsoever to do with their race. Islam has adherents from every "race" on the planet, therefore the term "anti-Muslim racism" is meaningless. Whatever one thinks of other issues raised in the IRR article, (do read it, it does have other, valid points, unrelated to terrorism) to complain about increased surveillance of Muslims in the run up to the Olympics is failing to acknowledge that, in the real world, all major terror attacks have been mounted by Muslim jihadists promoting their fundamentalist aims. The fact that ordinary Muslims feel they are being targeted is a tragic consequence of the actions of these jihadists, who will be only too pleased at the resentment felt, as this is something they can use, just as much as high explosives. For the Greeks the once welcome prospect of the Olympic Games is fast looking like the security equivalent of a poisoned chalice. The IRR article concludes "For the Muslims of Athens, the Olympic dream is become a nightmare." If this is so, it is the jihadists, not the Greeks, who are responsible for the nightmare. (The bombing of an Athens police station seems to indicate that the Greeks have to be on guard against homegrown left-wing and anarchist groups as well as jihadis)

Same Old Song - Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah needs to get with the message. A year ago the Saudis claimed there were no Islamic terrorists in their country - subsequent events have proved them tragically wrong, but it seems some folk cannot move with the times. Abdullah, addressing Saudi dignitaries and reported in the LA Times said "It became clear to us now that Zionism is behind terrorist attacks in the Kingdom." When he uses the word "us" it must be the royal usage of the term, denoting just himself, as certainly no one else seems to agree with his ridiculous statement. Unless, of course, he has discovered a previously undetected and unlikely hybrid, Islamic fundamentalist Zionism. The mind boggles...

May 11th 2004

The Other Story from Luton - in a previous item (Not Wanted - Anywhere) 80 linked to an article in the New York Times (NYT) about the activities of jihadists fomenting trouble across Europe. It opened with a story from Luton, an English town north of London, where "a small group of young Britons whose parents emigrated from Pakistan after World War II have turned against their families' new home. They say they would like to see Prime Minister Tony Blair dead or deposed and an Islamic flag hanging outside No. 10 Downing Street." These groups, whose hate-preaching we ignore at our peril, often receive what is perhaps a disproportionate amount of attention from the press (and other commentators, 80 included. See the item Obvious Question, to appreciate how hard it can be to treat people as we know we should, in the current climate of religious-inspired terror.) It is only fair to point out that, a day after the NYT piece was published, "More than 400 Moslems marched through Luton on Sunday to condemn terrorism." according to this BBC report. One of the organisers said "We have decided that it is not enough just to be silent we want to express our opposition to terrorism in a public way. 99.9% of Muslims in Luton oppose terrorism". Considering that the terrorists treat moderate Muslims with the same contempt they reserve for anybody else outside their own fanatical group, the actions of the Luton marchers took a great deal of courage. This is why the "war on terror" cannot be described in terms of a simplistic, crusading struggle between good and evil, no matter what George Bush says.

South of the Border - down quackery way. 80 came to this news item belatedly, courtesy of the Healthfraud discussion list. It is from SignOnSanDiego.com, dated February 2002, but is as relevant today, for it details the cruel fate that awaits those who fall for the lies of Hulda Clark, who with her electronic zappers claims to cure cancers (“It only takes days to be cured of cancer regardless of the type you have,” according to one of her books, “The Cure for All Cancers.” “Does this mean you can cancel your date for surgery, radiation or chemotherapy? Yes, after curing your cancer with this recipe, it cannot come back.”) and other disorders, often deemed untreatable by current, evidence-based, medical science. Unable to peddle her brand of nonsense in the US, she operates from just across the border in Mexico. This is just far enough to keep her out of US legislation but close enough to lure desperate folk across the line in order to fleece them. In the case reported here, fleece does not go far enough to describe the way a couple, whose toddler daughter has "spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disorder that left her unable to crawl or walk." were taken for an expensive ride. They read Clark's modestly titled book "A Cure For All Diseases" and headed south for a course of Clark's treatment. This was in two parts, one being the completely useless application of her zapper (see Cancer Parasite) and the second was to take this little girl's parents for "$30,000 over 10 months". The parents explained “People don’t understand why we stayed so long, but Hulda Clark did a very good job of preying on us. I’d do anything to keep Courtney here. I know she’d be better off in heaven, but I can’t let her go.” No amount of weasel words in the form of lies and disclaimers and claims of persecution can disguise what amounts to callous robbery on the part of Clark and her confederates - who are still at it today. (For more information please see this page from Quackwatch, The Bizarre Claims of Hulda Clark. 80 is proud to be a member of the Anti-Quackery Webring.)

Central New York Skeptics are sponsoring a Paranormal Investigations Workshop Sunday, June 6, 2004 at Watson Theater in the Menschel Media Center, Syracuse University, 136 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse 13244 The workshop fee is only $20 - a paltry amount to join Joe Nickell and Benjamin Radford, who will be conducting an all-day workshop for potential investigators of the paranormal. The workshop will feature in-depth case studies, Q & A, and a slide presentation. Nickell is senior research fellow for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Utilizing his varied background---as a professional magician, a private investigator, and a university professor--Nickell has become widely known as an investigator of myths and mysteries, frauds, forgeries, and hoaxes. Radford is the managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. He has conducted field investigations in many areas of the paranormal, including crop circles, ghost hauntings, mass hysterias, and lake monsters. This is going to very popular so early reservations are recommended.

May 13th 2004

The Last To Know - now there's a man with his finger on the pulse of events. In a piece in the New York Times (reg rqd) about George W Bush's castigation of defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, over the revolting scandal of American abuse of Iraqi prisoners, it is revealed that Bush "said that he learned the graphic details of the abuse case only when they were broadcast last Wednesday on the CBS program "60 Minutes II."" Given the incalculably adverse effect the pictures have had worldwide, particularly in Muslim countries, you'd have thought Dubya would have been in the loop on this - but apparently not, despite his admission that he was aware of torture claims in early January. Seems like a case of the buck failing to reach the desk of the Commander-in-Chief yet again (see No Buck for Bush). Now that he is involved, perhaps we will see investigations going much further up the chain of command, as others have suggested they should, but don't hold your breath. Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done - especially by the people of Iraq. One appearance on Arab TV and one on a US-owned channel (and not even then to apologize*) won't be enough. As has happened before, the aim of the Bush administration is unerringly accurate - shooting itself straight in the foot. (* this analysis of Bush's performance by Fred Kaplan of Slate is utterly damning)

Disney Dismays - censorship is censorship, whatever the reason given. Disney has blocked one of its divisions, Miramax, from distributing Michael Moore's latest film, Fahrenheit 911. The movie is, unsurprisingly for a Moore movie, highly critical of the Bush administration and its handling of events since the 9/11 atrocity, including the war in Iraq, and also explores the business connections between Bush and prominent Saudis. Looking at Moore's previous output this can hardly be a shock to anyone. Disney's stated reason is that the film is partisan, and therefore unsuitable for a release in an election year. It claims that it caters for customers of all political persuasions and that many would be alienated by Fahrenheit 911. (80's view is that it is the consumer's own choice as to whether they go to see the movie or not, and nanny Disney is depriving them of that choice.) Moore's agent sees other motives in Disney's action, namely the fear of losing lucrative tax breaks that it enjoys on its businesses in Florida, coincidentally governed by Jeb, President Bush's brother. Moore says on his website " I would have hoped by now that I would be able to put my work out to the public without having to experience the profound censorship obstacles I often seem to encounter." Whatever the outcome, the movie, chosen for the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, is now basking in far more publicity than it might have achieved otherwise. The apparent censorship has, in that respect, worked well for Moore. Interestingly, the movie is not the only examination of Bush's links with Saudis, more particularly the bin Laden family, that has had trouble getting an airing. In the UK, publication of "House of Bush, House of Saud, by the American writer Craig Unger, has been cancelled because Secker and Warburg, a Random House subsidiary, says it can no longer afford such risks." The "risks" are the possibilty of action under Britain's fierce libel laws. Whether Unger's book has any merit or not, the end result is the same - censorship. (Moore's film will be released in the UK by  Independent distributor Optimum Releasing)

Quote - "If this is partisan in any way it is partisan on the side of the poor and working people in this country ,who provide fodder for this war machine." Michael Moore on Fahrenheit 911

Of Beasties and Bureaucrats - in a strange melding of cryptozoology and bureaucracy Swedish authorities have placed a mythical lake monster on a list of protected species. This came to light when a routine inspection turned up an environment court decision refusing permission for one Magnus Cedergren to search for the monster's eggs, apparently in order to raise the hatchlings as a tourist attraction. Further digging found that the imaginary beastie has been protected since 1986 - the ombudsman has now requested the documentation that supported the decision.That should make for an interesting read. The monster is supposed to inhabit Lake Storsjoen and despite being seen by a claimed 500 people no one has taken its photograph yet. A similar experience awaited 80 at this page about the monster - clicking for more information in any of 3 languages merely produced a blank page. Many countries in the world seem to have legends of lake monsters although no convincing evidence has been produced of their existence. In place of the fuzzy and indistinct images that pass for proof of the Loch Ness beastie and others, 80 recommends this excellent gallery depicting various sea monsters by Bob Eggleton.

May 15th 2004

Imaginary Friend - you would think that given the malign and divisive influence of religion worldwide (see Faith-Based News) the last thing the people of London want or need is a "Mayor of faith". Yet this is the claim of the Liberal Democrat contender for the position, Simon Hughes. (80 has a lot of sympathy for the Liberal Democrats, many of their policies appearing to be fair and rationally-based. Of course this may be purely because they are not likely to be in a position of power anytime soon, for once a party becomes a government, high-flown manifesto promises tend to go out of the window. Look what happened to the Labour government's "ethical foreign policy") The capital of the UK is a multi-ethnic city, and to have a religious Mayor, in Hughes case a Christian, seems a strangely retrograde step. It is one more symptom of a strange British phenomenon - the more secular the country becomes, the more politicians try and push a religious agenda. When asked what benefits a Christian mayor would bring, Hughes said "Many people in London believe it is important to be led by someone of faith, someone who shares the values held by many people of faith, someone who will speak to and represent them better than a Mayor