News From Around The Blogosphere 8.3.08

Theonoma – a new word you should know – This is another article about the strange Birmingham case of a computer software that is blocking websites that address voodoo, witchcraft, satanism, and oddly enough atheism.

If you bet on Atheist, you might have won some money – Apparently a horse by the name Atheist won at the track. Yea!

BEHOLD! The Heavens have opened up!

Or maybe it’s just another great example of pareidolia. But it looks neat, doesn’t it?

$cientology and Tom Cruise Sued -So the suers have become the suees. Tom Cruise is named in a $250 million federal lawsuit that is using the RICO statute against the Church of Scientology. Ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, a longtime critic of the church, filed suit in Southern District Court in Florida on July 15 alleging, among other things, that members of the church harassed him after he left. And if you’re one of the billions of people who have already seen The Dark Knight, then you probably know what the RICO statute is already.

How to retard the mind with your host Ray “the banana guy” Comfort -You’d almost feel bad for Ray given his complete and total ignorance of such basic concepts as why animal testing if it wasn’t for his condescending, snarky, and overall ass-like behavior and tone. After a while it’s like Britney Spears.  You just have to give up feeling sorry for him because his stupidity is his own fault and he’s been given more than his fair chance over the years to wise up and learn from his mistakes.

I know longer find Dr. Buttar’s insane medical advice cute -First, he just proved himself to be another gullible nut sucked in by the anti-vaccine movement. And sure,  that made him dangerous, but now this quack is telling people not to get chemotherapy, moving beyond just the autism issue into a totally bat-nuts, certifiably insane position. Even free speech has its limits. This guy should be arrested and placed in an institution. He’s yelling “fire” in the proverbial crowded theater and is a danger to the welfare of anyone who suckered in by his alleged credentials.

News From Around The Blogosphere 7.29.08

TV watching possibly linked to autism –  “Cornell University researchers are reporting what appears to be a statistically significant relationship between autism rates and television watching by children under the age of 3.” This is the kind of thing you get when you confuse correlation with causation. You could make the same claim about the rise of the internet correlation with the rise of autism except for the fact that there is no proven rise in autism at all. We’ve broadened the definition of autism and made it more visible, but there still is no proof that autism is on the rise or that it is “an epidemic.”

NASA turns 50 Today! – On this day in 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law legislation creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This is another example of why it’s important for a president to have an understanding of science. Just like presidential administrations have foreign policies, they have science policies. Presidents often make major decisions that have lasting effects on the direction of science.

City Workers in Birmingham are not reading this right now -The Birmingham City Council has installed blocking software on their computers that block out atheist websites. And atheist content isn’t alone on the blocked list. The following subjects are blocked: “witchcraft or Satanism” and “occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism”.

How YOU can put evolution back into museums -Colin Purrington provides a list of helpful ideas on how the average person can help promote further emphasis on evolution in museums. Remember: only you can prevent creationist nonsense! (Note: This is less likely to work in art museums)

Evolve-Eyes on History Channel Tonight -Okay, I’m a bit late in reporting it but I’m sure they’re rerun it. And I’ve already seen creationists slam it before seeing it, so it’s gotta be good! Biologist PZ Myers’ running commentary of the program.

NY Times op-ed calling for closer monitoring of UFOs -Oh yeah, we’ll get right on that. [rolls poorly evolved eyes]

An English Holocaust Denier In New York -Infamous Holocaust David Irving after being released from Austrian jail for the crime of “trivializing the Holocaust” (that for the record, is something I don’t think should be a crime), is touring the U.S. to spread his unique brand of nonsense and Anti-Semitism. Along for the ride is his friend and partner in crime, Michael Santamauro (owner of the New York-based roommate service roommatefinders.com), who specifically aided Irving in tricking a church’s priest into hosting the lecture by claiming the speaker was the leader of an anodyne “book club.” This news even managed to get The Huffington Post to take time away from their busy anti-vaccine propaganda, usually provided by David Kirby to publish an article by Max Blumenthal about David Irving’s recent visit.

Another important part that’s necessary to comment on is the role Christopher Hitchens plays in the story. Hitchens had in the past published what some have called a favorable article on Irving and Irving has himself claimed that he and Hitchens are friends. Apparently though, nobody told Hitchens this, as he’s written an essay where he rips Irving apart.

And now a moment of science:

Amazon Insect Diversity Due To Ice Age? -“Ice age climate change and ancient flooding–but not barriers created by rivers–may have promoted the evolution of new insect species in the Amazon region of South America, a new study suggests.”