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Australia: Looks like I'm slacking off in the spotting of local loons. This article on another spokestwit for Intelligent Design was sent in by eagle-eyed Prattle reader, Terry Frost.
As Terry states: This guy is the Federal Education Minister, not just the one for a state. It's not quite Bush shooting his mouth off the other day, but from down here in Melbourne, it's scary.
The Education Minister throws open debate on a thorny theory in schools.
The controversial theory ofintelligent designhas won the qualified backing of Education Minister Brendan Nelson, who says it should be taught in schools alongside evolution if that is the wish of parents.
Intelligent design, which is damned by critics as a front for biblical Creationism, argues that life on Earth is too complex to have evolved purely through Darwin's theory of natural selection. Dr Nelson said yesterday he had met Campus Crusade for Christ, the Australian advocates of intelligent design, or ID, and watched their DVD presentation, calledUnlocking the Mystery of Life.
He told the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday that he would oppose replacing evolution with ID in Australia's science classes but said parents should be able to choose that their children learn about it.
It's not quite as gung-ho as Bush's recent public waffle on creationism. Nelson manages to hedge his bets by suggesting it's a legitimate compliment to the study of evolution, but it does raise the question of why a man this clearly unbalanced is allowed out in public.
For those few readers who haven't yet guessed; Brendan Nelson is a moron. He knows nothing about education and has gone out of his way to dismantle the student unions. As his cronies couldn't find a way to shutdown the TAFE system of colleges, he cut funding and created a new system of dodgy substandard colleges that gets the funding instead.
I'm not terribly surprised at this announcement. Prime Minister John Howard has surrounded himself with simpering, loony fundies for years. Tony Abbott and Peter Costello are prime examples of idiocy in action. Philip Ruddock (ex-Immigration Minister) and Amanda Vanstone (current Immigration Minister) have blatantly lied for Howard in the face of overwhelming evidence and the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is possibly even more stupid than Bush.
Aside from Nelson openly courting the fundie loons from Campus Crusade for Christ, quite a few of Howard's stooges have been seen glad-handing the fundie loons from Hillsong. The bigger surprise is that they're all coming out of the closet to air their insanity in public.
I can't see the terrorist bampots attacking Australia, it looks like the wingnuts in power are happily working in league with them in trying to turn the country into the kind of backwards, fundamentalist religious nightmare that they crave.
'Intelligent design' an option: Nelson - The Age, 11th August 2005.
Posted in
Church and State
at 03:46. Last modified on September 28 2006 at 23:43.
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Comments
1: Posted by: aeduna | August 14, 2005 11:42 PM
As much as I'd cheerfully smack him one for this and other policies, this smacks more of a politician trying to give a non-answer than support of the christian loonies. I'd go so far as to suggest that he's trying to stay on the goodside of Abbot, who is renowned as being a bit of a fundie.
2: Posted by: Red Wolf | August 15, 2005 2:51 AM
I'd probably agree with you if it was a case of the loony fundies cornering him for a bit free publicity, but the silly sod raised the subject again at the National Press Club with another weak response. I think that sees him more in cahoots with the Mad Monk than it does in the camp of commonsense.
3: Posted by: Pat Kirby | August 16, 2005 6:10 PM
The Education Minister throws open debate on a thorny theory in schools.
The controversial theory of intelligent design has won..
Oh my. It would appear that science education, at least among reporter-types, is as bad in Australia as in America.
A "theory" is not supposition or speculation. It is a valid facet of the body of science. Airplanes fly because of "theories."
I.D. is NOT a theory. Not, not, not. [tiny tantrum.] It is a belief.
Stupid reporters. Stupid politicians.
4: Posted by: Feòrag | August 16, 2005 7:57 PM
I harbour this fantasy of bashing creationists and journalists alike over the head with a dictionary while screaming “learn the fucking difference between an hypothesis and a theory, you uneducated numpty!”
5: Posted by: aeduna | August 19, 2005 1:43 AM
My fantasy ends a bit earlier in that sentence :)
6: Posted by: Solo | August 27, 2005 2:09 AM
I am *SO* ashamed... our village idiot (George W Bush) went into another village and started preaching and folks listened. GAWDAMMIT! Pat Robertson couldn't shoot his mouth off for the village idiot to be taken out, huh? They obviously have the same direct line to god. I got my Visa yesterday morning. I can't wait to renounce my US citizenship. I'm telling EVERYONE I'm from Canada. I LOATHE this country. Good luck! I hope you survive this government.
7: Posted by: Red Wolf | September 26, 2005 1:10 AM
The creepy, loony fundie-driven dumbing down of Australia [BugMeNot] continues:
I'm not surprised at Pacific Hills, they're a bunch of mindless god-bothering fundies, but I am surprised that Catholic schools are falling for this malarkey, as they usually have much more sense.
I have a friend who teaches at a Catholic school who would cheerfully beat Brendan Nelson to death with a stick, and not just over his creationism fetish either. The man is making it a nightmare to be a teacher with his constant interference in an education system that he doesn't understand. The man's mission appears to be to spread stupidity as far as possible.
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