United Kingdom: University admissions tutors might be interested in a survey conducted by More4 News, which found that at least 40 British schools are teaching ancient mythology instead of science. The programme also noted that not all of the schools concerned were in the private sector. Andrew Copson, the British Humanist Association's Director of Education and Public Affairs commented:
It is appalling that there are thousands of children in Britain who are being taught that evolution is a myth and creationism a fact. It is even worse that almost 1,000 of those children attend schools funded by taxpayers, which teach creationism despite national guidance that it has no place in the science classroom. We are glad that the government is currently producing new guidance on how to deal with creationism in schools but it is crucial that school inspectors are also trained to check faith schools rigorously for the teaching of creationism or intelligent design.
Humanists “appalled” that creationism taught in 40 UK schools —British Humanist Association press release, 2nd July 2008.
Englandshire: Dr. Who fans could find themselves a bargain as the memorabilia collection of Simon White goes on sale after he swapped science fiction for fantasy.
The collection, which Mr White estimates is worth nearly £7,000, was built up over a number of years but is to be cast aside because of his religious beliefs.
Dr Who and his materialistic obsession with it represents thegreatest lie that Satan ever toldaccording to Mr White...
He said:God delivered me from the evil that is Dr Who.
Don't offer too much now. We wouldn't want to reward him for his sinfulness now, would we?
Dr Who Tardis on sale on eBay—Wiltshire Times and Chippenham News, 21st March 2008.
England: The UK's biggest planetarium is due to be opened in Winchester soon, and Terry Pratchett will be doing the honours. But I don't think that a Hampshire Chronicle journalist really meant it when they said the centre will feature a variety of astrology shows, including presenter-led displays for schools, licensed pre-recorded films and movies on topical space events
.
Pratchett to open planetarium—Hampshire Chronicle, 5th February 2008.
Publishing a story about religious pseudoscience in Russia seems to be bait for loons, for lurking in the spam trap was a comment plugging a religious book. I'm not going to give spammers publicity, so identifying details have been removed.
THE NEW DISCIPLINE!
Things will never be the same in academia after this.
There is a new discipline on the scene: physical science, the old science of cause and effect.
Against the backdrop of a nation embroiled in debate and legal battles over whether creationism or evolution, or both, should be taught in the classroom, [Redacted] proclaims a
DAY OF VICTORY!
[Redacted], a series of seven textbooks designed for the public schools, represents the ultimate marriage between an in-depth knowledge of biblical phenomena and natural and physical sciences. As a result, the several volumes have accomplished that which, heretofore, was deemed impossible: to level the playing field between those who desire a return to physical science in the classroom and those who embrace the theory of evolution. [Redacted] turns the tide by providing an authoritative and en- lightening scientific explanation of natural phenomena which will ultimately replace the unprofitable Darwinian view.
The backbone of Darwinism is not biological evolution per se, but electronic interpretation, the tenet that all physical, chemical, and biological processes result from a change in the electron structure of the atom which, in turn, may be deciphered through the orderly application of mathematics, as outlined in quantum mechanics. A few of the supporting theories are: degrading stars, neutron stars, black holes, extraterrestrial water, antimatter, the absolute dating systems, and the big bang, the explosion of a singularity infinitely smaller than the dot of an �i� from which space, time, and the massive stellar bodies supposedly sprang into being.
The philosophy rejects any divine intervention. Therefore, let the philosophy of Darwinism be judged on these specifics: electron interpretation and quantum mechanics. Conversely, the view that God is both responsible for and rules all the phenomena of the universe will stand or fall when the facts are applied. The view will not hinge on faith alone, but will be tested by the weightier principle of verifiable truths � the new discipline.
[Redacted] is not only better at explaining natural phenomena, but also may be verified through testing. As a result, the material in the several volumes will not violate the so-called constitutional separation of church and state. Physical science, the old science of cause and effect, will have a long-term sustainability, replacing irresponsible doctrines based on whim. Teachers and students will rejoice in the simplicity of earthly phenomena when entertained by the new discipline. You will not want to miss the adventure of a lifetime that awaits you in Volume 1 of [Redacted].
All those question marks are because the author, whose name is on the comment, has managed to write a series of books without being able to read, and so copied and pasted his comment straight from Microsnot Turd.
If you really want to know more, I'm sure Googling on some of the choice phrases here will prove productive. I dread to think what will happen in comments to the same story over at Newsvine.
Russia: The Soviet Union was never that fond of Darwinian evolution, preferring the Lamarkian model, most notable for the idea that acquired characteristics could be passed on. Not a lot has changed since then, although the excessive influence of the church means that deliberate pseudoscience is preferred these days. If you need an article to demonstrate the sheer silliness of "Intelligent Design", the Pravda can help. Even though the article has been translated by someone who does not have English as their first language, I don't think it can be misunderstood. It's first argument is that, as we can build machines to build other machines, we must have been designed. Really.
Imagine finding a planet where robots are programmed so that they can make other robots just like themselves from raw materials.
Now, imagine an alien scientist visitor coming to the planet and, after many years of studying these robots, the alien scientist visitor comes to the conclusion that since science can explain how these robots work, operate, function, and reproduce there's no reason to believe that there was an ultimate intelligent designer behind them.
The analogy above certainly is not perfect but it is sufficient to reveal the fallacious thinking of those who attack intelligent design behind life and the universe.
It's five pages long, and your brain will hurt before you've finished the first. He again asserts that, because we understand genetics enough to tinker with it, we must have been the result of such tinkering ourselves.
Think about it! If humans must use intelligence to perform genetic engineering, to meaningfully manipulate the genetic code, then what does that say about the origin of the genetic code itself!
Yet then comes up with a refutation of his own argument -- humans haven't created life from scratch:
Contrary to popular belief, scientists have never created life in the laboratory. What scientists have done is genetically alter or engineer already existing forms of life, and by doing this scientists have been able to produce new forms of life. However, they did not produce these new life forms from non-living matte
So, if I follow the author's previous logic, this means that as we can't do it, then neither could some other being. Ah, no, apparently this means the opposite of all the earlier assertions and our inability to intelligently design an organism is now evidence against evolution.
The rest of it is strip-mined from creationist propaganda, with clichés about tornados in scrapyards making 747s and all the other bollocks with which you will be familiar if you read Pharyngula. One more example:
How, for example, were animals breathing, eating, and reproducing if their respiratory, digestive, and reproductive organs were still incomplete and evolving? How were species fighting off possibly life-threatening germs if their immune system hadn't fully evolved yet?
Like most creationists, the author deliberately does not mention God and tried to pretend that what he thinks is purely scientific in origin. Pity the extended byline gives away his motives and lack of any genuine qualifications:
The author, Babu G. Ranganathan, is an experienced Christian writer. Mr. Ranganathan has his B.A. with academic concentrations in Bible and Biology from Bob Jones University.
Meanwhile, Tasmanian Devils appear to be evolving resistance to the cancer that's been killing them off (via Red Wolf).
Understanding intelligent design—Pravda, 21st January 2008.
Australia: There's a great big red mountain in the middle of Australia. The indigenous people there regard it as sacred and would rather we called it Uluru, but most of us know it as Ayers Rock. But, the site is Special to some other people too, according to Pravda, and they believe a rather unusual story is told by the rock art in the area:
The UFO Area website says the astronauts are represented in rock paintings in Central Australia.
Once upon a time, in a distant past, a huge red 'egg' had difficulties to safely reach the ground and crashed,the story reads, under a picture of Uluru.Out of the 'egg' emerged white-skinned beings, followed by their children,it says.The adults had problems adapting to the Earth's atmosphere and died. The children managed to survive. Later they painted drawings of the adults in honour of their parents.
The article to which Pravda refers is almost certainly Ancient Astronauts of Uluru at UFOArea. That has since been followed up by another article, Strange Ancient Structures In The Australian Desert: Natural Rocks Or Artificial Structures? Both are available only to members of the site, which costs money, alas. If the articles are plugging a book, that's a bit of a failure really.
Aliens land in Australia to create humans—Pravda, 14th January 2008.
One of the stated aims of the AH Trust's proposed Creationist theme park is that it will provide an alternative to binge drinking for young people. David Mills ponders this in the Guardian's Comment is Free section:
Although the trust correctly identifies that there is a drinking problem endemic in the culture of young people today, to believe that by providing religion as an alternative so that youngsters will put down the White Lightning and pick up a bible, seems quite naive and out of touch.
What's more, he wonders whether the Bible is really good for young people.
To correct the wrongs of society, perhaps the theme park - using its multimedia to maximum effect - will tell the story of how Lot was prepared to give up his daughters to the Sodomites and eventually slept with them himself? Is it appropriate moral guidance to show how Abraham was going to kill his son because God ordered him to? Will it also tell the story of Cain killing his brother Abel? How will tales of rape, incest, infanticide, fratricide and mass homicide become the antidote to binge drinking and a society that watches too much sex and violence on television? Theologians would say they are not meant to be taken literally but how are they meant to be taken? Are these the kind of family models we want "our youth" to look up to?
Taking children for a ride—Comment is Free, 23rd December 2007.
England: Plans to build a creationist theme park have moved on, with a site near Preston now favourite, although the trust behind it seems to have no firm plans
[Trustee Peter Jones] said:We have a number of sites in mind, which have different restrictions, but we are looking at an area in the North West, in a triangle of Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester.
They also seem confused about what it is that they want to build, or perhaps they are simply lying to planning authorities. Some choice quotes:
Trustees of the AH Trust Fund, which is proposing the £3.5m project, have looked at sites around the city with a view to opening the country's first ever multi-faith tourist attraction....
Quickly followed by:
From our research we found there is a great demand for a Christian theme park - a place where you can go and relax and provide a place for people to listen to God
Then back to:
as well as being a meeting place for leaders of all different religions.
And then an utter whopper:
He said the trust ... was non-denominational and covered all religions, including Christian, Catholic, Muslim, and Hindu.
So Catholics are apparently not Christian, according to the charity, and the Trust's objects are really completely different from those listed by the Charities Commission's records:
TO ADVANCE THE FAITH OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATEMENTS OF BELIEF APPEARING IN THE SCHEDULE THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH MAINLY, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BY MEANS OF BROADCASTING CHRISTIAN MESSAGES OF AN EVANGELISTIC AND TEACHING NATURE. TO ADVANCE THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN DEMONSTRATING THE LOVE OF GOD TO ALL PEOPLE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE HOLDING OF PRAYER MEETINGS, LECTURES, PRODUCING AND/OR DISTRIBUTING LITERATURE ON BIBLE SUBJECTS TO ENLIGHTEN OTHERS AND TO HELP THEM TO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.
So, presumably multi-faith
, inter-denominational
and covering all religions
simply means that they harangue everyone, regardless.
The AH Trust's most recent annual report notes that they have a grand total of £310 in the bank.
Religious 'theme park' would cost £3.5m—Lancashire Evening Post, 22nd December 2007 (via The High Weirdness Project). See also At least Disneyland admits it's fantasy—Pagan Prattle, 16th December 2007 and More on the Creationist theme park plan—Pagan Prattle, 16th December 2007.
United Kingdom: Commenters on Pharyngula have been looking into the AH Trust (The Assembly Hall Trust, according to the record at the Charities Commission), the charity behind the creationist theme park proposal, and it seems to be a little devoid of substance.
One particular comment from "tacitus" sums it all up quite nicely:
First, he examined the testimonials page on the company's website, and found a pile of extracts from rejection letters.
If you take a look at their Testimonials page, there appears to be an impressive list of British companies-Boots, B&Q, BAA, Thomas Cook, BAE, etc.
Wow, not a bad list from a company that appears to have no money. But here's one of those "testimonials":
We wish you every success with your activity and hope that you are successful in securing support from other sources. - Boots Group plc
Calling that a testimonial is a joke. There is no doubt that this is a quote from a rejection letter. They were turned down flat.
The whole page is full of such rejections, with a handful of positive comments from people you've never heard of at the end, including the founder of the trust himself!
Next up for examination was the Annual Report, which reveals that
They have no funding, no backing, no coherent plan, and they're are woefully out of touch with the sentiments of the British public on religion and moral issues. They haven't even been able to replace the three trustees who resigned from their board over a year ago.
The annual report states that they have a grand total of £310 in the bank. That should go a long way. And then something really scary, should you feel like helping them out of their financial predicament:
Their "Make a Donation" page accepts credit card details and then promptly sends them in the clear across the Internet.
Personally, I find the single item under "News" amusing:
The Church in this country is in crisis, and many Church Leaders living in Australia, America and Canada have openly proclaimed that God has left the Church in England. A view which we find amusing and disturbing. Evolution has falsely become the foundation of our society and we need
the television studio to advocate Genesis across this land in order to remove this falsehood which
presently is destroying the church foundation.
One hopes their books are not written with a similar standard of English.
England: It seems that fundie nutcases have got at what remains of politician George Galloway's brain.
But this week Galloway took a further step towards full-blown fanaticism, when he came out as a creationist. This is what he said on his TalkSport radio rant, in trying to rebut a caller who defended atheism and science:I was looking at my little six month old baby today beginning to take his first steps crawling across the hall of the Methodist Central Hall today, and it doesn't look like an accident to me. He doesn't look like an accident of evolutionary chance to me. I'm not really prepared to believe that from the bottom-dwelling slugs of the pond came the voice of Pavarotti. I'm not really prepared to believe that Albert Einstein and a spider are really the same thing, that they just took a different evolutionary path.
Galloway comes out as a creationist—Open House, 7th December 2007.
United Kingdom: Christian businessmen plan to set up their own fantasy theme park in Lancashire.
The latest salvo in creationism's increasingly ferocious battle with evolution is about to be fired in Lancashire. Not in a fiery sermon preached from the pulpit, but in the form of a giant Christian theme park that will champion the book of Genesis and make a multi-media case that God created the world in seven days.
The AH Trust, a charity set up last year by a group of businessmen alarmed by the direction in which they see society heading, has identified a number of potential sites in the north west of England to build the £3.5m Christian theme park.
At least one town has told them to bugger off. This is, of course, evil Christianophobia in action.
The theme park's anti-evolution bias and its emphasis on Genesis has raised eyebrows among planning officials, according to Jones, who originally wanted to build the park at the site of an old B&Q store but was refused permission by the council.
'Wigan council slammed the door in our faces. You mention the C [Christian] word, and people don't want to know,' Jones said.
Creationists plan British theme park—The Observer, 16th December 2007.
Today is World AIDS Day and Ben Goldacre has written an AIDS Quackery International Tour. Many of his examples are from developing nations where access to medicine is limited, but one is more embarrassing:
Before you feel smug and superior, the Society of Homeopaths are holding a conference in London today featuring the work of Peter Chappell, who also claims he can make an immediate impact on the Aids epidemic using music encoded with his Aids remedies.
Right now,he says,Aids in Africa could be significantly ameliorated by a simple tune played on the radio.Damningly, contemptibly, not one single person from the homeopathy community has spoken out to criticise this lunacy.
The BBC has more details of some of the original thinking being presented at the conference.
One of the speakers believes that the treatment, involving flower essences, can be used to halt the AIDS epidemic.
Aids quakery in Africa, and nearer home—The Guardian, 1st December 2007; Concern over HIV homeopathy role—BBC News, 1st December 2007.
Finland: News is breaking of a school shooting in Finland, and the alleged murderer is, as you might expect, a bit of a loon. But, Pekka-Eric Auvinen is (or was) not a religious loon. Indeed, the fundies will cream themselves, because this particular loon claims to be acting in the name of natural selection. From his manifesto [Word document; the same, in Finnish?]:
Today the process of natural selection is totally misguided. It has reversed. Human race has been devolving very long time for now. Retarded and stupid , weak-minded people are reproducing more and faster than the intelligent, strong-minded people....
Life is just a meaningless coincidence... result of long process of evolution and many several factors, causes and effects. However, life is also something that an individual wants and determines it to be. And I'm the dictator and god of my own life. And me, I have chosen my way. I am prepared to fight and die for my cause. I, as a natural selector, will eliminate all who I see unfit, disgraces of human race and failures of natural selection....
No mercy for the scum of the earth! HUMANITY IS OVERRATED! It's time to put NATURAL SELECTION & SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST back on tracks!
His taste in music tends towards the industrial (which, to the media, will be the same as goth), so Auvinen warns against the usual goth-blaming and, refreshingly, takes full responsibility for his actions:
And remember that this is my war, my ideas and my plans. Don’t blame anyone else for my actions than myself. Don’t blame my parents or my friends. I told nobody about my plans and I always kept them inside my mind only. Don’t blame the movies I see, the music I hear, the games I play or the books I read. No, they had nothing to do with this. This is my war: one man war against humanity, governments and weak-minded masses of the world!
He has also posted notice of his intentions to YouTube [Update: this video has now been removed. See the BBC News link below for a description] as well as in another Word document, posted yesterday on his website:
ATTACK INFORMATION
Event: Jokela High School Massacre.
Targets: Jokelan Lukio (High School Of Jokela), students and faculty, society, humanity, human race.
Date: 11/7/2007.
Attack Type: Mass murder, political terrorism (altough I choosed the school as target, my motives for the attack are political and much much deeper and therefore I don’t want this to be called only asschool shooting).
Location: Jokela, Tuusula, Finland.
Perpetrator's name: Pekka-Eric Auvinen (aka NaturalSelector89, Natural Selector, Sturmgeist89 and Sturmgeist). I also use pseydonym Eric von Auffoin internationally.
Weapons: Semi-automatic .22 Sig Sauer Mosquito pistol.
Fatal shooting at Finnish school—BBC News, 7th November 2007 (thanks, Tef). A list of mirrors to Auvinen's materials is being maintained at this entry to a blog about the shootings.
South Africa: It seems that, up till now, evolution has not been taught in South Africa's schools. But it is to be included in the national school curriculum from next year, leading to allegations that it is teaching Satanism!
Godly Governance Network provincial secretary Sipho Mengezeleli said the introduction of evolution was a revolution against God and Christianity.
Mengezeleli, who has started canvassing other religious organisations in an effort to mount a united front against the department, said:This course is aimed at eroding God from people's mind. It's satanic by its very nature because it's against creation and against God.
And it's not just insecure Christians getting into the act. Some Hindus's beliefs are so shallow and fragile that they cannot tolerate their children even knowing of the existence of other viewpoints:
Hindu Society chairperson Gino Vassan said the concept of evolution goes directly against Hinduism and should not even be an option.We don't believe in evolution --we believe in reincarnation,said Vassan.We would not want something that goes against our belief to be taught to our children.
Fury rumbles over 'satanic' school course—Daily Dispatch, 31st October 2007.
United States: The creationist loons may have scraped the bottom of the barrel when it comes to digging up testimonials for their cause.
Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer murdered at least 17 men and boys. His murders included gruesome acts and he was sentenced to a lifetime in prison.Continue reading "Creationism Will Turn You Into a Serial Killer?"
But during his sentence something changed, and before his death, Dahmer went on MSNBC with his father. When asked what contributed to his new accountability, he told his father,Thanks to you for sending that creation science material.
Some stories I missed, or didn't get round to writing about:
Oh, my god, the fan fiction.)
United Kingdom: A inquiry reviewing abortion law has warned scientists presenting evidence that they must disclose links to faith groups after it was found that religious organisations were trying to influence the result surreptitiously.
At least eight submissions of written evidence have come from medical professionals who have not disclosed their membership of Christian groups opposed to abortion on faith grounds. Six of the doctors are members or activists with the Christian Medical Fellowship, an organisation that has given its own evidence to the inquiry.
Suspicion that contributors had not been transparent about their affiliations has led the clerk of the committee to take the unusual step of writing to all those who gave evidence asking them to disclose their links to any relevant organisations...
Some on the committee are worried that unless witnesses are transparent about their affiliation to anti-abortion groups the inquiry will not be able to properly assess their evidence.
Evan Harris MP, the Liberal Democrats' science spokesperson, said:This inquiry is specifically about the scientific evidence not moral or religious arguments and our witnesses need to be evidence-led not ideologically or theologically driven. The CMF risk undermining the inquiry by getting people called as expert scientific witnesses when they are not.
Two witnesses who will give evidence today, Chris Richards, a paediatrician and honorary clinical lecturer at Newcastle University, and John Wyatt, a neonatal paediatrician at University College London, are members of CMF, but did not disclose that on their original submission.
Abortion inquiry asks scientists to disclose links to faith groups—The Guardian, 15th October 2007.
United Kingdom: The British government has issued the promised guidelines for teaching creationism in school, and they make it perfectly clear that the only place it has is in the science curriculum is to explain why it's not science.
After explaining the place of science and religious education in the British national curriculum, the guidance document unequivocally states:Creationism and intelligent design are sometimes claimed to be scientific theories. This is not the case as they have no underpinning scientific principles, or explanations, and are not accepted by the science community as a whole. Creationism and intelligent design therefore do not form part of the science National Curriculum programmes of study.
Apparently with Truth in Science's materials in mind, it recommends,Any resource should be checked carefully before it is used in the classroom. If resources which mention creationism or intelligent design are used, it must be made clear that neither constitutes a scientific theory.
The guidance document explains that although it is inappropriate to teach creationism, it is not necessarily inappropriate to teach about creationism as an ideological movement and philosophy.
It says:Any questions about creationism and intelligent design which arise in science lessons, for example as a result of media coverage, could provide the opportunity to explain or explore why they are not considered to be scientific theories and, in the right context, why evolution is considered to be a scientific theory. ... Science teachers can respond positively and educationally to questions and comments about creationism or intelligent design by questioning, using prompts such as 'What makes a theory scientific?', and by promoting knowledge and understanding of the scientific consensus around the theories of evolution and the Big Bang.
The guidance suggests that the proper place for religious ideas about the origins of life is in the Religious Education curriculum, but some Christians disagree—they think it's a load of bollocks in theological terms too:
[Simon Barrow, co-director of the UK Christian think-tank Ekklesia] commented:Creationism and Intelligent Design are not legitimate scientific theories. They are constructs based on discredited ideas about biblical texts, a misunderstanding of the idea of creation (which is an understanding of the world process as gift, not a theory of origins in competition with evolution) and a god-of-the-gaps approach rejected by serious theologians....
Pupils seeking to acquire an understanding of religious and other life stances need to understand how and why fundamentalist world views emerge, said Barrow.But they also need to know why they are rejected by mainstream theologians and scientists. Likewise, as the government rightly says, creationism and ID have no place in school science classrooms.
Government issues guidelines to teachers on creationism and ID—Ekklesia, 26th September 2007; Creationism teaching guidance—Teachernet.
The Netherlands: A Dutch channel is broadcasting David Attenborough's Life of Mammals, but something is odd about it, as Martin Wisse explains:
However, something strange has happened with that series when it crossed the Channel: for some reason the Dutch version only has nine episodes, while the original has ten --and that's not the only difference.
It turns out that the EO has deliberately removed all references to evolution from the series, as demonstrated by the three videos below. Which is not too surprising, considering the EO is after all a fundamentalist Christian broadcaster and adhers to the doctrine of the literal truth of the bible. What exactly the EO has censored in Attenborough's series is now documented in several youtube movies, uploaded by somebody called Odurodon:
As Martin observes, despite their obvious lunacy, the broadcaster receives public money, and suggests it would show greater integrity to have simply declined to broadcast the series. As they have exclusive rights, no other Dutch broadcaster may show the series, and the Dutch who want to see an unbutchered version will have to resort to their legendary language skills.
Dutch broadcaster censors David Attenborough on evolution—Wisse Words, 30th July 2007.
England: The normally moderate Church of England has appointed a complete lunatic as their new head of education. Rev. Jan Ainsworth has said that the myth of Creation should be taught in science classes in Church of England schools (which are state funded), rather than in religion. To her credit, she does suggest that it be part of the history of science.
Her bosses have already started to distance themselves from her statements.
Intelligent design has place in science lessons, says CofE—The Guardian, 1st June 2007.
UFOs are in the news again. First up is a lump of black rock found near Seattle, which some claim fell from an alien spaceship, and others claim came from a B-25 which crashed while carrying an alien spaceship. Possible alien stone found near Seattle—Earth Times, 24th April 2007; Is strange rock from UFO or just a piece of poppycock?—Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 22nd April 2007
Then there's a magic mountain in Argentina, where UFOs are said to gather, and which is claimed to have healing powers. But its special effects can only be felt if you know how to kid yourself: Books about the Uritorco are available in several languages because the hill's positive forces cannot be felt without some basic knowledge of its "spirituality reactor," a vendor explains behind a thick cloud of perfumed smoke rising from huge joss sticks.
The languages available are clearly all dialects of Bollocks. Argentine magic mountain attracts UFO- and esoteric freaks—Jurnalo, 24th April 2007.
Finally we learn that Mick Jagger claims to have had a UFO encounter in the 1960s: In 1968 he went camping in Glastonbury with his then girlfriend, singer Marianne Faithful, and encountered a rare, luminous cigar-shaped mothership. Around the same time Mick had a UFO detector installed at his British estate. The alarm kept on going off whenever he left home, indicating the presence of strong electromagnetic activity in the immediate area.
Of course, this all took place in the late 60s—a time when rock musicians never, ever took drugs. Sir Mick Jagger had close encounter with aliens in the 60s—LondonNet, 23rd April 2007.
United States: A teacher has been fired after just eight days in the job for pushing creationist nonsense instead of teaching.
During his eight days as a part-time high school biology teacher, Kris Helphinstine included Biblical references in material he provided to students and gave a PowerPoint presentation that made links between evolution, Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood.
In his defence, Helphinestine claimed that he only wanted to get the students thinking critically about biased information. The school board did not believe him, and he doesn't seem to have made it clear to his students that that was his intention.
Parent John Rahm told the newspaper that he became concerned when his freshman daughter said she was confused by the supplemental material provided by Helphinstine.
He took passages that had all kinds of Biblical references,Rahm said.It prevented her from learning what she needed to learn.
Ore. Teacher Fired Over Bible References—The Guardian, 20th March 2007.
We've discussed Christian colonic irrigation on the Prattle recently, but we're going to do so again. I mean, you'd be upset if we neglected to link to a site which includes the words Jesus also explained how to make and do a colonic irrigation. Jesus said that unless you eliminate Satan from your intestines, you can not have perfect health.
That statement can be found on the web site of Moinhos Velhos, an holistic health retreat in Portugal.
Obviously Jesus didn't mention colonic irrigation in the Sermon on the Mount, or in anything considered to be canonical, but in an Essene text The Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ. It is discussed further on the fasting and detoxification page, where the following is attributed to Jesus:
Think not that it sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outward only. I tell you truly, the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses himself without, but within remains unclean is like tombs that outwards are painted fair, but are within full of all manners of horrible uncleanness and abominations. So I tell you truly, suffer the angels of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all past sins, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight.
We are then told the passage (heh) continues with instructions. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it in the linked copy of the book.
Finally, do not click this link.
Sometimes I will encounter something of interest while browsing a totally unrelated site. Today was one of those days. How could I possibly expect that innocently reading Pharynugla's commentary on Gillian McKeith, could possibly lead to a Christ-centered, health education ministry offering wholeness of body, mind and spirit?
It all started with a comment by Zeno: You may have years of "unexpressed" meals in your digestive tract, but never fear! Vierra will give you a Christian colonic.
. My ears pricked up, naturally, and there was a link: Garbage in, garbage out!. And so, eventually, with the help of a well-known search engine, I found my man.
Welcome to Modern Manna online, the official website for Danny Vierra—founder of the Almighty Cleanse. We are a Christ-centered, health education ministry offering wholeness of body, mind and spirit. We offer a 10-day live-in program at BellaVita Lifestyle Center. We also offer the building blocks for excellent health, the latest information from articles, books, audios and DVDs for simple, alternative health remedies, which include lifestyle changes, vegetarian cooking, detoxifying and cleansing, juicing and more...
Optimal health starts with a seasonal cleanse. Almighty Cleanse™ is a powerful yet gentle 2-part system to help regulate and purify your digestive tract. This easy-to-use cleansing system helps expel impurities and fecal matter that build-up on your intestinal walls. One of the most concentrated natural purification systems available, Almighty Cleanse can work in only 7 days.
Yes, Almighty Cleanse. It's really called that. Once your digestive system has been dosed in this holy water, Modern Manna can help you keep it sparkly with herbal concoctions, including Anti-Plague Formula
.
The recipes look pretty good, though. There again, you can say that about Gillian McKeith.
A handful of stories from the last few days which I was too lazy to write about at the time:
There are lots of grand statements about research, with nice superscript numbers relating to references in the back. But when you chase to the back of the book to see what these academic documents are, they include such august periodicals as Delicious, Creative Living, Healthy Eating, and my favourite: Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet.I found You are What you Eat frustrating and full of errors—it cited the safe drinking levels which were revised upwards in the early 1990s, for example. There are some good recipes in there, but often they are made needlessly complicated, and use exotic ingredients which would put it out of the price range of mere mortals.
Some of it is plainly absurd. As we get older, she explains,the levels of RNA/DNA decrease.Okay.If you do not have enough RNA/DNA,she goes on, youmay ultimately age prematurely. Stress can deplete your DNA, but algae will increase it. And that's not all.Chlorophyll within the algae is a powerful oxygen generator for human beings.Back to GCSE Biology: it'll only make oxygen if there's light inside me, Gillian ...
liberal leftputs the rights of religious organisations over that of the individuals they oppress:
In the past century, material betterment and the steady diminuation of discrimination advanced progressive goals. Much of the left have [grr...—F.] yet to come to terms with this achievement. At the extreme, some who were once on the left have adopted the language and outlook of the right. They argue for what by any objective standards are reactionary positions. These include promotion of religious obscurantism in place of secularism; segregation of the sexes at public events; abridgement of free speech in deference to the sensibilities of those who claim themselves victims of Islamophobia; and, most pernicious, the resurrection in political debate of some highly traditional motifs of anti-semitic conspiracy theory.If you can get yourself to the library, it's on page 31.
United States: Ah, the Weekly World News, such a wonderful publication bringing us exciting tales from all over the universe. Recently we were told of an interesting development of the cattle mutilation theme.
It was as if someone had taken a scalpel to the takeout box,
Weald said of his mutilated order of steamed tofu. Neighboring containers of soy sauce and low-calorie dressing were unharassed.
High levels of radiation were found in the freezer, so the Weekly World News asked a suitably anonymous expert for their opinion.
However, NASA researchers believe that the tofu mutilators' origin may be otherworldly.
There have been increased reports of crop circles in soybean fields, and of UFO sightings near the star Vega,
a NASA source revealed.
So there you have it - it was space vegans. Another story from a couple of weeks earlier, Health Food Stores Particularly Vulnerable to Alien Attack, supports this hypothesis.
Tofu Mutilations Blamed on Aliens from Vega—Weekly World News, 4th December 2006 (via drieux).