Elaine Morgan is a tenacious proponent of the aquatic ape hypothesis: the idea that humans evolved from primate ancestors who dwelt in watery habitats. Hear her spirited defense of the idea -- and her theory on why mainstream science doesn't take it seriously.
Richard Dawkins explains how vestigial organs like the stubby wings of the Flightless Cormorant were one of Darwin's key arguments for Evolution.From RichardDawkins.net
The Rev. Jonathan Falwell is following his father's footsteps to Washington.
Falwell will deliver the opening prayer Wednesday for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Falwell took over as pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church after his father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, died in 2007.
The younger Falwell didn't know if his father had ever delivered the opening prayer. But Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, which he credited with getting millions of conservative voters registered, electing Ronald Reagan and giving Republicans Senate control in 1980.
Jonathan Falwell said Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte invited him to fill the guest chaplain role and will introduce him to the body.
Anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing late-term abortion provider George Tiller two months ago at Tiller's Kansas church.
An atheist summer camp for children is taking place in Somerset, to offer a "godless alternative" to religious camps.
The five-day camp in Somerset for children aged eight to 17 rivals traditional breaks run by the Scouts and church groups.
Camp Quest aims to encourage scepticism and critical thinking.
Tackling the science behind the headlines, Liz journeys to meet a US scientist who is developing his own controversial solution to solving the world's energy crisis. Craig Venter, one of the first people to sequence the human genome, is working to create the first generation of artificial life.
Jewish people outside Jerusalem wishing to post a prayer on the Western Wall now have a new way of doing so - using the social networking service Twitter.
The prayers, sent as so-called tweets, are printed off and posted on the wall to sit alongside the thousands of other notes placed there by visitors.
Since the service began three weeks ago, hundreds of people have taken advantage of it.
Read more
Today was an exciting day. We are in Washington state. There is a push by the anti-gay forces in the state to repeal the Domestic Partnership legislation recently passed by the Washington legislature. Anti-gay organizations are trying to collect enough signatures to bring Referendum 71 to the ballot. This referendum seeks to repeal the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009, passed by the legislature, that gives registered domestic partners wherever they live in Washington many of the rights and protections already enjoyed by legally married couples.(via The Gay Atheist)
If the backers of Referendum 71 collect enough signatures to get it on the November ballot, then the question on the ballot will be: Should this bill be approve or rejected?
The anti-gay organizations are using paid signature gatherers in attempt to collect the required number of signatures needed to put the referendum on the ballot. The signatures are due this Saturday.
Read more
From Premier Christian Radio:
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You don't have to look far for claims of the miraculous. But what constitutes a "miracle" and do Christian beliefs in this area make sense?
Michael Shermer is a well-known atheist in the USA and Director of the Skeptics Society. He says miraculous claims always have a natural explanation. Adrian Holloway is a London Pastor and apologist. He claims to have witnessed the miraculous and says that Michael's skepticism is unjustified.
The male-dominated Arab world was given a sharp warning by Qatar’s Doha Debates that Muslim women expect greater freedom in choosing a husband.
An audience of more than 350 people who attended the last in the current season of debates voted 62 per cent to 38 in favour of a motion that Muslim women should be free to marry anyone they choose.
Reade more
It's not an empty box. The force is an invisible energy, it surrounds us and binds the galaxy together.(via @JoshTimonen)
This is a lecture given by Professor Alan Dershowitz on the topic of secularism. The talk was given during a 2007 conference in New York City, organized by the Center for Inquiry titled "Secuar Society and its Enemies."Thanks to Moiz Khan
Matt Ridley, an Oxford-educated zoologist, turned to journalism in 1983 when he got a job as The Economists science reporter. He soon became the magazines Washington correspondent and eventually served as its American editor.
Ridley has written several acclaimed books that combine clear explanations of complex biology with discussions of the sciences implications for human society. In the reason.tv interview, Ridley discusses some of the themes in The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature; The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation; Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters; and Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, & What Makes Us Human; as well as his forthcoming book which seeks to understand how and why human progress happens.
Paul Feine and Alex Manning interviewed Ridley in the Milton and Rose Friedman Reading Room at Chapman University in Orange, California.
Richard Dawkins shows how the relatively young island chain of Hawaii acts as a nursery of evolution as it moves over a volcanic hotspot in the Pacific Ocean, generating new islands. He shows how Drosophila flies have diverged on the different islands, driven by sexual selection.From RichardDawkins.net
A former crime scene investigator in Los Angeles, Bob has made a name for himself by searching for biblical relics based on the same techniques he used in law enforcement. Taking the bible as a literal guide, he's traced the route of the Jewish exodus form Egypt, searched for Noah's ark and probed the mystery surrounding the true location of mount Sinai...
This was a lecture given during a 2007 CFI conference "Secular Society and its Enemies." Singer runs through various topics relating to Ethics and the talk wraps up with a few minutes of Q&A.
The investigation netted 44 defendants -- 29 on corruption charges and 15 for alleged money laundering, acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra Jr. said at a news conference.
Among the 15 are five rabbis, including the national leader of the Syrian Jewish community. They are alleged to have laundered more than $3 million in a "high-volume, international money-laundering conspiracy," Marra said. Their alleged dealings stretched to Israel and Switzerland.
"These complaints paint a disgraceful picture of religious leaders heading money-laundering crews, acting as crime bosses. They used purported charities ... as vehicles for laundering millions of dollars in illicit funds," Marra said.
The rabbis named in the criminal complaints are accused of setting up charitable tax-exempt organizations at their synagogues that they used to launder money.
According to the criminal complaints, a confidential witness working for federal authorities approached the rabbis and offered to make donations to the charities in return for the rabbis writing back a check to the undercover agent. The rabbis collected a fee for the service by writing a smaller check back, sometimes returning $45,000 for a $50,000 donation to the charity, the complaints said. Read more
Dara O'Briain sets the record straight about the public understanding of science(via Pharyngula)
Connie Sonne from Denmark participated in the preliminary test for the Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge. Connie's tested claim was her ability to dowse items sealed in coin envelopes.
Testing protocol available upon request.
This panel discussion took place at a Center for Inquiry - New York City conference titled "Secular Society and its Enemies." The panel discusses a wide variety of topics, including, science, science education, the nature of science, the correct political methodology and much more.Thanks to Moiz Khan
Richard Dawkins, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan and Victor Stenger. Moderated by D.J. Grothe.
Richard Dawkins explains how microscopic algae called Diatoms uniquely evolved in Yellowstone Lake.From RichardDawkins.net
The U.S. Episcopal Church gave its clergy the go-ahead on Friday to bless some same-sex unions, such as civil partnerships in states that legally recognize them, setting the stage for further conflict with the wider Anglican world.
The resolution, passed on the final day of the church's triennial national convention, also directs church leaders to develop official rites, or liturgies, for the blessing of same-sex unions -- a move that could see the church eventually change its definition of marriage. Read more
Richard Dawkins explains how fungus-farming ants from Central and South America make their living.From RichardDawkins.net
Since Sunday, a steady stream of family, friends, neighbors and strangers has stopped by to pray and take pictures of the image.(via Pharyngula)
The Pachuca's say the image is more than a coincidence especially since it happened on the 12th.
The family says in Mexico, Dec. 12 is celebrated as the day of The Virgin Guadalupe. Onlookers say the image is a miracle because the distinct colors and outline of the image on the truck match the image of Virgin Guadalupe.
The Pachuca's say they will continue to welcome anyone who wants to see the image, because the image isn't going to go away anytime soon.
"I think we're going to just put it on a shelf outside, probably take off the mirror and keep it there cause its something special to us. I'm not going to wash it off," says Cristal Pachuca. Read more
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives is a 2004 Emmy award nominated television documentary series produced for the BBC. Written and hosted by Terry Jones, each half-hour episode examines a particular Medieval personality, with the intent of separating myth from reality.More of this series: The Peasant, The Damsel, The Minstrel, The Knight, The Philosopher, The Outlaw, The King
This is a 2 minute teaser of an interview conducted with magician, sceptic and author James Randi (randi.org) on 20th April 2008 exclusively for The Skeptic Magazine (UK). The video features Randi discussing and demonstrating a magic trick from one of Martin Gardner's books, which somehow fooled scientists on initial observation.(via Derren Brown Blog)
The full 52 minute interview will be released to coincide with the circulation of the relaunch issue of The Skeptic, in late July or early August 2009.
Richard Dawkins shows just how similar the Human and Chimpanzee genomes really are, with the help of a great visual from the University of Nebraska Museum.From RichardDawkins.net
How far has Ben Stein sunk? Far enough that I feel compelled to resuscitate the Ben Stein Watch, just to share this unfunny and positively harmful TV ad which is now being aired.(via Pharyngula)
“I went to freescore.com and found out my score for free”, says Ben, while an annoying squirrel holds up a sign with the word “FREE” in some horrible brush-script font.
A few points are worth noting here. First, the score itself is not very useful to consumers. What’s useful is the report — if there’s an error on the report, then the consumer can try to rectify it. Secondly, and much more importantly, if you want a free credit report, there’s only one place to go: annualcreditreport.com. That’s the place where the big three credit-rating agencies will give you a genuinely free copy of your credit report once a year, as required by federal law.
You won’t be surprised to hear that freescore.com is not free: in order to get any information out of them at all, you have to authorize them to charge you a $29.95 monthly fee. They even extract a dollar out of you up front, just to make sure that money is there.
...Read more
Richard Dawkins clears up the misunderstanding of Evolution that is all too common: If we descended from Chimpanzees, then why are there still Chimpanzees? Dawkins explains that we DID NOT descend from Chimpanzees—we both share a common ancestor.From RichardDawkins.net
Here's an interesting use of tweening: take 5 fossil skulls, use the computer to interpolate between them, and animate the results. 3.5 million years just fly by in 5 minutes.
(The sound track is a bit superfluous though—turn the sound down if you're at work)
Acclaimed writer and political scholar Christopher Hitchens may just be the only writer to have recently visited Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Hitchens - known for his keen wit, sharp political insight and often controversial opinions - examines the differences between the countries once linked as the "axis of evil," while revealing intriguing connections between the nations.*Requeued
A Washington woman accused of killing her four daughters told police that her girls were possessed by demons.(Thanks MelM)
A D.C. judge is spending a second day reviewing a recording of a police interrogation of Banita Jacks. The decomposing bodies of Jacks' daughters — ages 5 to 17 — were discovered in January 2008 when U.S. marshals came to evict her from her home.
Judge Frederick Weisberg is deciding whether to admit the interview as evidence in her trial. Jacks' attorneys want it excluded. Read more
Richard Dawkins shows how whales evolved from a cloven-hoofed ancestor, and reveals whales' closest modern-day cousin.From RichardDawkins.net
This short video was filmed on a visit to the University of Nebraska Museum in Lincoln during Richard Dawkins' 2009 American tour.
See the museum's "Explore Evolution" web page here
A family in Saudi Arabia is taking a "genie" to court, accusing it of theft and harassment, reports say.
They accuse the spirit of threatening them, throwing stones and stealing mobile phones, Al Watan newspaper said.
The family have lived in the same house near the city of Medina for 15 years but say they only recently became aware of the spirit. They have now moved out.
A local court is investigating. In Islamic theology, genies are spirits that can harass or possess humans.
Read more
Bill O'Reilly argues with Leslie Marshall and Warren Ballentine that the Air Force not flying in the God & Country Festival in Idaho is "dumb".(via Liberal Viewer)
Coming back from the break, he and his next guest Laura Ingraham talk about the previous guests behidn their backs and calls them "stupid".
Muhammad Hassan Al-Amin: Of course. The separation of religion and state goes without saying.Full transcript on YouTube
[...]
Religion and state are two different things. There cannot be such a thing as a religious state. A state is civil in essence, and therefore, a religious state is used by one group to facilitate [the establishment of] dictatorship and despotism. Religion must be separated from the state, and all the things that are presented as the absolute truth – that Islam constitutes both religion and state – have no foundation in Islamic thought or law. Islam is a religion. That's it. No more and no less. And the state is a state. A state is a man-made entity, which is chosen by the people and represents them, whereas religion is sacred. How can you incorporate the sacred into a worldly matter, about which people have different opinions?
[...]
A religious scholar who heads a political party is biased toward that party. When we have disagreements with him about this political party, we should be able to debate and disagree with him... With regard to political issues.
Hundreds of mostly same-sex couples "swarmed" the Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City near the Mormon Temple Sunday to protest the detention of a male couple, Derek Jones and Matt Aune, by LDS security guards last Thursday after they embraced and kissed on the plaza. Aune and Jones were cited for trespassing. Read more
JERUSALEM (AP) — Ultra-Orthodox Jews threw themselves under the wheels of an idling bus and in front of waiting cars to protest the opening of a parking lot on the Jewish Sabbath — an act they consider an abomination.
The municipality opened the lot on Saturdays last month to limit illegal parking in the city's ancient walled quarter. That enraged the ultra-Orthodox community and has provoked several straight weeks of protests because driving is a violation of the Sabbath under Jewish law.
Tensions between Jerusalem's religious and secular communities have been simmering for years as the ultra-Orthodox community has grown in size and influence. Secular residents say the religious are trying to impose their beliefs on Jerusalem, and the atmosphere is one reason thousands of secular Jerusalemites leave the city each year. Read more
Does the Brewers' home-field advantage include a supernatural sense of "team spirit"? Some players swear a hotel used by many of them is haunted.
A senior New Brunswick Roman Catholic priest is demanding the Prime Minister's Office explain what happened to the sacramental communion wafer Stephen Harper was given at Roméo LeBlanc's funeral mass.(via The Star and Pharyngula)
During communion at the solemn and dignified service held last Friday in Memramcook for the former governor general, the prime minister slipped the thin wafer that Catholics call "the host" into his jacket pocket.
In Catholic understanding, the host - once consecrated by a priest for the Eucharist - becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ. It is crucial that the small wafer be consumed when it is received. Read more
A team of British scientists claim to have achieved a world first by creating human sperm in a laboratory. The researchers believe it could eventually help men with fertility problems to conceive. But other experts have questioned the breakthrough. Skys health correspondent Thomas Moore reports.
Interviewer: You have said that the term "secularism" is taboo among the Arabs.
Murad Wahba: Any person who says he is secular they either slaughter him or accuse him of apostasy. This happened to Sheik 'Ali Abd Al-Razeq in 1925, to Taha Hussein in 1926, to Naguib Mahfouz, and to Farag Fouda, who they killed. Nevertheless, I feel secularism is a cultural necessity. I call for secularism now, and we have held four conferences about it, which were peaceful, except for some minor threats.
Interviewer: You recently said that fundamentalism has led Egypt to sterility.
Murad Wahba: The most important thing in fundamentalism is adherence to the literal religious text, rather than using the mind [to interpret] the text. In other words, it paralyzes the mind. The fundamentalists lead the paralyzing of the mind, which means the paralyzing of creativity and of thought, which leads to backwardness.
I made the 2008 feature documentary, Sputnik Mania. Critics and allies told me that I had to tell the story of what happened to American education during that period, how we changed ourselves so radically in science, engineering, and math -- our complete education system really. With the help of one wonderful collector of old footage, I made this story for schools, teachers, educational leaders. It shows what happens, and the footage proves it.(via @TEDchris)
If you have children or want to support your local school please buy this DVD.
Peter Hitchens vs. Ibrahim Mogra: Is Islam or Christianity the best future for Britain?
Peter Hitchens is a well known journalist and Anglican Christian. Unlike his atheist brother Christopher, he believes Christianity is an essential bedrock for society. He says Islam will fill the spiritual vaccuum of Britain if secularists have their way.
Ibrahim Mogra represents the Muslim Council of Britain. He says that Muslims are only interested in living harmoniously within society.
They discuss Sharia Law, multiculturalism, religious freedom and more.
Suppose you are out with a group of friends gazing at the night sky and someone says, did you know that they just found a black hole at the center of our galaxy and someone else mentions dark matter or the whole universe was smaller then an atom the instant before the big bang..No your friends arent Astor Physicists, they probable just have a good cheat sheet and now its your turn.
Hilarious sketch from the fourth episode of series three of 'That Mitchell and Webb Look.'(via Pharyngula)
A Woman was cured of cancer after undergoing chemo, surgery, and praying to a 19th century priest-- FOX News asks: Medical Miracle or Divine Intervention?
