The Eternal Gaijin

Don't turn to Sylvia Browne , okay? That's all I ask. The pope isn't openly predatory in these situations. Pope blesses picture of missing British girl | Top News | Reuters.com Powered by ScribeFire .

Position on Science and Evolution A Position Statement of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Ottawa Centre on Science & Evolution Approved by RASC Ottawa Centre Council, April 26, 2007 The RASC Ottawa Centre supports high standards of scientific integrity, academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas. It also respects the scientific method and recognizes that the validity of any scientific model comes only as a result of rational hypotheses, sound experimentation, and findings that can be replicated by others. The RASC Ottawa Centre, then, is unequivocal in its support of contemporary evolutionary theory that has its roots in the seminal work of Charles Darwin and has been refined by findings accumulated over 140 years. Some dissenters from this position are proponents of non-scientific explanations of the nature of the universe. These may include “creation science”, “creationism”, “intelligent design” or other non-scientific “alternatives to evolution”. While we respec...

FARK.com: (2831792) Japanese shopping center mascot accidentally named for slang term used to describe gay-themed manga. Since this is Japan, he is now wildly popular with nation's youth A few years ago the Asashi Evening News rolled itself into the International Herald Tribune and got a major boost in quality and quantity. A much better paper was forged out of this. Especially when compared with the typo-heavy Daily Yomiuri . Anyway the Asahi website has the full article: asahi.com : KYOTO: Queer coincidence turns shopping center's mascot into 'otaku' superstar - ENGLISH It appears that there is a local shopping street in the area around a shrine in Kyoto (please, kyo-toe , not Ki-yoh-toe . Write your MP) needed a mascot and a young girl designed one. 801-chan, pronounced "Yaoi-chan," is the mascot for the Misonobashi 801 shopping district, not far from Kyoto's World Heritage Kamigamojinja shrine. And true to its roots, the character was inspired by Ky...

Because I've just started to post at Vox as well as Blogger, I thought I'd cross post this to the other blog . Kansai (関西) -- the region of western Japan including Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Kobe and environs -- has it's own dialect of Japanese that is significantly different to the (Tokyo) standard. Like all countries, people speak differently from place to place. The differences can be subtle, as in Southern Ontario vs Northern Michigan, or they can be blatant enough to be noticeable to non-native and native speakers alike, as comparing Middlesbrough, Newfoundland and Texas might demonstrate. Kansai-ben is probably closer to the Middlesbrough to London type of comparison, with Kansai being Middlesbrough for our purposes. So here is today's East meets West comparison English: Thank you. Tokyo Dialect: Arigato Gozaimasu (有り難うございますor ありがとうございます) Kansai Dialect: Maido Okini (毎度おきに.) Please feel free to use this with family and friends -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewh...

I could consider this just based on the levels of proof provided: Home on the Strange: Who Is Your Savior? Powered by ScribeFire .

Pharyngula has the absolutely definitive round up here: Pharyngula: The Creation Museum Powered by ScribeFire .

-- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

It's already the 25th here, and it's raining a bitch so a towel will be monumentally useful all around. Remember Adams. Towel Day :: A tribute to Douglas Adams (1952-2001) Powered by ScribeFire .

Pharyngula has a little rundown on our Flintstone Paleontologist friend, Mr Kent Hovind. Pharyngula: Kent Hovind, working on his "world's most obnoxious prisoner" title Powered by ScribeFire .

The Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy in the US military is one of those things that I don't get. It seems that every time a group want to integrate into the military and society as a whole, some narrow-minded jackass (often toting a Bible) starts braying on against it. Some of the opposition to gays serving openly in the military seems to echo the hoo-ha over the integration of blacks into the military , including the ideas of unit cohesion, operational needs, and not using the military as an instrument of social change. The current administration in the States seems to think that homosexuality is so wrong that weakening the core skills needed in the Middle East is more reasonable than repealing the DADT policy. I've found a good little rundown here: Brilliant at Breakfast So what are the actual risks of having gays in the military? Surprisingly small, actually . Since the British military began allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces in 2000, none of its fears — a...

Hugh Laurie was made an OBE yesterday: CBC.ca Arts - Hugh Laurie honoured with OBE So who can forget him in Blackadder the Third? Congrats. Powered by ScribeFire .

This video gives the long version of Penn and Teller yelling, "Bullshit!" -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

Nothing like loving your fellow man. More on religious right terrorist arrested near Falwell's funeral - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth Powered by ScribeFire .

You scored as Scientific Atheist , These guys rule. I'm not one of them myself, although I play one online. They know the rules of debate, the Laws of Thermodynamics, and can explain evolution in fifty words or less. More concerned with how things ARE than how they should be, these are the people who will bring us into the future. Scientific Atheist 92% Apathetic Atheist 75% Spiritual Atheist ...

Nice list of self-contradictory thoughts from the Republican Party: Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted): To Be a Good Republican, You Must Believe .. Powered by ScribeFire .

Thru' Fark: FARK.com: (2819798) American Journalism Review says reporters could learn a lot from "The Daily Show," primarily being honest But didn't everyone kinda suspect this anyway? Powered by ScribeFire .

Yesterday I became the first person in my family to hold a driver's licence from another country when I managed to exchange my Ontario-issued licence for a Japanese one. However every little accomplishment comes with a price. And in Japan that price is usually a day of your life and most shreds of patience. Japanese bureaucrats could teach a lesson in how to be help-empty to everyone short of the Indians. (If you have doubts about the bureaucratic nature of India, buy a train ticket in Bangalore heading to Hospet. Go on. We'll wait.) There's a tendency with the Japanese bureaucracy to publish 4/5 of the information you need to get what you want. There seems to always be a hidden thing that they want that you don't have that no-one anywhere knows you need. I ended up at the Osaka Licence Testing Centre yesterday with a British compatriot to exchange our home licences for Japanese. The fun begins. We went to window 6, remember this number it will be important. The firs...

Ah, Falwell. Is there a more polarizing figure? Well, Christopher Hitchens, really do you mind if I call you Chris, Chris Hitchens is at it again. He's been handed a gold mine by having Falwell's death show up just as he's touring in support of his book. What does he have to say? Well, he's written an article: Jerry Falwell, faith-based fraud. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine And he's got a soundbite friendly bit on YouTube: Pharyngula has a link to a song that sums up Falwell pretty well. Pharyngula: Just seems appropriate today, for some reason Oh, I still don't miss him. Powered by ScribeFire .

Very few human beings would I rejoice in seeing dead. A larger number it doesn't trouble me that they're gone. Many more I'm happy I'm alive. Our friend Jerry Fallwell is one who bridges the first 2 categories. From Boing Boing is a collection of Falwell's bullshit. Enjoy Boing Boing: Falwell's stupidest quotes, direct from hell Powered by ScribeFire .

It's starting to look like a love-fest but he's the main game out there at the moment when it comes to a good mix of erudition and self-promotion. That said, I think his position on the Iraq War is untenable. In this clip Sean Hannity comes off as a ninny who hadn't even bother to memorize his talking points. I don't know if it's editing or if he did end the segment this way, but the little snip at the end "There is a god." smelt of cheap shot and desperation. onegoodmove: Hannity / Hitchens Mr Hannity - Counter Point: Powered by ScribeFire .

One of the funniest men in my lifetime (and slightly before it as well). 101 Greatest George Carlin Quotes Samples: 8.  You can’t fight City Hall, but you can goddamn sure blow it up. 10. Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy. 17. Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you . He loves you and he needs money. And of course: 26.  The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions. Powered by ScribeFire .

Over at Pooflingers Anonymous, Matt has a follow-up post on the results of a particularly egregious teacher-proselytizing-the-students story. Some, predictably including the dude's lawyer, think the teacher is the victim. I'll repeat that: some people think the teacher is the victim. Check out the post. -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

There's a good review of a book called Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea , by Christine Garwood here: http://thevanitypress.blogspot.com/2007/05/flat-earth.html I actually learned a bit from the review. Looking forward to the book itself. There are some interesting parallels between Flat Earthers of the Victorian period and Anti-evolutionist clown show of ours. (I'm thinking of Dr. Flintstone here) -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

There's probably some irony involved here. Think of it: a country that now pushes abstinence-only education once used Donald Duck to push condoms on soldiers. It's like finding out the Flintstones used to push cigs. My, how times change. Boing Boing: WWII poster of Donald Duck upset because he has no condom Powered by ScribeFire .

I must have tapped into the one day zeitgeist because the articles just keep flying on the 'spy coins' front. http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120088.html -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

-- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

A Brief History of Disbelief P. Zed Myers mentioned A Brief History of Disbelief the other day. He was having some problems find it in his area. Seems that it's causing a bit of controversy in the US, surprisingly. ( Pharyngula: Flex your muscles a little, infidels ) He pushes people to protest and push for this series. Either way, this is probably a good time to contact your local public broadcasting station and tell them you'd like to see them pick up this program, and pretty please, don't show it at 3am. Let's let the godless demographic make itself known, politely but firmly. It's not like we're lobbying Fox News. Don't you all suspect that public broadcasting's viewership is skewed our way? All it takes is a phone call, so let's make our existence known in this simple and unthreatening matter. I've seen A Brief History and I can say that Miller's style is slow, measured, uncontroversial in that languid BBC way. I did like seeing Theoden...

Thru' the Bad Astronomy Blog xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe URL for this image: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/conspiracy_theories.png Link to image. Powered by ScribeFire .

Remember the Poppy Quarters that came out for Remembrance Day back in 2005 (I've still got one somewhere, 2 international moves later) and had a small poppy painted on them, hence the name. It was a special edition quarter of limited circulation, and available Well, FOX News remembers the hysteria and gives the rundown. Even the Americans have to admit that this was just a case of what my Dad calls, "Good, old fashioned Yankee overkill." Oh, and the mysterious 'nanotechnology' present on the coins? Plastic coating to keep the poppy from rubbing off. Check out the link: FOXNews.com - 'Poppy Quarter' Behind Spy Coin Alert - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum Bonus Point and Laugh: Extra Bonus: Boing Boing has a similar story on an external link . Powered by ScribeFire .

This article ( The torture of the grave Islam and the afterlife - International Herald Tribune ) appeared in the International Herald Tribune on the weekend. The interesting thing about it is how this belief adds a layer of incentive to making a short cut, any short cut, through to paradise. Everyone knows, of course, that after death martyrs go straight to the Garden of Eden, where they recline on couches, savor meats and fruits and enjoy the company of dark-eyed houris while listening to the sound of flowing rivers. But what happens to the vast majority of Muslims, those who do not die as martyrs? Let's not worry about what the houris are at the moment, despite any dispute that may still linger. The real point is: According to Islamic doctrine, between the moment of death and the burial ceremony, the spirit of a deceased Muslim takes a quick journey to Heaven and Hell, where it beholds visions of the bliss and torture awaiting humanity at the end of days. ... In the grave, the d...

Wow. The same paper that runs David Warren 's risible column ran this column ( Those fanatical atheists ) in defence of the new(ish) trend of forthright questioning of religion in the media area. You have to like an opening paragraph like this: Yesterday was one major religion's holy day. Today is another's. Tomorrow is a third's. So I thought this is an opportune moment to say I think all three of these faiths -- these mighty institutions, these esteemed philosophies, these ancient and honoured traditions -- are ridiculous quackery. We're with you. Dawkins, Harris, et. al. have a point when they say we should hold religion to the same standards we expect from other areas of life. The ongoing deference to religion as if someone believing something without evidence makes it beyond questioning should end. Private, quiet faith is one thing. But when the guy holding the launch codes believes the end of the world could come any day and that's a good thing, those who ...

Calvin and Hobbes parody. I'm a huge fan of Calvin and was saddened when Watterson retired. This disturbs me, but now we have the definitive answer about Hobbes. Tip O' The Hat and Wag O' the Finger to Fark -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

Something that's been bugging me for a while is Jack the Ripper. Perhaps not so much in a literal he-lives-next-door-and-plays-his-music-too-loud-at-4-am-and-his-dog-shits-on-my-doorstep sense but more in a I've-bumped-into-Jack-related-info-recently-and-I-find-myself-less-convinced-every-day sense. When we first moved back to Canada I pulled Patricia Cornwell's Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed from the ol' Ottawa Public Library. Let me back up. It was a little before this, still in Japan in those days, that I saw From Hell which put forth the notion of the Royal Family involvement and merged it with the second theory of Freemason involvement. There were some short docs on the special features which briefly discussed some of the theories. I read the original graphic novel a while later (don't you wish Kinokuniya books had chairs like Chapters ?) Now let's face it, it's not like that was my intro to Saucy Jack. The image and legends aboun...

The Royal Canadian Mint (I'm assuming the one on Sussex Drive in Ottawa) has announce a new coin with a face value of one meeellion dollars. (Yea, like I could resist that one.) Spare any change? Canada unveils C$1 million coin | Oddly Enough | Reuters Powered by ScribeFire .

And for the Canadians out there, here's something with a Newfie touch. -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

I've been interested in terrorism since university, but haven't really been tracking it for a couple of years. However, the last couple of days I've seen a few things around here and there that highlighted a few things about terrorism that have rekindled a bit of interest. First of all, a review of Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. (Link: Politics in the Zeros_archi »Blog Archive » Buda’s Wagon. A Brief History of the Car Bomb ) Interestingly enough, the first car bomb was used in the US in 1920 by a guy of Mario Buda. The weapon so tightly associated with Muslims and the Middle East, especially Iraqi outdoor cafes, is actually an American invention. It develops and comes back with a vengeance. The Zionist Stern Gang used car bombs in the late 1940’s to blow up buildings in Palestine in an attempt to drive out the British and terrorize Palestinians. The Irgun and Haganah, underground Zionist groups labeled as terrorists by the British, quickly followed sui...

It's always bad to be sloppy, whether you're tired or the dog's barking or whatever other distractions may be around. This should be the reading he gave: This video is 70min of Dawkins taking questions at R-MWC after his talk. It's not the whole presentation as I first posted. Although some of the questions are familiar from shorter clips posted elsewhere, it's interesting to see the whole thing together and get a sense of the room in response to Dawkins and his ideas. -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

This has been around for a while but I just found it again cruising YouTube. -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

Onegoodmove.org , a great compendium of links and multimedia files, has a few Christopher Hitchens clips up right now. With his new book, Hitchens has decided to get involved in the religious debate. He's stubborn, occasionally inaccurate, and infuriating; he's also eloquent and thought-provoking. On the Daily Show ( onegoodmove: God Is Not Great ) he crosstalked with Stewart about religion's value. Stewart There's also a panel discussion that Hitchens participated in. onegoodmove: Christopher Hitchens onegoodmove: More Christopher Hitchens Hitchens does a great job of demolishing any counter-arguments thrown at him. Powered by ScribeFire .

It's nice to see that theocracy is a bad thing for others: The Wall of Separation » Blog Archive » Bauer’s About-Face: Religious Right Warrior Trumpets Secularism – For Turkey but is still okay for the US. Does John McCain know that both the names League of Nations and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are already taken? McCain favors 'League of Democracies' - USATODAY.com or that neither of them ends particularly well. Powered by ScribeFire .

I good place to look at the Conspiratorial Mindset: denialism blog : Conspiracy Found through Pharyngula Powered by ScribeFire .

I'm a big fan of the new Doctor Who shows. They're sharp, fun and occasionally scary. The British know one thing better than anyone: how use TV to scare the bejeebers out of kids. From IMDB I found these keywords associated with Doctor Who: Plot keywords for: "Doctor Who" (2005)     * Extraterrestrial     * Man With No Name     * Regeneration     * Unlikely Hero     * Space Opera     * Eccentricity     * Girl Heroine     * Doctor Hero     * Action Heroine     * Reincarnation     * Tragic Hero     * Fish Out Of Water     * Space Hero     * Conflict     * Telephone     * Dark Past     * Telephone Booth     * Telephone Box     * Companion     * Police Box   ...

There's a growing amount of evidence and opinion that Abstinence-Only sex education is a failure and actually leads to higher rates of premarital sex, STDs and unwed pregnancy. So the football coach screaming "It's not a muscle; don't exercise it!" hasn't worked for the last 50 years? Really? It's another triumph of ideology over reason to even think that you could take teenagers in the height of hormonal change and get them to 'Just Say No' in the parlance of another failed abstinence program of the 80's. We're not even wired to take drugs and that program didn't work; how could it be expected to work on what may be our single strongest instinct and compulsion? Boggles the mind. The Abstinence-Only Delusion - New York Times Powered by ScribeFire .