A few quick things for you to read...

I like David Warren. He's an arrogant pinhead. He's prejudiced, hateful, and proudly unreasonable. Makes a good read from time to time.


EvolutionBlog : Warren on Atheism

Meanwhile, just in case you were looking for something truly stupid, go gawk in amazement at this column by David Warren of The Ottawa Citizen. Here's the opening:

I get such apoplectic letters, whenever I write about “evolutionism,” that I really can't resist writing about it again. This is not, of course, because I have any desire to tease such correspondents. Perish the thought. Rather, when a writer finds he has hit such a nerve, he can also know that he is approaching a great truth.

Wow! That's total amatuer hour.

Anytime you're reading a columnist who boasts that the negative correspondence he recieves is evidence of his penetrating insight, you're dealing with an amateur. Anytime you're reading a columnist who uses the cliche, “Perish the thought” as a way of suggesting sardonically that what he just denied is actually true, you're dealing with an amateur.

And of course, any time you're reading a columnist who uses the expression “evolutionism,” you're dealing with an amateur, at best.

Ed Brayton has a bit to say about the Creationist Grand Canyon narrative:

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Creationism and the Grand Canyon

A reader alerted me to this letter to the editor (scroll down to the one titled "Much Remains Untaught") of an Arkansas paper. The very first paragraph contains a claim that is certainly worth debunking: Our public schools still teach that the Grand Canyon was made by the Colorado River. Scientists and geologists decided years ago that it was made by a sudden major catastrophe similar to but much greater than the volcanic eruption at Mount St. Helens and that our Earth is fairly young. He is credulously repeating a claim from Steve Austin of the Institute for Creation Resarch comparing small canyons created by river flows busting through soft earth dams after the eruption of Mt. St. Helen's with the Grand Canyon. They actually claim that a "miniature Grand Canyon" was formed. This is truly one of the most laughable and dishonest claims in the creationist quiver.

jj at Unrepentant Old Hippie talks about education and faith:
unrepentant old hippie: The Great Evacuation

It's a given that if Focus on the Family is gnashing their teeth about anything, I'm a happy camper, and I pretty much don't care what's causing their anxiety. But this "Great Evacuation" happens to be a very cool phenomenon: if 50-85% "leave the faith" in their first year of college, that means all it takes is a little education to detoxify most of the young brains stultified from birth by religious fundamentalist feeble-mindedness. There's hope for all those Quiverfull kids!

Former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has a couple of things about terrorism.
Craig Murray - Met Chiefs Lie About Terrorism

Met Chiefs Lie About Terrorism

I know that headline comes in the "Old news" category, but for once it's official. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has ruled that the public were "Misled" over the death of Jean Charles De Menezes, the innocent Brazilian executed on the London Underground.

The lies which the Metropolitan Police told - from Sir Ian Blair down - in the ensuing cover-up were inexcusable.

Catalogue of Lies

- The Met maintained that De Menezes was a terrorist for 24 hours after they knew he was innocent.
The Met then proceeded to tell a series of lies about De Menezes behaviour to justify his killing. They said he had:
- Run into the tube station
- Vaulted the ticket barrier
- Raced through the subway and dashed onto the train
- Been wearing a bulky jacket from which wires protruded

These were 100% lie. In fact De Menezes had
- Picked up a newspaper in the station
- Used a ticket in the normal way
- Walked calmly throgu the station
- Been wearing tight clothing with no wires

These lies by the Met are inexcusable. In fact the IPCC were unable to get to grips with much else for lack of evidence - the cover-up went much deeper. Especially

- The CCTV footage of De Menezes throughout the station and at the shooting got "Lost" or corrupted

and here:
Craig Murray - Who's a Terrorist?

Who's a Terrorist?

According to Sky News, a former BNP candidate was jailed today for possession of a large number of chemicals including hydrogen peroxide, acetone, and hydrochloric acid, the main ingredients of TATP. This explosive acheived notoriety due to its alleged use in the 7/7 bombs and other incidents.

but he's not a terrorist.
And now it's dog walking time and then more Japanese study.

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