tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156478032011-07-28T23:10:38.579+09:00Dedicated to that sense of feeling a little out of place at all times - at home and abroad; in high and low culture; along the political spectrum. Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever - Napoleon Bonaparte. Old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false - Edward O. Wilson.The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.comBlogger9811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-62797104701912948732010-01-24T05:54:00.001+09:002010-01-24T05:54:13.258+09:00

Just when I think I hit the high notes of religious doucheitude for the start of the new year, Ed Brayton discovers a new twist. And a collection of douchey things said by the great Pat Robertson.I'm thinking of buying a hermit cave and hiding there until the apocalypse, then re-emerging in a mohawk and assless chaps looking for gas in the desert.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-24372634566834246692010-01-22T07:46:00.001+09:002010-01-22T07:46:43.150+09:00

Sigh. Sky News just had a story onthe "choking game," a new internet driven craze where school kids choke each other until unconscious, for shits and giggles. There were any number of BS markers. First, the first victim died of autoerotic asphyxiation - not really the same thing. The second victim died 16 years ago.The tone of the piece was to give the impression that millions of kids were doing

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-52234024070000204522010-01-18T04:10:00.001+09:002010-01-18T04:10:29.910+09:00

I can hardly believe how much crap gets spouted on a daily basis. We're gearing up for an election sometime before mid-May here in the UK, and as we all cynically know that will cause the bullshit-o-meter to hit the redline. Tories, Labour and Lib-Dems, Oh my!So there's only a few moments before my brain explodes talking about politics so let's skip to making fun of god-botherers for a minute.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-43815136837564858242010-01-11T00:55:00.001+09:002010-01-11T00:55:39.474+09:00

Yay. Sorry. Premature. Never mind.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-78309233009495710992010-01-09T03:34:00.001+09:002010-01-09T03:34:24.414+09:00

50 reasons why Tokyo is the greatest city in the world | CNNGo.com

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-3977992794140344182010-01-06T07:00:00.001+09:002010-01-06T07:00:02.547+09:00

Kobe as a city has a significant Christian population, largely due to its extended history of foreign settlement and trading. Over the time we lived in its burbs I found a small, but larger than expected, number of churches in our neighbourhood. We had Japanese neighbours who were various stripes of Christian and had free Japanese language copies of the Watchtower off our next-door neighbours.But

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-24824366652449402502009-11-15T09:03:00.001+09:002009-11-15T09:03:03.143+09:00

Or not...Just another great moment in Canadian relations....

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-12913592447383711542009-10-23T19:45:00.001+09:002009-10-23T19:45:26.491+09:00

What can you not prove with a little mathishness? A good question.About a month ago there was a little coverage about a pharmacy put up its online calculator that tells you the number of indirect sexual partners you've had. What is an indirect sexual partner it's someone you've not had sex with but one of your sexual partners has. Which basically is that old urban myth twaddle about you're not

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-49963156844192134522009-10-18T18:00:00.001+09:002009-10-18T18:00:32.668+09:00

A justice in the US regularly quizzes couples to make sure they aren’t mixed race before issuing marriage license; if they are they don’t get one. Fuckin’ fuck. In 2009 how the fuck does this happen? And in a stunning show of cognitive dissonance these two quotes: Keith Bardwell, of Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana, denied racism but said mixed-race children were not readily accepted by

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-35769692474096572552009-10-06T00:19:00.001+09:002009-10-06T00:19:27.546+09:00

The universe is not "fine-tuned"Not really sure what else to say about this. Clear and well presented.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-47180741194441051312009-10-03T20:05:00.001+09:002009-10-03T20:05:13.103+09:00

That’s cause they’re different fucking words. Now get on with the vaccinations.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-76174771184666021532009-10-03T02:30:00.001+09:002009-10-03T02:30:19.561+09:00

Nope. Continue your day.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-44046546183455271042009-10-02T19:20:00.001+09:002009-10-02T19:20:09.694+09:00

As long as I've been reading Bad Astronomy I thought I'd seen most of the arguments against the moon landing. They're nuts but they're based on some misperceived reality.Through Steven Novella of the NESS, I learned of a whole new form of crazy:Man On The Moon–A Colossal Hoax that Cost Billions of Dollars | Hare Krishna CommunityAlthough many believe man first reached the moon in July, 1969, we

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-59036659535195488452009-09-30T17:56:00.001+09:002009-09-30T17:56:37.344+09:00

Rick Mercer's rants on politics and foolishness are one of the things I miss about living overseas for most of my adult life. I'm sure they're not as good as they used to be. Nothing is. My, don't the police look young these days.But in this article he nails why Canadians are ceasing to give a shit about national level politics. Why no one wants an election - The Globe and Mail

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-53588808889288614792009-09-26T02:08:00.001+09:002009-09-26T02:08:49.613+09:00

ReligiousilYou may inconsistently feel the need both oppose health care reform and to berate others about charity and human decency.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-32020808593933671592009-09-20T17:21:00.001+09:002009-09-20T17:21:27.929+09:00

It's not just some place I've been hiding for a couple of weeks while we're trying to sell the flat and move a little further into the 'burbs.No, it's also the subject of a good Radio 4 programme that's still available on iPlayer that goes a nice way to setting the record straight.BBC NEWS | UK | Bermuda Triangle plane mystery 'solved'

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-55425105266206195922009-08-27T01:48:00.001+09:002009-08-27T01:48:43.882+09:00

There is just almost nothing I can say that covers my feelings at reading these things. I don't think I can plumb the depths that this pulls the soul down to.The fact that a) someone, anyone, can defend torture b) there exists no political will to do anything about it and, not least, c) that it could happen in a modern first world democracy, such as the US just beggars belief.There are others

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-74359228758040211742009-08-21T19:13:00.001+09:002009-08-21T19:13:50.120+09:00

How about some fucking handrails here and there. Like right next to the gaping chasms you have all throughout the inside of your Death Star?Star Wars Design FlawsThe new Star Trek movie, good as it was, has the same huge-drop-no-handrail problem.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-40898790449248175072009-08-19T01:24:00.001+09:002009-08-19T01:24:13.703+09:00

This is like a catalog of unalloyed stupidity. I really couldn't want for more. HT to Dispatches.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-21584724103250062932009-08-18T23:37:00.001+09:002009-08-18T23:37:11.128+09:00

BBC NEWS | UK | Embassies plead 'big issues only'British Embassies are pleading to Brits abroad to take them more seriously. Or at least try a tiny, tiny amount to sort their own asses out before calling the mission. The problem is Brits asking stupid, irrelevant or outrageous things of staff and calling it an emergency. When you look at the list of calls in this article remember one thing: your

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-52448092935488401972009-08-18T23:14:00.001+09:002009-08-18T23:14:12.797+09:00

Somebody finally said it.TheStar.com | Opinion | Harper consistently embarrasses Canada abroadWell in the MSM, anyway. These guys have been on it the whole time.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-72243585115797612122009-08-11T21:54:00.001+09:002009-08-11T21:54:33.462+09:00

I currently live in the country that coined the phrase "cleanliness is next to godliness." Coining a phrase and living up to it are two different things. Shower-shy Britons prove a washout - Home News, UK - The IndependentBritons do not scrub up well with two in five men and a third of women failing to have a daily shower, research revealed today.Just over one in ten (11.5%) people in the UK

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-86815313208489389662009-08-11T18:07:00.001+09:002009-08-11T18:07:05.120+09:00

Today's lesson: when in doubt, vet who you sponsor a bit more thoroughly. Tim Hortons backs out of anti-gay marriage eventTim Hortons has reversed its decision to sponsor a Rhode Island rally held by a U.S. group that opposes same-sex marriage, after encountering fierce criticism for the move.The August 16 event, organized by the National Organization for Marriage, is billed as a "Celebrate

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-68295344610918471942009-08-10T22:34:00.001+09:002009-08-10T22:34:48.616+09:00

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-86079920439930869292009-08-10T05:59:00.001+09:002009-08-10T05:59:22.380+09:00

First the bullshit. Then the smackdown.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-69417911841190907852009-08-09T05:07:00.001+09:002009-08-10T18:02:18.252+09:00

I haven't mentioned our favourite Flintstone Paleontologist, Kent Hovind, recently; not least because he's serving years and years in PMITA prison for tax evasion. Well, small update. Looks like he's still got a few debts to the government that he needs to pay off, in addition to that big ol' debt to society. So resolving those monetary type debts means that his Dinosaur Adventure Land has been

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-77996220431954485922009-08-05T01:05:00.001+09:002009-08-05T01:05:25.848+09:00

We’ve been back in the UK for a while now. And for some reason the confluence of Canadian and British politics has shined fairly bright to me. The overall story arcs have followed similar tracks, though the Dominion has pulled slightly ahead this lap. Years ago, there was a Tory government in power that brought in massive changes, privatized several major publicly held companies, pushed the free

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-64905790918517812752009-08-04T21:07:00.001+09:002009-08-04T21:07:09.761+09:00

It's a weird thing watching TV in Japan. There's the endless tarento (talents) who may or may not be the most ironically named thing since the UK got a newspaper called the Sun. Then there are the endless repetitive dramas, often set in a traditional neighborhood, with their derivative story lines.And then there are the commercials. But, sometimes you see a commercial that hits a new low for

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-14891937095201448942009-07-31T22:54:00.001+09:002009-07-31T22:54:13.268+09:00

What is it with the asshats who come up with these policies? Twenty years later they're always sorry they did the thing that everyone else knew wasn't even going to work.Hit & Run > "Legal Age 21 has not worked." Yes, we know. - Reason Magazine"Legal Age 21 has not worked." Of course, any 20-year-old could, and probably would, tell you that. But the quote in question was written by Dr. Morris

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-46725224287443859682009-07-30T02:05:00.001+09:002009-07-30T02:05:45.094+09:00

Beware the spinal trapThis is an edited version of an article published in The Guardian for which Singh is being personally sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association.Click here for the latest news about the case from Sense About Science or view their Twitter updates here.Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all, but the research suggests chiropractic therapy has mixed results – and

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-52663890336222220112009-07-29T22:11:00.001+09:002009-07-29T22:11:31.985+09:00

Bloggers around the world are reprinting Simon Singh’s artical critical of the BCA. Support you local Simon Singh.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-83627600527261680552009-07-29T18:05:00.001+09:002009-07-29T18:05:27.595+09:00

I like the fact that the Guardian just thinks this shit is crazy.In this Republican dystopia, Obama's not even a citizen | Michael Tomasky | Comment is free | The GuardianLast Friday, Orrin Hatch, the veteran Republican senator from Utah, announced that he would vote against the confirmation to our supreme court of judge Sonia Sotomayor. Hatch is a devout conservative, and Sotomayor seems pretty

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-8476325318601423482009-07-28T22:07:00.001+09:002009-07-28T22:07:21.807+09:00

Not all terror threats are created equal. This we know from the right wing whack-a-doodle blow up some months back about Bush-era created, Obama-era published report on right wing extremist groups. We know this from the easy time the media have given the re-born militia movement in the States. And we know this from the actual use of terror laws in the UK, where the more Caucasian, and thus more

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-17536126067331897522009-07-27T20:46:00.001+09:002009-07-27T20:46:11.966+09:00

Commissioner who refused to marry same-sex couple loses appealAnd well he fucking should. Now do your job or find another fucking one...

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-57022040859337271762009-07-24T00:13:00.001+09:002009-07-24T00:13:58.532+09:00

CTV Ottawa- CTV Ottawa legend Les Lye passes away - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian TelevisionActor and broadcaster Les Lye passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84.Born in Toronto, Lye came to Ottawa after graduating from Lorne Greene's Academy of Radio Arts in 1948.He joined CFRA Radio, where he served listeners for more than a decade. It was at CFRA, that he worked with Rich Little and

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-64073286356423324782009-07-23T02:36:00.001+09:002009-07-23T02:36:28.666+09:00

toothpastefordinner.com

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-30050553533634533192009-07-22T19:53:00.001+09:002009-07-22T19:53:35.647+09:00

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-61986404106625218872009-07-21T23:42:00.001+09:002009-07-21T23:42:25.412+09:00

Hit & Run > Congressman Says 'Super-Marijuana' Gives You the Munchies for Brains - Reason Magazine

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-30073754978950370332009-07-21T21:44:00.001+09:002009-07-21T21:44:26.052+09:00

Really, does it come as a surprise that the police might not 'properly' use the extensive, pervasive, intrusive CCTV systems in the UK?BBC NEWS | UK | Police 'not using CCTV properly'The police are failing to use CCTV to catch as many criminals as they could, a senior officer has told the BBCJust for a perspective, here's a link telling you about CCTV density.CCTV density-maps of the UK - Boing

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-22142748036464573662009-07-21T02:18:00.001+09:002009-07-21T02:18:14.929+09:00

Even mathematicians run scared of our libel laws now | Nick Cohen | Comment is free | The Observer"Wrong opinions and practices gradually yield to fact and argument: but facts and arguments, to produce any effect on the mind, must be brought before it," said John Stuart Mill. But the average British judge does not believe that free debate in the marketplace of the mind will expose "wrong opinions

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Kent Police clamp down on tall photographers • The RegisterKent Police set a new legal precedent last week, as they arrested a photographer on the unusual grounds of "being too tall".What is making this ridiculous in the extreme is the fact that there's never a suspicious action or any other form of reasonable cause. Worse yet, the police overstep the very guidelines that keep getting quoted when

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-62425320361249574092009-07-16T17:07:00.001+09:002009-07-16T17:07:19.676+09:00

Birther follow-up at Canadian Cynic.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-54251424171668585932009-07-16T00:39:00.001+09:002009-07-16T00:39:52.886+09:00

They've found a good formula -- Fucktard + lawyer = Bullshit notoriety. Soldier: Obama not U.S. born, can't send me to Afghanistan - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-67247010410658890692009-07-15T23:56:00.001+09:002009-07-15T23:56:16.495+09:00

If you haven’t heard of the recent child abuse reports in Ireland, hit the Googles. We’ll wait. Pretty fucked up, eh? It’s a mess. On the other side, it seems that there is a forming backlash against the power of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Part of this backlash is a movement to leave the church. It seems that this is belied a bit by the recent passing of the Blasphemy Law in Ireland. We

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-79839479165111496952009-07-15T21:06:00.001+09:002009-07-15T21:06:18.128+09:00

Warning, uses the word horseshit a lot.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-42004171020528482002009-07-14T22:13:00.001+09:002009-07-14T22:13:12.230+09:00

Ah, the tanuki, that strange little creature you see on shelves, in gardens and standing on their own balls outside an izakaya. What are they like? But more importantly, what can they do with their ballsacks? A lot, apparently.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-22183114353075687952009-07-13T00:11:00.001+09:002009-07-13T00:11:41.467+09:00

Okay, I swear a lot. Which is why I'm glad to see this headline in the Independent. Swearing outbursts 'can lessen pain' - Science, News - The IndependentThere could be a good reason why hitting one's thumb with a hammer is likely to unleash the Gordon Ramsey within, say scientists.F-word outbursts, like those the celebrity chef is famous for, can actually lessen pain, according to the

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-55578784288831724552009-07-09T21:48:00.001+09:002009-07-09T21:48:44.972+09:00

Speaking of the BNP, Jeremy Hardy said that you don't want to give them the oxygen of publicity, nor do you want to give them the oxygen of oxygen.This is why.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-60897082648352331102009-07-09T19:17:00.001+09:002009-07-09T19:17:24.773+09:00

Steorn perpetual motion machine, amazingly, may not work: independent jury resigns – Bad Science

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-30524732964039472492009-07-08T06:44:00.001+09:002009-07-08T06:44:34.222+09:00

London bombings memorial unveiledNo further comment needed.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-43318800230107876952009-07-07T21:51:00.001+09:002009-07-07T21:51:30.002+09:00

Delivered with a British accent it sounds even more authoritative.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-58389526382568985972009-07-07T20:33:00.001+09:002009-07-07T20:33:03.479+09:00

Tim Hortons may be coming home.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-22166532789120640112009-07-07T17:49:00.001+09:002009-07-07T17:49:38.611+09:00

Weird. Apparently all the years of army worship in the States has reached over and seeped into the religious community. Behold, the 21st century version of the Salvation Army.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-58579574562681577772009-07-07T02:58:00.001+09:002009-07-07T02:58:14.095+09:00

Somewhere along the way I stumbled on this old article at Happy Jihad's House of Pancakes and looked though it. One thing struck me - Chinese characters prove the Bible. Sure. But, as a former Japan resident, I feel I can comment on this and I will.Bullshit! To elaborate. Some whack-a-doodle decided that he as a non-Chinese/Japanese speaker could prove that the elements that make up kanji

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-86706752298702551352009-07-06T20:18:00.000+09:002009-07-06T20:19:01.543+09:00

Um, yes. You claim that Leonardo Da Vinci created the Turin Shroud and made the case recently in the TV documentary. Could you give an explanation of why the Shroud has known, documented provenance from 1357, where Da Vinci was born in 1452?

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Homeopathic A&E That Mitchell and Webb Look: Homeopathic A&E

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-61791263282324186612009-07-03T01:09:00.001+09:002009-07-03T01:09:51.988+09:00

after you try some of that delicious, delicious cock.HT to Rebecca Watson. (if memory serves.)

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-72582772372797969292009-06-25T19:49:00.001+09:002009-06-25T19:49:47.943+09:00

Facts that cannot be supported sprout up everywhere. Sometimes they get debunked.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-32289398419775535732009-06-24T23:19:00.001+09:002009-06-24T23:19:29.907+09:00

The current meme around these parts is to say that 1 in 20 drinks in bars is spiked with something or other, leading Andy Parsons to opine that it's a great excuse for bunking off work the next day as statistically speaking one of your drinks must have been spiked.But, like the pissy peanuts in a bar studies, no one knows where these numbers come from. They just seem to have shown up one day in

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Flowcharting the gay marriage debate - Boing Boing

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Your complete guide to obfuscating weaseldom.Hullabaloo

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-18307007808650171412009-06-21T02:04:00.001+09:002009-06-21T02:04:07.990+09:00

Just go read this.Too much panic on the dance floor if you ask me.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-52748532997988580892009-06-12T23:01:00.001+09:002009-06-12T23:01:35.648+09:00

Google has been getting itself in occasional trouble a lot with Google Maps. First there were the nude sunbathers that obsessives found in various back yards. At my lowest points, I've never had the kind of free time that would allow me to search every green space on the planet in search of low-res boobs. Then came StreetView with its car-mounted cameras zooming around getting photos of men

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Bogus, dude.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-49244207971278915932009-06-12T03:06:00.001+09:002009-06-12T03:06:18.800+09:00

HT to Canadian Cynic

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-6153933674056567122009-06-06T17:41:00.001+09:002009-06-06T17:41:26.029+09:00

At last, the internet can give you the answer:

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-73560250523041909452009-06-03T00:52:00.001+09:002009-06-03T00:52:29.613+09:00

And Simon Singh.Bogus, dude.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-44368684769851719582009-06-02T20:37:00.001+09:002009-06-02T20:37:27.519+09:00

Several years ago during my university days, a lady I knew got married and seemed happy, at least in the short term. Then my girlfriend and I didn't see her for some amount of time. I ran into her waiting for an OCTranspo bus and we got to talking. In the few months she'd been married to her husband, they'd come to a crisis of some form or another. She got out of it by becoming a born-again

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-1941790908477193402009-06-02T19:18:00.001+09:002009-06-02T19:18:20.806+09:00

Good analysis of Darth Cheney and his inability to STFU and enjoy his Haliburton millions.Foreign Policy In Focus | World Beat | Vol. 4, No. 21 | Nightmare on Cheney StreetHorror movies usually follow the same script. The monster — whether genetically modified, abused as a child, or flown in from Alpha Centauri — picks off the frightened teenagers one by one. After many thrills and chills, the

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Thunderf00t strikes again. H/T Too Many TribblesWhy do people laugh at creationists? (part 30)

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-41154460006437980092009-05-30T00:08:00.001+09:002009-05-30T00:08:40.467+09:00

Every so often my mum sends me an email giving me some kind of scare about health or the Moozlims! or some fucking thing. In return I send her a link to Snopes or Just Fucking Google It. There is a dearth of facts and truthful reflection on both sides of the aisle these days. As you may have notices when checking your blogs or email. (I will say this, in the last several years the right has had a

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A nice CNN video between a drug warrior and drug realist. Milk: The Gateway Drug - Boing BoingIt does make you ask the following questions:Have you ever met a drug user who didn't drink alcohol?How many drug users started up by smoking?Why are those two gateway drugs illegal?Awaiting your answers.

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I give you: Tucker Carlson's right-wing HuffPo killer."Tell the truth, and be accurate," Carlson said of the venture's goals. "It's very important to live up to the basic standards of journalism."I wish you luck, Tuck. With a mission statement like that how could you not live up to it?

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-54139568698806063992009-05-25T20:04:00.001+09:002009-05-25T20:04:15.103+09:00

New Humanist reports that New Scientist has reinstated the article it pulled down previously.Good for them. BTW, support your local Simon Singh.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-53108695118832570102009-05-15T23:51:00.001+09:002009-05-15T23:51:09.413+09:00

they've already come after geology and biology, now they're coming after astronomy.Texas is as fucked as the little guy in the prison shower.'Texas is only 6000 years old' by Phil Plait - BadAstronomyBlog - RichardDawkins.net

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-63064742341907229242009-05-15T22:32:00.001+09:002009-05-15T22:32:10.661+09:00

Mr Magoo could have seen this one coming from the horizon. If you give the police, or anyone if we're honest, the power to stop and search without cause, warrent or reprisals they're going to use it.BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Capital sees rise in terror stopsSomebody in London is stopped and searched every three minutes, according to new figures obtained by BBC London.The Metropolitan

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Oprah has jumped into bed with Jenny McCarthy. Let me rephrase that...nasty image. Oprah is now working with Jenny McCarthy to give her a platform to spout off on her anti-vaxx bullshit. It's nice to see someone stand up and call bullshit on that one. Why is Oprah Winfrey promoting vaccine skeptic Jenny McCarthy? - By Arthur Allen - Slate Magazine Celebrities take on all kinds of causes. They

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Watch a guy avoid a question with all his heart and still get some praise for intellectual honesty. Chris Matthews 'Destroys' GOP Rep. Mike Pence On Evolution/Science QuestionHT to Canadian Cynic

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-92076368601007456532009-05-01T22:33:00.001+09:002009-05-01T22:33:57.577+09:00

SMAP are huge. SMAP are everywhere. SMAP are an entertainment industry. SMAP was, one of them anyway, wandering around drunk and naked in a park.Singer of Japanese pop band Smap arrested on suspicion of public indecency | World news | guardian.co.uk

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-75794159045065175362009-05-01T22:25:00.001+09:002009-05-01T22:25:06.016+09:00

Drug decriminalization has reared its head again.Hit & Run > Recently at Reason.tv: Glenn Greenwald on Civil Liberties, David Post on Jefferson's Moose, Matt Kibbe on Tea Parties - Reason Magazine

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-33439489423118670432009-04-30T17:57:00.001+09:002009-04-30T17:57:20.377+09:00

Comedians in the UK are a skeptical lot. It seems that the average comedian here is atheistic and enjoy showing their science and rationality chops. Marcus Brigstocke, Eddie Izzard, Robin Ince, Ricky Gervais all do routines you might want to swot up for.Below, Dara O'Brian gives it to homoeopathy and psychics. Look around for his "mixed marriage" routine. Dara OBriain Talks Funny 2008 Part

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-18822164646281875242009-04-29T19:23:00.001+09:002009-04-29T19:23:36.248+09:00

If Atheists Ruled the World

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-23843408733627988702009-04-29T18:14:00.001+09:002009-04-29T18:14:25.938+09:00

BBC NEWS | England | Berkshire | Programme teaches pupils to thinkThe headmaster of an independent school has employed a thinker-in-residence and a philosopher-in-residence to teach pupils "to think and reason".Dr Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire, believes the teaching of reasoning and philosophy is a "basic right".[snip]Pupils will learn how to construct

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-40471305156100667392009-04-29T17:15:00.001+09:002009-04-29T17:15:08.115+09:00

House passes bill too gross to talk about - OregonLive.comThe proposed new law nobody wants to talk about would make it a second degree sex abuse crime to propel "a dangerous substance at another person." That substance being semen or other bodily fluid flung out of sexual desire.Via Reasonthis is just another of those WTF moments I get when I read the InterToobz.

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Mercilessly scrapped from Jack of Kent.The issue of the Tomlinson death at the G20 remains contentious here. The problem is that there aren't a lot of facts to go on -- and they keep changing.The basic outlines have more or less come out, with some extra facts floating around and some "facts" being endlessly hammered into you with dubious or no provenance.There is a pretty well established

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-43891250514354698552009-04-27T02:41:00.001+09:002009-04-27T02:41:49.137+09:00

Bring Your Own Crazy.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-10873317402737080802009-04-22T18:54:00.001+09:002009-04-22T18:54:56.936+09:00

No. Now get on with your life.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-31357417595940403982009-04-22T17:27:00.001+09:002009-04-22T17:27:58.991+09:00

Cool results from an experiment.How Does the Brain Form Sentences?: Scientific American

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-72388997842603008742009-04-22T04:19:00.001+09:002009-04-22T04:19:38.547+09:00

It looks like Radio 4's "Thought for the Day" will now take advice and contributions from humanists. This has been a long standing chicken bone in the throat of UK humanists and atheists, but I just can't see the point.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-69096446397788448992009-04-22T04:12:00.001+09:002009-04-22T04:12:27.435+09:00

Would this come across as racist?

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-90087727383979893782009-04-09T00:26:00.001+09:002009-04-09T00:26:32.739+09:00

It’s a trope that I hear repeated a lot – Americans love science. When this came up again and again during the panel discussions and presentations at TAM in Vegas back in June, it may have been Neil deGrasse-Tyson who held up his iPhone and declared it so. I commented to Friend DEG in a bit of a stage whisper, “They don’t love science; they love engineering.” And I think that this is crux of

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Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Good News and Bad News in TexasAnd my favorite bit of stupidity from the whole thing: 12:41: McLeroy: "I disagree with all these experts. Somebody has to stand up to these experts. I don't know why they're doing it."

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The Japanese scam called Wan-giri (from One and Cut) has crossed the water according to the Ceeb. Basically you get a call that rings once then hangs up. You call back and get an outrageous charge on your phone bill for erotic call services. 'Missed call' scam could put erotic chat charges on your phone bill

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The other day the Fora.tv daily podcast was Dinesh D’Souza. I should have deleted it right away. I’ve seen him in debates a few times and he gives me aneurysms. He tends to think that louder is more logical and his over-reach in crediting Christianity with everything good that’s ever come along. This particular eye crosser was a flagrant case of special pleading and conflations that left me

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I'm not entirely sure what I think of this: Debaptise Yourself!It seems like tacitly asking for the approval of a church and a god that you don't actually believe exists. As someone who was born and baptised as a Catholic, I can say from my own experience that it's something you can get over -- much as you would get over a cold. Removing yourself from baptismal records seems like allowing

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-5472420216883270902009-03-28T01:48:00.001+09:002009-03-28T01:48:25.981+09:00

I'm just reading the same shit every week.Quarter of all British govt databases are illegal - Boing BoingBBC NEWS | UK | Call to scrap 'illegal databases'

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-42535854372307912272009-03-27T00:41:00.001+09:002009-03-27T00:41:57.468+09:00

And fuck you, Fox News.

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-90282878494363630622009-03-22T04:16:00.001+09:002009-03-22T04:16:41.259+09:00

As it turns out, there's more coming in on the New Scientist article that got pulled.New Humanist (what is it with the 'New' label anyway?) looks into where the legal complaint may have come from and suggests that they may have had no choice but to pull it down for the time being.New Humanist Blog: So why did New Scientist pull that article?News of the article's removal earlier this week

The Eternal Gaijinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719032050853123945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15647803.post-2060099760762462082009-03-20T02:24:00.001+09:002009-03-20T02:24:16.388+09:00

No good can come of a Science Minister that can't say, "Yes, yes I do believe in evolution." So what about Goodyear, our friend in Ottawa?Is Canada’s Science Minister a creationist? | Bad Astronomy | Discover MagazineCanadian Cynic: Gary Goodyear, meet shitstorm. Shitstorm, Gary.'Canadian Science minister's coyness on evolution worries researchers' by CBC - RichardDawkins.netHopefully he'll be

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Two more arguments for decriminalization, if not outright legalization. The case for a domestic marijuana industry | The ArgumentThe success of drug decriminalization in Portugal - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

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