In the last couple of months I have spent a lot of my time researching philosophy and theology, and having (sometimes) educated debates so I can learn more, from all sides. However, I have noticed a large group of religious people who seem to have some seriously inaccurate information on the sciences.
Listen to the scientists!
What I have found is that in the religious world, such as Christianity... Creationists go out of their way to lie and to distort the facts. I was honestly shocked at how some people who claim to be "for God", could be such a bunch of liars.
This is not just misinformed ignorance, this is active perversion of the truth. A chap on a local forum I hang out in... lets call him, "Prom Queen"... claims to be this big cheese in the name of God. We have had countless debates about the theory of evolution, and many times I have corrected one of his cliches (explaining to him the information is false, and why so), and yet he will carry on using it.
I will give you an example. He will use that common Christian lie that we evolved from Apes. Creationists love this one, because of course... no one wants to come from an ape do they?!? (especially in a country with hectic racial motivation). Well the truth of the matter is that we do not come from apes. Evolution teaches us that apes and humans evolved from that same primate ancestor.
I will correct this slip up, and a couple of days later he is using the same argument with another person. When confronted by me in regards to his.. he just fails to respond. Now don't get me wrong... this is not an individual thing. Almost all the hardcore creationist I debate with will tell a lie to defend their point of view. Apparently lying for God is better than finding out some metaphorical story in the Bible is not literal.
Another common lie I hear is that evolution is only a theory. Another bit of false information I have to constantly correct. Evolution is both a fact.. and a theory. Fact - Things evolve (they change) ; Theory - How they evolve (change). A common misconception amongst the ignorant, is that a fact is better than a theory. Their argument, that "evolution is only a theory", is rather naive. Firstly... theory's do not become facts. They are not different levels on a hierarchy of correctness. A fact is an observation. A theory explains the observation.
Another common mistake made by the simple folk, is that a scientific theory is simply a guess. Wrong again of course. In scientific usage, a theory does not mean an unsubstantiated guess or hunch, as it can in everyday speech. A theory is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of a related set of natural or social phenomena. It originates from and/or is supported by experimental evidence. In this sense, a theory is a systematic and formalized expression of all previous observations that is predictive, logical and testable.
Another common mistake made by Creationist`s, is that evolution is trying to answer the question on the origins of life. The theory of evolution does no such thing. Its simply explains the variety in life, and how it came to be... not from whence it came.
Creationist`s often confuse the theory of evolution with the hypothesis, Abiogenisis. Abiogenisis is the whole primordial soup story... not the theory of evolution. However Creationist`s use the same type of argument as with the ape as they do with the theory of evolution. They say that, "evolution teaches us that we are made from goo that just came to life one day". This of course, as I have mentioned.. is false, and merely one of their deceptive tactics to make the theory of evolution sound uninviting.
Over the next couple of months I am going to be writing a lot about science and religion. There's a lot I need to learn and a lot I need to talk about and share. There is a lot of bull out there, and I hope I will be able to broaden your scope on some of these important issues.
I hate it when our freedoms are influenced. Mostly that of free speech. A wise man once told me the most important type of speech to allow is that of the type you hate hearing the most. So in good pickledbushman flair, I have decided to post a story that was gagged and not allowed to be displayed in the Sunday Times (even though it is a little boring)... Here it is:
Man sues tycoon wife over 30-year lie
BUDDY NAIDU
29 April 2007
Shattered after learning that he did not father his beloved son
A top commercial photographer is suing his property mogul ex-wife for more than R1-million after she allegedly lied about the paternity of their 30-year old son.
Tomorrow the country's first ever paternity fraud case is scheduled to be heard in the Johannesburg High Court when Ian Difford, 56, takes on his ex-wife, Claire, 54, a celebrity former estate agency boss.
Claire, until recently, was the owner of Claire Difford Investment Properties, which traded in upmarket areas of Johannesburg. She recently sold the business, which boasted elite clients, including the murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble.
In a shocking admission in court papers, Claire, said her ex-husband knew there was a possibility� he was not the natural father as she did not hide the fact.
She had been involved in sexual relations with other men� around the time she had given birth.
According to filed court papers, the couple married in March 1975 and had a son� in December 1976. They also had another daughter in 1985 before their divorced in 1995.
The paper disclosed how the Diffords drew up a detailed settlement agreement to ensure that the needs of the two children were looked after.
But in February 2001, a distraught Ian Difford claims he was informed by his son� that he was, in fact, not his biological father.
The basis of Ian's claim is that his ex-wife wrongfully, unlawfully and fraudulently� lied to him for more than 20 years and, more importantly, to the court during their divorce.
Had he known that the child was not his biological son, he would not have entered into ... the written agreement [or divorce settlement].
He said his ex-wife had then allegedly made financial demands on him based on his supposedly being the natural father to induce him to pay for the son's upbringing, education and all other amenities of life�.
Ian said that after finding out that he was not the father he became estranged� from his son� and experienced emotional hurt and trauma�.
He said that as a result of his ex-wife’s “fraudulent or negligent representations and non-disclosures� it was ascertained that he had spent more than R1-million paying towards the costs of a son he thought was his own.
He has now asked the court to rescind the original divorce settlement, declare that he is not the father of the 30-year-old and order his ex-wife to pay R1-million in damages, with interest, as well as his legal costs.
But in her responding affidavit, Claire insists that Ian knew shortly after the birth “that there was a reasonable possibility that he was not the natural father�, adding that he failed to take any steps to establish whether he was.
She said that even though the child might not have been his, they were married at the time of his birth and therefore “there is no actionable duty in law which would give rise to a claim for damages to recover expenditure�.
She claimed that the court order already in existence — the divorce settlement — ensured her ex-husband’s present claim was “compromised�, “incompetent’ and “if granted will result in two conflicting court orders being in existence�.
She said that while they had had suspicions, she had only discovered that Ian was not the father when blood tests were taken in March 2001. She did not say why the tests were done.
Claire, in turn, is suing her ex-husband for R675 000 for her legal expenses. She further alleges that Ian slapped and swore at her, calling her “a bitch� during an argument at a supermarket in 2002 and is claiming R50 000 in damages.
She also asked the court that, should Difford succeed in his application and the divorce settlement becomes null and void, he provide R4 000 a month to support their daughter as well as pay her other educational costs.
Specialist divorce and criminal lawyer Billy Gundelfinger said: “To the best of my knowledge, this is the first such case in South Africa.�
He said it could also open the floodgates to fraud charges being laid against those perpetrating “parental fraud�.
Professor Karthi Govender of the University of KwaZulu-Natal said the case was a “unique� one.
However, he said it would be difficult to “prove deceit or the intent to deceive�.
He said Difford’s argument was difficult to sustain “especially if he engaged in the full issues of parenting�.
“The courts rule that when you bring up a child there are benefits as a parent.�
Difford refused to comment but his lawyer, Zenwill Lacob, said he was looking forward to finally having his day in court.
“This is a first for SA whereby a paternity fraud matter has been heard by a court...
“South Africa, in a sad kind of way, has now joined the modern world as cases like these are now common in the United States and in England.�
Link to news on the gag: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20070429091514260C209815
Leetest form of linux there is. The primary OS I now use. Kubuntu, Dapper Drake, 6.06 LTS. I really think people should use this as their default OS
For those of you who dont know, I run Kubuntu OS as my desktop OS. With all the queerness of Microsofts Anti Piracy campaign, I have decided to completely leave the MicroSoft world. Sure, I loose windows media player and some gaming choices. However, you do get awsome games like warsow that are completely open source, and LOADS of fun to play. If you are in South Africa, there is a South African warsow server gracefully hosted by Web Africa. When in the game just type "connect warsow.webfafrica.co.za" And you will connect to the server to be able to jam with the rest of us.
I consider this a book that every South African should read to get perspective in their lives. Its honesty is most refreshing and Al Lovejoy`s ability to capture in words the essence of a culture and history of a generation of south Africans is amazing. Al Lovejoy has earned a lot of respect from a generation of youth who appretiate the truth. Thank you Al.
Other reviews:
‘Acid Alex is quite simply one of the most shocking autobiographies I have ever read. It is also well-written, addictive, excellent.’
– Sue Blaine, Business Day
‘Heartbreaking! Entertaining! Intelligent!’
– Erns Grundling, SL magazine
‘Nothing I have read has sketched the scorched social landscape of South Africa’s last half-century with such intensity and honesty. Read it.’
– Charles Thesen, Marie Claire
‘There are elements of Hunter S Thompson, Herman Charles Bosman, William Burroughs and William Wharton. But in the end it is an amazing story told in a unique voice. A voice moulded by pain, a voice honed by a government reformatory..., whetted by the SADF, and sharpened by Pretoria Central.
It is the story of a man who went to hell and came back, a morality tale, a Bildungsroman, the narrative of a f*ckup who found redemption, and the anthem of a lost generation.’– Caspar Greeff, Sunday Times
‘Truly, as Koos Kombuis says, this is “an astonishingly breathless story” … Besides being a great read, Acid Alex is an invaluable record of a type of mania that gripped a certain type of South African in the last quarter of the 20th century. It’s a book that’s going to appeal to many young South Africans who currently have to turn to the United States for their myths of pointless excess, and it’s going to inspire them. Not necessarily in a particularly savoury way.’
– Chris Roper, Mail & Guardian
This book is more than just a suggested read.
In what has to be a remarkable show of insight into the power of social networking, a British Indie band is offering their album free to download off their website. This is one band, that seems to have googled it. It looks like the older corporate models are failing and hopefully the world will not have to tolerate the insanity that is RIAA much longer.
I love artists with scope.
South Africa needs science and South Africa needs prominent scientific voices. Unfortunately, like the media in much of the rest of the world, South Africa's media is not nearly welcoming enough to the skeptical and scientific views of the world. Luckily, we have great examples from the United States and elsewhere of how self-publication through blogs can affect public discourse, promoting science and acting as a counterweight to indifference, ignorance, and gullibility. However, unlike our comrades elsewhere, South African science bloggers are unconnected and not organized. I propose to change that...Read More
Really funny flash video depicting the end of the world as the result of a nucleur fall out.
For those of you who dont know, I am South African. Im a born and bred white native african, and damb proud of it. However, I will often use words that you may not understand, local slag u wont pick up on. Click on this link to learn a little more about South African slang, aka, Safrikan!
The entire catalogue of information from 1,800 courses at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be available free online by the end of the year. Once uploaded, it will represent one of the internet’s most important resources.
MsDewey.com
I never have never used a search engine this cheeky before :) Its great fun for about 10 minutes.
Seaward.co.za for South Africa`s best coastal real estate.
In what has to be classed as bizare, a clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps.
I came across this site by Anup Shah that has a detailed look into the causes of poverty. I found some of the statistics he shows to be very embarrassing and a shameful reflection on humanity today.
* Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.
* The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined.
* Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
* Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
* 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
Anup Shah shows us the institutions, policies and people behind many of today's causes of poverty.
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty.asp
Haha, these poor lil bunnies. A bunch of pictures of bunnies trying to come up with imaginitive ways to kill themselves.
The Public Library of Science is a nonprofit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. A most excellent link for those of you wanting access to some amazing science.
A really nice Travian signature generator
Ever wondered how many babies are being pushed out every day, or how many people are dying every minute? Well this is the place for you then! This meter currently records those tpes of things, and with a population of 6.5 billion, there are lots of interesting stats for you to check out.
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