29 Sep 2005
Mind the Gaps

This is a simply superb editorial by Dahlia Lithwick on the whole "intelligent design" movement and it's real goals ... read it and grow in wisdom.

I must add that this points out a real difference betwixt the "revealed", monotheistic religions and the polytheistic, Heathen/pagan faiths (from hard core Asatrurar to the fluffiest Wiccan). The former claim to have all the answers to every question, and are consequently (and fundamentally) hostile to the very idea of science. The latter tend to see life itself as a question, and to accept that each individual must answer it for him or her self. Various varieties of heathen/pagan belief may have different (and often set) parameters for seeking the answer, but our theology implicitly recognizes the diversity of those answers. By their very nature Christianity and Islam are "one size fits all" faiths - the fact that we heathens and pagans believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses insures that we accept learning (and science) as vital signposts on our religious walk.

The problem with science has always been that each new discovery unleashes thousands of new questions and ambiguities. So really, the more we discover new stuff, the stupider we get. Clearly, that isn't working. ID says we shouldn't bother ourselves with resolving scientific inconsistencies or untangling puzzles. We should recognize that what God really wants is for us just to stop learning.

(link) [Slate]

via MyAppleMenu

00:00 /Asatru | 4 comments | permanent link

eDonkey Tells Congress It's Throwing in the Towel

Another case of "death by lawyer" ... and here I thought the party that controls Congress and the White House was all in favor of "tort reform", to save businesses from the depradations of "liberal trial lawyers". Wrong again!

An anonymous reader writes "Sam Yagen, President of eDonkey, testified at the Judiciary committee's hearing 'Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a Post-Grokster World'. It was there he told the committee that he is throwing in the towel. 'The Grokster standard requires divining a company's intent, the decision was essentially a call to litigate. This is critical because most startup companies just don't have very much money. Whereas I could have managed to pay for a summary judgment hearing under Betamax, I simply couldn't afford the protracted litigation needed to prove my case in court under Grokster. Without that financial ability, exiting the business was our only option despite my confidence that we never induced infringement and that we would have prevailed under the Grokster standard.'"

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Danish Air Force Compensates Santa

Good thing this happened in September - at least Santa will have some time to get Rudolph up to speed ...

AP - The Danish Air Force said Thursday it paid 31,175 kroner ($5,032) in compensation to a part-time Santa Claus whose reindeer died of heart failure when two fighter jets roared over his farm.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Humor | 1 comment | permanent link

Greenspan: US lost deficit control

Here's something that wasn't widely reported in the MSM here... wonder why?

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told France's Finance Minister Thierry Breton the United States has "lost control" of its budget deficit, the French minister said on Saturday.

(link) [Reuters]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

The Downed Animal Protection Act

At least there are a few Congresscritters who "get it" regarding our food supply ... let's hope this passes quickly.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Downed Animal Protection Act goes further than the USDA temporary ban in that it also covers sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules and other equines who cannot stand and walk unassisted. It also calls for immediate humane euthanasia as soon as an animal becomes non-ambulatory.

(link) [The Prairie Star]

00:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link