(Once more I write a post in which I quote from Der Spiegel. Why? For our personal edification! Today in Der Spiegel: Evolution: How humans freed themselves from egg-laying.)
Solche ein Artikel lese man nie in der Amerikanischen Presse. Hier würde es stattdessen: “Evolution: Jetzt glaubt 90% der Bevölkerung es nicht”.
(You would never read an article like that in the American press. Here it would be more like: “Evolution: Now 90% of the population doesn’t believe it”.)
Nach der Artikel, haben die Säugetiere ursprünglich Milch entwickeln, um ihre Eier zu befeuchten, und danach ersetzte es Eidotter als die wichtigste Nährstoffsquelle des Säugetiernachwuchs.
(According to the article, mammals originally developed milk in order to moisturize their eggs, and after that it replaced egg yolk as the primary source of nutrients for mammalian offspring.)
Leider kann man die Artikel nur schätzen, wenn man Deutsch lesen kann. Aber hier gibt es ein Zitat!
(Unfortunately, you can only appreciate the article if you can read German. But here is a quote!)
Sie [Wissenschaftler] entdeckten inaktive Restposten der Eidottergene bei Hunden, Gürteltieren, Kängurus - und Menschen. Das beweist: Wir haben evolutionäre Wurzeln als Eierleger - auch wenn die Eidottergene bereits vor 100 Millionen Jahren ihren Dienst bei den höheren Säugetieren aufgaben.
(They [scientists] discovered inactive remnants of egg yolk genes in dogs, armadillos, kangaroos - and humans. That proves: We have evolutionary roots as egg-layers - even though the egg yolk gene hasn’t been used by higher mammals for 100 million years.)
Man hört nich davon in Hochschule Wissenschaftsklassen!
(You don’t hear about that in high school science classes!)
Some of the stuff in this video smacks of “they’re comin’ to rape our white wimmins!” racist rhetoric, but when Muslim leaders refuse to condemn rape and even condone it, sane people have trouble not thinking that Muslims raise their men to be perverted, sex-crazed animals. Muslim women try to defend their culture’s sexual mores, but have they seenthe way Muslim mentalk about them?
Concerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world’s Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. It was a key issue during a two-day summit that ended Friday in Dakar, Senegal’s capital.
The Muslim leaders are attempting to demand redress from nations such as Denmark, which allowed the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 and again last month, to the fury of the Muslim world.
The problem is, guys, that “blasphemy” is in the eye of the beholder. Muslims see blasphemy everywhere. Saying there is no god is blasphemy. Saying Jesus was the Messiah is blasphemy. Saying Hitler was an evil, genocidal monster and the Holocaust was real and must never be repeated is blasphemy. (Muslim fanatics love Hitler, and the President of Iran doesn’t believe the Holocaust happened, an opinion which seems to be popular in the Islamic media.) And when “blasphemy” against Muslims becomes illegal in Western countries, guess what happens next? Not being a Muslim becomes illegal. Which is what the Muslims have always wanted in the first place, since they can’t stand the idea of other religious groups being allowed to exist — especially the Jews — hypocrites much?
Like Pat Condell, I hope Europe can find the guts to stand up for freedom of speech and freedom of religion before they lose both.
At last, the Christians have some cartoons to get themselves all worked up about. Maybe they were feeling left out? Scott Adams, the author of Dilbert, wrote a blog post today responding to the Christians who have gotten their panties in a knot about the latest series of Dilbert comics, in which a new employee named Jesus (”Hay-soos”) claims to be the “saver of databases”, recruits 12 people to work on a project with him, is betrayed by one of his co-workers for 40 shares of stock, is fired, and then returns as a consultant to save everyone’s pensions. Sound familiar?
Adams says he wrote the strips months ago and didn’t stop to think about when they were going to run. Oops. He says it wasn’t his intention at all to “make fun of” Christianity. And I believe him — you know why? For one thing, the guy’s no atheist, although most of the people writing hate mail to him could be forgiven for not knowing that, having never read his blog. And for another, the strips were actually funny. They may be the only Dilbert comics I’ve ever read that I actually found amusing. But they’re not anything worse (or better, for that matter) than an affectionate parody. Come on, people. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?
I have German and French newsfeeds in my RSS reader in an attempt to prevent my language education from atrophying… with questionable success. Today, Der Spiegel features an article about how lame adults are.
Okay, so they’re talking about baggy pants. First… kids are still wearing their pants around their knees?! Le sigh. Second, check out the rationale grown-ups are using to support a law in Florida banning baggy pants:
“Wir müssen den Jugendlichen bewusst machen, dass sie keine Arbeit finden, wenn ihre Unterwäsche aus der Hose hängt”, sagte Senatorin Larcenia Bullard, die sich für das Gesetz aussprach.
(”We must make it known to the young people that they will not find a job if their underwear hangs out of their pants”, says Senator Larcenia Bullard, who argued for the law.)
Ihr demokratischer Senatorenkollege Gary Siplin ergänzte, der Lotter-Look habe im Gefängnis seinen Ursprung genommen und solle von Jugendlichen nicht kopiert werden.
(Her democratic fellow-senator Gary Siplin added, the “Lotter-Look” originated in prison and should not be copied by young people.)
“You won’t get a job!” “Prisoners wear their pants like that!” Come on. Why does anyone think this line of reasoning will mean anything to kids?
You know why kids wear baggy pants? Because they think it’s cool. You know why they shouldn’t? Because it’s dumb!! Sorry kids, it’s stupid and it makes you look stupid. Do you really want to go to school looking like an idiot? (Somehow I doubt the kiddies will care about that line of reasoning either. I’m glad I’m not a teenager anymore.)
Here we see our lovely model Shandrell wearing the latest in Draenic footwear: thigh-high moccasins that don’t actually cover the feet. She says they’re comfortable, but what does she know, she spends most of her time communing with forest animals.
Ideal Candidate:
- Experience in an import/export role involving the Far East, South America, and Europe.
- Direct involvement with or employment with a major trading company importing products to the United States or shipping products on a foreign-to-foreign basis
- Extensive experience in ocean and air transportation and customs/freight broker relationships.
- The ability to thrive in an extremely fast paced, rapidly changing environment, and to handle constant change.
- Strong attention to detail and superior communication skills, both written and verbal
Recent college grads encouraged to apply.
Apparently “recent college grad” now means “graduated 20 years ago and has spent the time since then amassing experience on three different continents.”
As briefly as you can, give me your best reasons why you think that God doesn’t exist, or why the Bible isn’t His Word. How about your toughest question…
I’ll keep mine short and sweet as well.
I spent my childhood listening to the Magic Telephone and wondering why it was that I didn’t hear anything. As I grew up, I slowly realized that it was because there’s no one on the other end. The book that says that there is was written by humans, and no evidence exists to prove otherwise. Therefore, I am an atheist.
As for my toughest question, not that Ray Comfort will ever visit here, but I do get the odd theist from time to time…
Since your god is omniscient, meaning he knows everything that will ever happen ahead of time, why did he choose to create humans the way they are, knowing he would be displeased with us? The Bible says that he “saw that it was good”, but clearly it was not. And don’t try to tell me about Satan — if he’s omniscient, it means he knew that was going to happen too. What is wrong with your deity that he seems to have a need to punish us for his mistakes?
(Note for the brain-dead: I am referring to god in the only sense that he exists: as a character in your fictional holy book.)
From Sandwalk via Muse In Vivo, here is a video quiz that will help you determine whether you should seek psychological help and whether your beliefs deserve any respect from me.
Today, Der Spiegel features an article about how lame adults are.
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