h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just come from the homeopathic hospital stuff with (where Robyn is arguing the case for homeopathy) where I put link up about vetinary homeopathy.

Investigating the link a bit further I find:

http://www.vetpath.co.uk/voodoo/index.html
"The British Veterinary Voodoo Society"
??!!??

and a quote at the bottom
"When things are exceedingly laughable, it is a little unreasonable to demand of us an imperturbable gravity. (Prizewinning critique of homoeopathy, Rhode Island Medical Society, 1851.)"

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D689DCC6-7651-4A82-BA72-6F0C303CCF22.htm

"The Italian government is being asked by the European Commission (EC) to explain tax breaks which the Vatican enjoys on income from property."


oooh, just wait for the squirming and outcry!

I wonder who is next, there's more than one established church in the EU after all.

interesting bit covering the developments and history of studies of spiritual experience in humans here:

http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=434D7C62-E7F2-99DF-37CC9814533B90D7

no comment

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/11/autopsy_controversy/

I saw that one too.

I'm sure the right reverend was merely performing a prostate self-examination before he went for his nightly scuba outing. Perfectly normal.

hmmm. A coversation you may have missed:

F7182?thread=4695195&show=20&skip=0#pi1

just posted this in the what news thread, thought it might be on interest to some of you here as well:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6498215.stm

"Scientists have revealed details of the world's only known case of "semi-identical" twins. "
"genetic tests show both are "chimeras", and have some male cells - which have an X and Y chromosome, and female cells - which have two X chromosomes."

wow.

I hope the hemaphrodite doesn't suffer like *Brenda*

http://www.alchemist-light.com/reviews/revv.htm

I have just been to a very weird place:

F137150?thread=4688540

Please read the following word using a low and slow tone of voice, possibly by a hippy in a 70s film, as I go

'woah'

Please don't make me go back there.

They should get onto the Dawkins thread.

cognitive dissonance in monkeys

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/science/06tier.html?_r=1&ex=1352091600&en=8dd85ab605098dbc&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

New open source project:

http://stupidfilter.org/main/index.php?n=Main.HomePage

"an open-source filter software that can detect rampant stupidity in written English. "

but what about the 'god' threads?

see, this is the sort of nonsense that it leads to:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7132124.stm

"A judge in India has summoned two Hindu gods, Ram and Hanuman, to help resolve a property dispute"
...
"The gods have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday, after the judge said that letters addressed to them had gone unanswered."

how rude of them!

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/terry_sanderson/2008/01/a_cross_to_bear.html

uk case where a woman was told she couldn't wear a cross outside her uniform. It's a CiF comment piece but it contains links and extracts from various sources including the employment tribunal which kicked her case out on all counts.

The description of her and her behaviour does seem somehow, I dunno, familiar?

Wouldn't it be nice if the decision of the tribunal received as much press as the initial complaint received?

PC wins:

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/295250

Hey, it's funny!

a) pretty much every morning I wake up lying in bed and shout out what that church sign mentions. It need not have anything to do with sexuality.

b) based on what I've seen while lurking, it seems you have too much time on your hands, mr. zoomer. Or else you're aiming for sainthood.

c) 'A species’ evolution has long been thought to take thousands of years to produce seemingly minor changes.

It appears that in at least one case, however, evolution is occurring at what seems like jet speed. In the last 150 years, the world’s elephant population has evolved much smaller tusks.

The average size of an African elephant’s tusks has gone down by half in the last century and a half. Indian elephants have undergone a similar tusk size reduction.

Experts believe the rapid evolution of the massive land mammals is due to poaching.'
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/29620