by cameron | Feb 26, 2007 | Hillsong, science, science vs religion
Back in 2002, Scientific American ran this hold-no-punches piece “15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense” to provide a concise rebuttal against the arguments of the people who continue to favour mythology over reason.
Why am I harping on this theme again? Someone emailed me a link to this site from the American-import-cum-Australian Christian evangelicals at Hillsong Church:
Many eminent scientists in different fields are currently saying that the complexity and balance of the universe points to intelligent design. This has re-opened the debate about whether God and science should be studied in the same classroom. The answer comes down to our understanding of science. If science is the search for truth, as some scientists argue, then God should be mentioned in any classroom that pursues it.
Much of the debate about the origin of life and the universe is speculation. It comes down to a question of belief.
At Hillsong Church we believe that God created the world. In other words, the universe is a product of intelligent design. We also believe that science is part of humanity’s search for truth, and it is therefore important for science curricula to include all valid viewpoints of the origins of life and the universe, including intelligent design.
* Comments from Ps Brian Houston, Senior Pastor Hillsong Church & National President AOG in Australia.
This is the nonsense these people are filling children’s minds with. Someone needs to defend the kids against having their minds tarnished with this kind of appalling rubbish. Outwardly they present the image of being nice, toothy people who just want to do good works (okay, except for Brian’s father Frank, who held senior positions in the church, but was forced to resign in 2000 “following exposure of his homosexual paedophile activities.”) However they are really subverting young minds, turning them away from reason and rational thinking – and as far as I’m concerned, that is the definition of evil – almost as evil as the paedophilia.
Let’s examine the website quote.
“Many eminent scientists” – who? Name them.
“If science is the search for truth, as some scientists argue” – What do the other scientists argue? That science is the search for falsehoods? This suggests that science could possibly be something other than the search for objective knowledge which is the very definition of the word – “then God should be mentioned in any classroom that pursues it.” – Why? Science uses evidence to support theories for how the universe works. God is a theory completely unsupported by evidence. It is completely unscientific, because it is not testable or falsifiable. It has no place in the science classroom.
“Much of the debate about the origin of life and the universe is speculation. It comes down to a question of belief.” – Rubbish. Trying to understand the origin of life has nothing to do with belief. There are a range of scientific theories at present. On the other hand, the origin of the universe, aka “the big bang”, is supported by overwhelming evidence. As we discussed here, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for that evidence just last year.
“it is therefore important for science curricula to include all valid viewpoints of the origins of life and the universe, including intelligent design.” – again, intelligent design has no relationship to science. It denies facts and ignores the evidence, as several court cases in the Unites States have now determined.
I know we’re unlikely to pass a law preventing people like this from polluting the minds of children with this rubbish – in fact, I’d probably be the first to protect their right to free speech (a right, I’m continually reminded, we don’t actually have in Australia, as we don’t have a Bill of Rights), but I hope we are not far from the day when making these kinds of statements in public will be similar to advocating the genocide of the Jews or suggesting blacks are an inferior species. It needs to become completely socially unacceptable to pollute young minds with the idea that denying evidence is somehow valid and rational.
by cameron | Feb 26, 2007 | Melbourne, Podcast
Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. (wikipedia)
One of the trends around the world at the moment is for private equity firms (commonly called “PE Firms”) to acquire publicly-listed companies, so they can make them more efficient and then re-list them at a profit a few years hence. In practice, this process often involves stripping the companies of their assets, sacking a bunch of staff, before re-listing the companies which will often have to go back and buy those same assets back again at an inflated price. It’s one of the cycles we see come around every decade or so. The last time we saw it become trendy was in the 80s, when famous junk bond firms like Michael Milken’s company “Drexel Burnham Lambert” was providing cheap cash to Alan Bond, Rupert Murdoch and Ivan Boesky.
Is it time for Oliver Stone to make a sequel to WALL STREET?
On tonight’s show (recorded early last week), I chat with Melbourne-based journalist and editor Andrew Pegler about the re-rise of the PE Firm.
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The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Feb 25, 2007 | Video
I don’t watch CSI: Miami (really, Molly, I don’t) but I do love David Caruso. I thought he was a badass in NYPD Blue and then up against an insane Nicolas Cage in “Kiss Of Death“. Hell, I haven’t seen that film in YEARS. Must go find it. ROFL – I just IMDB’d him and noticed that his character in CSI is called “Horatio”? That’s too funny. Anyway… this clip is hilarious. His acting technique is nearly as honed to the bone as Bill Shatner. You gotta love this level of coolness.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceHnUrUAbho]
by cameron | Feb 25, 2007 | science vs religion
From Time’s site:
Let’s go back 27 years, when Israeli construction workers were gouging out the foundations for a new building in the industrial park in the Talpiyot, a Jerusalem suburb. of Jerusalem. The earth gave way, revealing a 2,000 year old cave with 10 stone caskets. Archaeologists were summoned, and the stone caskets carted away for examination. It took 20 years for experts to decipher the names on the ten tombs. They were: Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua.
Israel’s prominent archaeologist Professor Amos Kloner didn’t associate the crypt with the New Testament Jesus. His father, after all, was a humble carpenter who couldn’t afford a luxury crypt for his family. And all were common Jewish names.
There was also this little inconvenience that a few miles away, in the old city of Jerusalem, Christians for centuries had been worshiping the empty tomb of Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Christ’s resurrection, after all, is the main foundation of the faith, proof that a boy born to a carpenter’s wife in a manger is the Son of God.
But film-makers Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have amassed evidence through DNA tests, archaeological evidence and Biblical studies, that the 10 coffins belong to Jesus and his family.
Oh, this should be fun. I’m hoping that, at the moment of maximum tension, James Cameron’s flings back the lid of Jesus’ coffin and a real-life Jesus springs up out of the coffin, fixes the press corps with a menacing stare and then liquid-mercury morphs into a T1000. It’s time for another Cameron-directed Terminator film
I was the machinima film festival at ACMI with Tommy Reynolds yesterday and we interviewed NY-based machinima guru Paul Merino. The video will be up early next week. He was talking about James Cameron’s new machinima film “Avatar” which is due to start filming in April. Amazing he has time to to the pre-production for his most ambitious film ever AND totally dismantle the basis of 2000 years of Christian mythology in his spare time. The man is a god!
by cameron | Feb 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
Well that lasted… what? All of 3 weeks?
After I spent the last week calling all my old mates from high school (okay, two of them) cajoling them into coming to the US with me in June to see VAN HALEN on tour, it looks like that, not only is the tour off, but the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame performance might be off.
Okay. Back to your regularly scheduled boring life. The one reason to live this year has just been canceled. Mediocrity shall reign another year.
by cameron | Feb 23, 2007 | Uncategorized
Want to increase your Gmail storage to 10Gb? Want to get rid of text ads beside your email?
Then you might want to check out Google Apps Premier Edition! This is very cool. My Gmail account is almost full and I’ve been listening to Jason Calacanis bitch for months about how he wants more Gmail storage and I thought I was going to have the same problem. Not any more!
Okay, so this probably won’t be a challenge to Microsoft’s dominance of the VERY LARGE enterprises for a while, but that’s not the battleground. Small and Medium business is a much bigger market for these product than the big end of town. I remember from my MSFT days that the big revenue growth was expected to come out of SME. Now they have some serious competition.
by cameron | Feb 22, 2007 | Melbourne's Leaders, Podcast
J. J. C. “Jack” Smart is the Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University. Someone once said that if there was a Nobel Prize for Philosophy, he would have won it at least twice. He graciously invited me to lunch at the Monash Club (and insisted on picking up the tab!) and afterwards we discussed philosophy, especially his major contributions, including the demolition of mind-brain dualism and his contribution to metaphysics in the area of philosophy of time. We also talk about his ethical stance of utilitarianism, where his arguments against rule utilitarianism have been very influential.
Jack is 86 and said he doesn’t know much about podcasting but his grandkids are always talking about it.
Link: Jack Smart’s homepage at Monash University.
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The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Feb 22, 2007 | Australian media, media 2.0
There is an article in the INFORMATION section on Google Australia’s online advertising revenues and how they are now bigger than Sensis. I noticed the article while skimming the paper in a restaurant at lunch time but, of course, I can’t find it online. I’d love to know the actual numbers though. I think Google’s revenue was something like $206 million vs Sensis at $196 million. “Google Schmoogle“, hey Sol?
UPDATE: a friend IMd me these numbers:
Google Online Advertising Revenue: $206 Million
Sensis Online Advertising Revenue: $192 Million
(figures from BRW, not AFR)
by cameron | Feb 22, 2007 | Australian media
The Channel 7 (Australia) news department must make money for their corporate bosses hand over fist. Otherwise, how else do they survive?
Remember when their former current affairs host, Naomi Robson (now retired), was the laughing stock of the country because members of her crew (allegedly) released a tape of her swearing and calling their audience “dumb”? (link)
Then there was the Channel 7 news story about how lax airport security is in Australia which featured a reporter walking onto a plane supposedly carrying box cutters in her handbag. When her day in court came around (because this is illegal) Channel 7’s defense was “YOU CAN’T PROVE SHE TOOK THE KNIFE ON THE PLANE”, suggesting that perhaps they just pretended and it was a post-production trick. (link)
And today there is the story that reporter Nicholas Boot at Today Tonight has been ‘suspended’ after chaining an old woman in a nursing home to a cupboard to fake a story.
Of course, faking stories isn’t new to Today Tonight. Older viewers might remember when Dave “Sluggo” Richardson made a highly misleading report on Christopher Skase. Richardson was suspended from duty for a month. This episode was fictionalized in the ‘One Rule for One’ episode of Frontline, where Martin di Stasio is suspended for a month for doing exactly the same thing. Of course, in Marty’s case, being ‘suspended’ means a month’s paid vacation. He turns up to work and just sits around reading the paper and drinking beer. He’s actually rewarded by the producer because of the ratings they scored for the fictional show.
Anyone know where Boot is today?
by cameron | Feb 20, 2007 | Melbourne, Melbourne's Leaders, Podcast
Dr Peter Ellyard is a Melbourne-based futurist, strategist, author and Chairman of the Preferred Futures Institute. He has worked for the United Nations, various international governments and NGOs, and is an incredibly popular speaker and strategic consultant to global corporations.
We caught up today for a discussion about:
the role of a futurist
the rise of “planetism”
the role of globalisation
the role of corporations
leadership versus management
If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing to our feed and leave us a voice comment!
The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
