#0016 RRS Newsletter for June 18, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:33am.
Hello all! I trust you all are enjoying your weekend. Today is the day I introduce the new section of the Newsletter. Entitled "Government", it will feature all the information I receive, or can dig up, regarding the governmental and political aspects of our movement. Since there are several states currently trying to erect the Ten Commandments in their capitol bulidings, (MI included), the increasing resiliency of the religious right to further impose their veiws via lobbyists and propaganda (see "Creation Museum"), and the general proliferation of religion into almost every aspect of our government, I thought it to be a fitting additional category. I noticed last week that the "Community" section was getting quite long on most days, and that a lot of the things I was posting in that section could use it's own category.
I am also changing my dating methods. Since these usually get posted late at night, I'm guessing most people aren't reading them till the following morning. In fact, most of the time I don't even post these until well after midnight anyway, so it's more like just admitting to my insomnia than anything else.
I will also apologize up front for the long post today, a few articles just couldn't be omitted. Please forgive my fanaticism in bringing you as much info as I can! And, don't miss the "Entertainment" section today! I received some great stuff you all should get a kick out of!
Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Jack,
and the RRS MI team
Get god off our money, Sapient goes to dollar store (VIDEO)
At the West Chester courthouse with Margaret Downey of FSGP.org.
The first RRS MI meeting!
...and yes, I'm gonna promote the hell outa this!Hosted By:
Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where:
Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!
Click Here To View Event
JOIN MICHIGAN ATHEISTS FOR AN OLD FASHIONED PICNIC AND CELEBRATE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE ~ SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2007
http://www.michiganatheists.orgGet together with fellow Atheists and other nonbelievers to celebrate the Summer Solstice. We'll gather at the Hines Park-Parkland shelter in Dearborn Heights at 12:00 Noon.
Pack your picnic basket with fried chicken, potato salad, veggies, deviled eggs, fruit, sandwiches, chips, cup cakes, or whatever. Bring your days eats and something to share.
We will provide cups, plates, napkins, and eating utensils. Note: grills are available, but you must bring all your grilling needs. NOTE UPDATE: Howard will provide a gas grill for your use.
Other things you might want to bring: jacket, baseball stuff, cards, lawn games, board games, lawn chair, and maybe an umbrella if it looks like rain. (BUT, WE DO HAVE A PAVILION) Don't forget your kids, dogs, and friends. Plan to stay into the evening. We'll have plenty of daylight.
Join us rain or shine!!!!
WHEN: Sunday, June 24, 2007 We will gather at Noon
WHERE: Hines Park-Parkland in the Parkland-Shelter
MORE INFO: ARLENE-MARIE, Michigan Atheists Affiliate Director
[email protected] (313) 388-9594 Cell: (313) 938-5960 michiganatheists.org
PO Box 0025 Allen Park, MI 48101
"Michigan Atheists is a nonprofit, non-political, social and educational organization dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of state and church as set forth in the Constitution of the United States."
Action without discussion is dangerous. Discussion without action is futile
The first video in this series was originally in a bulletin I recieved that I placed under "Religion" (see "Evolution is the work of the devil!!"). I decided to omit it there and place it here with the rest of the clips, for you to see it in full.
Journey of Life
Produced by the BBCAnother cross shaped straw man "DEBUNKED"
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Human evolution
Date: Jun 17, 2007 9:11 PM
(Thanks Ron)
Are atheists in league with the devil?
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From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 16, 2007 4:04 PM
Wow, this guy and logic aren't even distant cousins.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Jeff
Date: Jun 16, 2007 2:40 PM
Making Fool's For Satan
6/16/2007 - 6:00 AM PST
Contact: St. Benedict Parish
http://www.stbenedictsomerville.com MA, US
Fr. Robert J. Carr - Pastor, 617-230-3300
Email: [email protected]
(I just spoke with this jerk off, he kept saying that I was filibustering him...LOL...whatever, I guess that's god-speak for I don't have an answer for you, and I don't want to apologize for being a total dick)
By Fr. Robert J. Carr
Catholic Online
One of the more disturbing aspects of living the faith, is discovering those who feel that they can never be forgiven for their sins. Unfortunately, this is far more common than one might believe. It seems strange that the God who gave everything he had so that we could be saved, the one who forgave even those who killed him, would hold grudges. Yet, many people believe that and to some it has devastating affects. This is because they believe they are outside God's mercy. They are essentially, in their own mind, walking condemned expecting to enter Hell when they die. Many are joyful to learn that God is not this grudge holding monster, unlike some more unhappy humans we may meet in our lives.
One of the first cases I ever experienced of this phenomenon, and this as a layperson, is the case of a man who several decades earlier used magic to put a curse on a then supervisor. The following day, his boss died of a heart attack. It is mostly likely that this was a coincidence. Those Catholics involved in deliverance ministry who are versed in the aspects of the occult inform me that curses of this type are very hard to complete.
Yet, this kind of scenario, the person who does something incredibly stupid at a young age and feels condemned for the rest of his life, unable to be forgiven is one that is being perpetuated on the young and the naïve. It is called the Blasphemy Challenge.
The brainchild of the Rational Response Squad an organization that claims to be on an anti-Christian mission that promotes atheism is actually either accidentally or purposely promoting a more demonic cause. This makes them poor atheists. The Blasphemy Challenge simply asks those who participate in it to condemn their souls to Hell by uttering blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This mission, which is based on a misinterpretation of the Mark 3:29, has claimed hundreds of adherents who do this incredibly stupid act in response for a DVD of the video "The God Who Was Not There."
The problem is that the process which claims to promote atheism among our youth, actually does not, it promotes the demonic. Further, a true atheist would never condemn his soul to Hell. Why? Because to condemn one’s soul to Hell is to acknowledge that Hell exists and a true atheist would never do that. This highlights the thinking process of the adherents to the Blasphemy Challenge. It also opens those who do so to the demonic as they continue on their lives blissfully ignorant of the reality of evil.
This brings up a practical question. Would you hire someone who took the Blasphemy Challenge? Here is why I ask.
The key to the Blasphemy Challenge is that someone commits the act and receives a DVD of the movie, "The God Who Was Not There." Now if you buy the video, it costs less than $25.00. However, buying one gets you condemned as a chicken by the Rational Response Squad. So essentially you are selling your soul and the right to not be called chicken for $25.00. Don’t ask me what is rational about this. It does not make any sense to me. Granted the soul may be worthless in the eyes of the blasphemer, but is not so in the eyes of others. So, would you hire someone whose concept of finances is so bad that they would actually sell their soul for less than $25.00? Now we would say that we would never sell our soul, that means that the value we put on one is priceless. When someone offers something that has a value of priceless for $25.00, is that the kind of person whom you would want working for your company, if you believe in adding value to your product?
The second issue has to do with the lack of critical thinking. As I said before, a true atheist would never commit such an act. If such people are so easily led down a false path with this bizarre reasoning, how much more easily can they be led down other paths. Putting this in a more secular manner of understanding, if you could get them to buy a video that costs less than $25.00, and is worth almost one hundred percent less, for the cost of one's own soul, what would they pay for your deed to the Brooklyn Bridge that just came into your hands through the head of finances for the Enfield, Massachusetts Brooklyn Bridge Deed Management Company. You just have to send all your life’s savings to a bank account in Nigeria and you will send you the deed in the mail. Then you can sell it for billions, of course, recouping all your life savings and then some. They promise it works.
I think you get my drift.
Actually, the deal they made was truly with the Devil, for I guarantee you that many years from now there will be some, maybe not a majority, who feel that the atheism thing is no more than a false religion, but they are stuck with it because of this act. They will believe, falsely, that they are outside of God’s salvation unable to be saved for one stupid act they did at another time. They were misinformed in this deal and they sold themselves short. But they chose to exchange the truth for a lie and to buy into the lie for a virtually worthless video. What really scares me about this Blasphemy Challenge is the case of the person who decides that if he is going to Hell for all eternity, or will cease to exist, why not go bring that result now and then attempts suicide. Those people are out there as well.
When people try to convince some of these blasphemers in the future who sold their souls for a $25.00 DVD—that is not worth $25.00—(and the right not to be called chicken) that their act was meaningless and is not binding in the eyes of God, hopefully those who went into despair will listen. For if they don’t, they will never realize just how much their act was silly and just how worthless that movie truly is. Yet, is not that just how the Devil works? Hence, the reason we can say that even a true Atheist has far more wisdom than the fools who partook of the Blasphemy Challenge.
If you want to see who took the Blasphemy Challenge, simply check out. http://www.youtube.com/video_response_view_all?v=i7QVbJnSPQE.
Contact: St. Benedict Parish
http://www.stbenedictsomerville.com MA, US
Fr. Robert J. Carr - Pastor, 617-230-3300
Email: [email protected]
Billy Graham says atheism has no answers - but he does. haha
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rational Response Squad So. California
Date: Jun 16, 2007 11:30 PM
I found this question about atheism along with Billy Grahams response. Just thought I would share.
Steve
RRS So Cal
www.endtheism.com
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BILLY GRAHAM IN MY OPINION
Question:
I've been reading a book on atheism recently. Its main point is that there isn't any reason to believe in God, and the only reasonable way to live is to forget about God. I know you won't agree, but how would you answer this?
Answer:
Atheism -- the belief that God doesn't exist -- is almost as old as the human race, and the arguments atheists used hundreds of years ago are the same ones they use today, with only slight modifications.
And yet in spite of their arguments, religion hasn't vanished over the centuries, and convinced atheists actually are few in number. In fact, today large numbers of people are turning to Christ in countries that used to be officially atheistic (such as the former Soviet Union).
Why is this? One reason is because they realize that atheism has no answer to the deepest yearnings of the human heart. Down inside, we all yearn for God -- whether we admit it or not -- and nothing less than God will satisfy that hunger. God put it there, and only he can fill it; the Bible says, "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
But another reason most people reject atheism is because they realize it isn't reasonable. Which is more logical -- to say the world happened by chance, or that God designed and created it? I think you know the answer. The Bible says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1). Don't be deceived, but by faith turn to Christ, who showed us not only that God exists, but that he loves us and wants us to know him and love him in return.
-- Billy Graham
Baptists see atheist books as sign of panic
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rational Response Squad So. California
Date: Jun 16, 2007 11:47 PM
Christianity = 132,619 results
atheism = 24,835
Keep these figures in mind when reading this article. Under the logic of this article, Christians must be really really really scared of atheism and we must be doing something correct for Christians to feel the need to write so many books about how they are right. 6:1 ratio for Christian books to atheism books on Amazon.com.
Thanks,
Steve
RRS So Cal
www.endtheism.com
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A run of best-selling books belittling religious belief are a secular backlash that highlights the success of Christianity, Southern Baptist leaders and theologians said at a conference.
"If you shoot down an alley and you hear a yelp, you know you've hit something," said Mark Coppenger, a professor at the Kentucky-based Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
"Apparently Bible believers have hit something and so it is a measure of the success of the church that the opponents are so stirred up right now," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.
Combative British writer Christopher Hitchens' "god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" is the latest atheist best-seller to hit the stands.
It follows "The God Delusion" by Oxford scientist Richard Dawkins and "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.
In their different ways, all set out to prove that science trumps faith and reason trumps religion.
Such books are bound to stir passions in the United States, where religion -- Christianity in particular -- has a much firmer hold than it does elsewhere in the developed world.
DEVOUT NATION
Opinion polls vary and are subject to dispute but generally show that around 40 percent of Americans attend church on a weekly basis, more than double the rate of most western European nations and almost 10 times the rate of some.
A survey last year by the Pew Research Center found that 78 percent of Americans view the Bible as the word of God, though only 35 percent believe the Bible is literally true.
Evangelical denominations such as the Southern Baptists -- who take the Bible very seriously and place much emphasis on the individual conversion experience -- have grown rapidly in the United States.
With 60 million evangelicals, that is one American in five.
"We have made some serious inroads into society and some people are increasingly antagonistic toward that," said Southern Baptist Convention president Frank Page, who saw the recent intellectual attacks on faith as "aggressive atheism."
Many secular Americans resent the intrusion of religion into politics, with the so-called "Religious Right" delivering votes for the conservative Republican Party and the Democratic Party recently trying to woo the "Religious Left."
The mix of religion and politics has shown up in the public sphere in renewed battles over the teaching of Darwinian evolution in public schools. Many evangelicals have pressed for the teaching of Biblical creation or "intelligent design," which holds that the complexity of life points to a creator.
A Gallup poll last year showed almost half of Americans believe that humans did not evolve but were created by God in their present form within the last 10,000 years.
Coppenger said that "after well over 100 years of pressing the Darwinian project, still half of Americans don't believe it, they are not buying it."
"There is a great indignation now and an astonishment so they (secularists) are redoubling their efforts because they are finding out that they're failing," he said.
Edward Pauley of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth told Reuters the onslaught of atheist books was a reaction to the "receptivity" of the American public to intelligent design theory.
But the success of the recent wave of atheist books has been seen by some as a reaction to the intensity of religion in America and its intrusion into public life.
Protestant sex abuse cases exceed 260 each year
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 17, 2007 8:17 AM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Jamie Guinn
Date: Jun 17, 2007 9:44 AM
Sex abuse - Protestant cases exceed 260 per year, insurers say
By ROSE FRENCH, Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members.
The figures released to the Associated Press offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down – the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations.
Religious groups and victims’ supporters have been keenly interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible accusations against Catholic clerics since 1950.
Protestant numbers have been harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church. Many congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult.
Some of the only numbers come from three insurance companies – Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.
Together, they insure 165,495 churches and worship centers for liability against child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct, mostly Protestant congregations but a few other faiths as well. They also insure more than 5,500 religious schools, camps and other organizations.
The companies represent a large chunk of all U.S. Protestant churches. There are about 224,000 in the United States, according to the Assn. of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, although that number excludes most historically black denominations and some other groups, which account for several thousand congregations.
Church Mutual, GuideOne and Brotherhood Mutual each provided statistics on sex abuse claims to the Associated Press, although they did not produce supporting documentation or a way to determine whether the reports were credible.
The largest company, Church Mutual, reported an average of about 100 sex abuse cases a year involving minors over the past decade. GuideOne, which has about half the clients of Church Mutual, said it has received an average of 160 reports of sex abuse against minors every year for the past two decades.
Brotherhood Mutual said it has received an average of 73 reports of child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct every year for the past 15 years. However, Brotherhood does not specify which victims are younger than 18 so it is impossible to accurately add that to the total cases.
Abuse reports don’t always mean the accused was guilty, and they don’t necessarily result in financial awards or settlements, the companies said. The reports include accusations against clergy, church staff and volunteers.
Even with hundreds of cases a year, “that’s a very small number. That probably doesn’t even constitute half,” said Gary Schoener, director of the Walk-In Counseling Center at Minneapolis and a consultant on hundreds of Protestant and Catholic clergy misconduct cases. “Sex abuse in any domain, including the church, is reported seldom. We know a small amount actually come forward.”
Tom Farr, general counsel and senior vice president of claims for GuideOne, based at West Des Moines, Iowa, said most abuse cases are resolved privately in court-ordered mediation. Awards can range from millions of dollars down to paying for counseling for victims, he said.
One of the largest settlements to date in Protestant churches involved the case of former Lutheran minister Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr. in Texas, where a jury several years ago awarded the minister’s victims nearly $37 million. Separate earlier settlements involving Thomas cost an additional $32 million.
When insurance companies first started getting reports of abuse from churches nearly two decades ago, the cases usually involved abuse that happened many years earlier. But over the past several years, the alleged abuse is more recent – which could reflect a greater awareness about reporting abuse, insurance companies said.
Insurance officials said the number of sex abuse cases has remained steady over the past two decades, but they also said churches are working harder to prevent child sex abuse by conducting background checks, installing windows in nurseries and play areas and requiring at least two adults in a room with a child.
Patrick Moreland, vice president of marketing for Church Mutual, said churches are particularly susceptible to abusers.
“By their nature, congregations are the most trusting of organizations, so that makes them attractive targets for predators,” he said. “If you’re a predator, where do you go? You go to a congregation that will welcome you.”
A victims’ advocacy group has said the Southern Baptists, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, could do more to prevent abuse by creating a list of accused clergy the public and churches could access.
“I think they should have a list of credibly reported clergy child abuse,” said Christa Brown, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a group initially created to hold the Catholic church accountable for sex abuse by its clergy.
“These are things people are entitled to know,” said Brown, who says she was sexually abused as a child by a Southern Baptist minister. “The only way to prevent this crime is to break the code of silence and to have absolute transparency when allegations are raised.”
At the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting at San Antonio this week, Rev. Wade Burleson of Enid, Okla., proposed a feasibility study into developing a national database of Southern Baptist ministers who have been “credibly accused of, personally confessed to, or legally been convicted of sexual harassment or abuse.”
A convention committee referred Burleson’s motion to the SBC executive committee, which will report back with findings and a recommendation during next year’s meeting at Indianapolis.
Southern Baptist President Frank Page said leaders are considering several options to help churches protect children against abuse.
“We believe that the Scripture teaches that the church should be an autonomous, independent organization,” Page said. “We encourage churches to hold accountable at the local level those who may have misused the trust of precious children and youth.”
Several years ago, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which represents moderates who have increasingly distanced themselves from the conservative-led Southern Baptists, started a list of accused clergy for churches but not the public. Under pressure from victim advocates, the Texas group just released the names of some convicted sex offenders who may have been ministers in local congregations.
Joe Trull, editor of Christian Ethics Today and retired ethics professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, helped the Texas convention create its registry and says there are now about 11 cases involving clergy abuse with minors.
But he believes these are just the “tip of the iceberg” because churches don’t have to report abuse cases to the registry and aren’t likely to.
“The problem we’re having is that churches just weren’t sending the names,” Trull said. “In the normal scenario, they just try to keep it secret. We’re going to have to be more proactive and let them know if they don’t come forward, they’re helping to perpetuate this problem.”
Evolution is the work of the devil!!
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:21 AM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Brian the Dilettante
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:58 AM
Brian's note: This video is like a black hole in which all critical thinking goes to die. I suggest going to Youtube and looking at all of the comments on this kid's video. All of the comments are glowing endorsements of his profound genius... it seems all of the negative comments have been systematically deleted.
It is actually quite frightening that so many people fail to see the absurdity of this guy's arguments.
-----------------------------------
Original posting from: VVizard of Hillsdale
I'm sorry to pick on this kid. A pathetic Kirk Cameron wannabe. This guy mistakes masonic pentagram symbolism for satanism.
I commented, "You act like a monkey, you imitate what you were shown in Sunday school. You are seriously wrong on every point. You can't trust your thoughts because you are unintelligently designed by a silly belief system."
The bible, like human society, exists because humans have evolved a highly complex brain , opposable thumbs, upright posture and a voice box which permits language.
Abortion feud has 2008 Republicans on edge
by Stephen Collinson Thu Jun 14, 11:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The fluid and unpredictable 2008 Republican White House sweepstakes took a sharp new turn Wednesday, as the stuttering John McCain campaign ripped into rising rival Mitt Romney.
Barbs flew between the camps on the pivotal issue of abortion, in a grab for hearts and minds of grass-roots conservatives, who hold the fate of the race in their hands.
Senator McCain's camp claimed Romney was guilty of conflicting positions on opposing abortion, an article of faith for conservatives, charging in a statement he would "Say. Do. Anything" to get elected.
Romney's team hit back that McCain's assault was "sad" and showed desperation at his campaign's slow start.
The venue of the latest spat, partially on the video-sharing website YouTube, reflected the role of the new Internet frontier on US elections, seven months before the first voters get the change to weigh in.
Romney is a suave, multi-millionaire former businessman, who was governor of Massachusetts and credited with salvaging the 2002 Salt Lake City
Winter Olympics from financial meltdown.
He is trying to become the first Mormon to win the White House, and trying to tamp down suspicion of his faith among evangelical Christians and social conservatives at the party's base.
Latest polling appears to show his tactics are working, as Romney has rocketed to the front of the Republican field in key early voting states New Hampshire and Iowa, helped by robust performances in early party debates and a television advertising blitz.
His rivals however, sense he may be vulnerable to claims he is a "flip-flopper" who has come to conservatism late in life.
McCain meanwhile was keen for a scrap as he seeks to reverse a media storyline that his candidacy has slumped alarmingly, after lackluster early fundraising takes and his staunch support for the war in
Iraq.
"Mitt Romney's biggest challenge in this election will be convincing Republicans he has principled positions on important issues," said McCain's deputy communications director Matt David in a statement.
The McCain campaign unveiled a video of Romney which it said showed that he remained committed to pro-choice positions in support of abortion after his "epiphany" on opposing the procedure in 2004.
"In stark contrast, John McCain has a consistent 24-year pro-life record," David said.
The video showed Romney at a November 2004 press conference saying he was committed to maintaining the "status quo" in abortion laws in the liberal state of Massachusetts, whatever his personal and philosophical views.
Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden immediately accused McCain's aides of ripping Romney's remarks out of context.
"Its very troubling that the McCain campaign would attack the governors pro-life stance by trying to alter the context of a statement made at a news conference where he also made a passionate case for his veto of stem cell legislation that showed a level of disregard for the sanctity of human life."
"The McCain campaigns motives are obviously borne of desperation. Their actions are both sad and unfortunate," Madden said.
The Romney campaign hit back with a longer version of the press conference on YouTube, which it said showed his remarks in their correct context.
McCain's attacks came as Romney appeared to be rising to the top of the Republican field in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states that hold fabled early nominating contests for Democratic and Republican 2008 nominations.
In a poll CNN/WMUR poll published Tuesday, Romney was favored by 28 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, ahead of McCain and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani with 20 percent.
In the latest Des Moines Register poll in Iowa in May, Romney led on 30 percent, ahead of McCain on 18 percent and Giuliani with 17 percent.
The Republican field is bracing for the entry into the race of former Tennessee senator and screen star Fred Thompson, expected within weeks.
Riding a wave of free publicity and media buzz, the gruff southerner has elbowed his way into the top tier of the race.
A national poll by Qunnipiac University published Wednesday had Giuliani leading the race of 27 percent, followed by Thompson tied with McCain on 15 percent. McCain's ratings had dipped four percent since May 3.
What I like to tell people whenever they claim that 9/11...
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 17, 2007 3:13 PM
This was sent to me by Michael in response to Zeitgeist and The Truth About 9/11 Conspiracy Theories post.
Hey Secret Delusion,
RIGHT ON! Right on!
This is what I like to tell people whenever they claim that 9/11 was "an inside job":
Suppose you were working on your lawnmower inside your garage. It's late at night, and part of the fuel line breaks, spilling gasoline on your hands. All the while, an electrical fire breaks out at the other end of your home....from the basement....accidentally...and you have NO smoke alarms. The doors to the inside of your house (from the garage) are closed, so there is NO way for you to smell any of the smoke. You finally decide to go inside to wash the gasoline off of your hands....only to have a gust of black smoke suddenly burst forward as soon as you open the door to go inside....much of your house is now CONSUMED IN FLAMES!!!! So you run to a neighbor's house...but it's 2 in the morning....and ALL of your neighbors are probably asleep...but you keep banging on the door for help (since you left your cell phone inside your now burning house) until your neighbor awakes, strolls toward his door in his pajamas, and finds you all frantic....and sees your house burning up!!!! Naturally, he lets you in....but also notices the strong aroma of gasoline on your hands.
With your friendly neighbor knowing that you have been unemployed for six months....still getting over a really bad divorce, in which you're months behind on your alimony payments....not to mention behind on your credit card bills and mortgage payments...basically he knows that you're going through a really hard time, and are at the end of your rope.
With the stench of gasoline on you? And the house up in flames, what's the FIRST thing to naturally come to his mind? FOUL PLAY, of course!
Burn the house down, and collect on the homeowner's insurance. Why not? Someone in HIS desperate situation? Seems very likely. Right?
WRONG. Dead WRONG. Of course you know damn well that you were working on your lawnmower just as your house quickly caught fire from a faulty electrical socket. But nonetheless, your neighbor begins telling your other neighbors about the gasoline smell on you the night your house caught on fire. Bullshit rumors begin to circulate about your torching up your own house on purpose, just to collect on the homeowner's inusurance, and your reputation and character, as a result, starts to become ruined. Not to mention, a possible total loss of your home and what your insurance company would rightfully owe you.
Of course, once the forensic examiners discover the supporting EVIDENCE to substantiate your HONEST and LEGITIMATE claim, then you're no longer suspect. Still, despite all the evidence to the contrary, you'll continue to have ignorant and insensitive neighbors who continue to blatantly accuse you of arson. How would that make YOU feel?
Now, think about THAT for a moment, in relation to the events of 9/11. To make the utterly preposterous accusation that bombs were used to bring down the towers in addition to the "explosion" at the pentagon is about as equally cold, insensitive, offensive, ridiculous and profoundly ignorant as someone accusing you that you had deliberately burned your house down (full of many sentimentally valuable and irreplaceable items such as yearbooks, photo albums, awards, trophies, mementos, etc.) just so that you could collect on your homeowner's insurance.
REALLY THINK about that for a moment. If your house did burn down accidentally, how would that make YOU feel, hearing such an absurd, offensive and idiotic accusation that YOU delieberately burned it down?
In my humble opinion, this is exactly what makes these conpiracy theorists' outlandish claims and accusations deeply offensive and hurtful on many profound and personal levels.
Of course, anything is possible. For all we know, the events of 9/11 could have been the work of space aliens, but the evidence just doesn't support that utterly moronic hypothesis. Or of bombs used. Or radio-controlled airplanes. Or of anything remotely accusatory, paranoid or delusional like that.
And when I speak of evidence, I mean REAL scientifically sound and credible evidence from REAL scientists and engineers who are highly educated and competent in their given fields of study. Intelligent, mature and completely unbiased individuals who approach their work objectively.....NOT from some bozo 20 year old, radical left-wing liberal extremist kid with nothing more but a political agenda up his puckered ass!!
What would constitute REAL and scientifically sound and credible evidence for me? How about actual video-taped footage of demolition personnel installing C4 plastics explosives, blasting caps and hard wiring from inside the World Trade Center, or even building 7 for that matter? How about dated phone call recordings, email messages, or any hard copy files of such an incredibly heinous plot from any government officials?
How about a Mythbusters episode on the Discovery Channel, in which a mathematically precise scale model of the towers were built (using the very SAME materials) and then attacked by two mathematically precise scale model remote controlled airplanes (replicating the very SAME rate of speed, velocity, force of impact and gallons of fuel used) so to replicate and entirely re-create the entire event....just to see if the building WOULD INDEED collapse in the SAME fashion as they did????
Boy, if the Mythbusters guys could effectively pull that off and demonstrate that only PART of the buildings would have collapsed....Then, and ONLY THEN, would we have some REAL evidence to support the idea of explosives being used!!!!
But where is this evidence? Where?
Until we discover such hard data, we have no right to make such utterly ridiculous and profoundly ignorant and irresponsible accusations like that. We should always remain skeptical and open to new ideas and possible explanations, but at the same time, we shouldn't just randomly make stuff up without performing the adequate and necessary research and testing to validate the veracity of our claims.
Pasted below is a link to 911myths.com, which critically examines all such conspiracy theories as they relate to 9/11:
Please, DO take the time to carefully read through as much of this site as possible.
Hope this helps. Thanks again for the GREAT bulletin, and feel free to hit "reply" so that you can copy and paste the code to the above website.
Spread the word! And thanks again!
Yours in critical thinking,
Michael
Why don't young women care about the end of the world?
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Ω
Date: Jun 16, 2007 12:55 PM
FromTPO
Elizabeth Cady
Susan B.
Substance D
Why Don't Young Women Care about the End of the World?
Most pundits and citizens agree that American youth are ignorant and/or apathetic about politics. However, nowhere is the trend more startling than with young girls. The phenomena began when grown females began talking like valley girls. You'll know valley talk when you hear it: the sentences all go up at the end, as if the subject is trapped in a constant state of inquiry, and statements are riddled with "like ... um ... " and "y'know ... " Talking like a vapid airhead meant adopting the culture of the airhead, as well. Girls were taught to shop, gossip, and flirt. Even Barbie got in on the action when her talking model proudly declared: Math is tough! When women began talking like idiots and Barbie condemned arithmetic, little girls stopped paying attention to the world around them. Though People magazine sometimes includes blurbs about politicians, you are not political by default for reading it.
#0015 RRS Newsletter for June 15, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:31am.
Next week I will be adding a new category to the newsletter. I've been noticing that a lot of the things I post under "Community" could have their own category called "Government". Since tomorrow is my day off from doing a newsletter, I would like to hear your opinions on this addition. Is the "Community" category sufficient enough to cover polotics? Or is this new addition warranted?
I would also like to direct your attention to the local news section. The Director for the state of Michigan under the American Atheists needs a little push to help fund the many activities they engage in to help our cause in the separation of church and state. Any ammount of help would be greatly appreciated.
This is from Arlene, the Michigan State Director for American Atheists:
Hello Michigan Atheists: PLEASE HELP ME
Once a year I reach out to Atheists throughout Michigan and Ohio. This about money and only you can help.
As you know, there is no membership fee in Michigan and I have no budget from a higher power. But, I do have hefty expenses: stamps, ink cartridges, print heads, reams of paper, web page fees, phone bills, electronic equipment, and protest banners to list but a few. Beyond all that, I travel about in the state to testify at various hearings, hold rallies, speak at numerous venues, and represent Michigan Atheists in various states, border to border. I fund these ventures out of my personal pocket and underwriter most of the stuff mentioned and that's OK, but I need a financial boost.
The good news is that amazing things continue to happen with Michigan Atheists. We continue to produce our own Cable TV show, "Atheists Speak Up," and have once again kicked the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools out of Michigan.
Our law suit with the City of Detroit regarding, what has grown to 3 churches receiving over one million tax payer dollars is heating up, and a dozen Michigan Atheists just returned from Kentucky where we lent our voice of reason to the opening of a Creation Museum. Now, we are preparing to travel to Washington, D.C for the "Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice, where we will deliver our message in person to our members of Congress.
And, in July, we celebrate our first year with a booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair. This is not only costing big bucks - entry fees, canopy, table and thousands of pieces of handouts, but will require many hours of volunteer duty.
We are all volunteers here and feel our work is important. Together we can, and ARE making a difference. Please help us. We need your support in all our efforts, but a few bucks will carry a huge punch. We promise your donation will not be blessed, but will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much, Arlene
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please make your check payable to George Shiffer, Treasurer, and mail to:
Michigan Atheists, PO Box 0025, Allen Park, MI 48101
NAME______________________________________PHONE_____________________
ADDRESS__________________________CITY__________________ZIP__________
Email Address______________________________Cell Phone:___________________
ARLENE-MARIE, Michigan Atheists Affiliate Director
[email protected] (313) 388-9594 Cell: (313) 938-5960 michiganatheists.org
PO Box 0025 Allen Park, MI 48101
"Action without discussion is dangerous. Discussion without action is futile"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070613131905.htm"
Double Explosion Heralds The Death Of A Very Massive Star
Research suggests morality is built in the brain
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 15, 2007 6:03 AM
Research suggests morality is built in the brain
By SHANKAR VEDANTAM | Washington Post, May 29, 2007
Science opens new window on what it means to be good
WASHINGTON — The e-mail came from the next room.
“You gotta see this!” Jorge Moll had written. Moll and Jordan Grafman, neuroscientists at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., had been scanning the brains of volunteers as they were asked to think about a scenario involving either donating a sum of money to charity or keeping it for themselves.
As Grafman read the e-mail, Moll came bursting in. The scientists stared at each other.
The results were showing that when the volunteers placed the interests of others before their own, the generosity activated a primitive part of the brain that usually lights up in response to food or sex. Altruism, the experiment suggested, was not a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic selfish urges but rather was basic to the brain, hard-wired and pleasurable.
Their 2006 finding that unselfishness can feel good lends scientific support to the admonitions of spiritual leaders such as St. Francis of Assisi, who said, “For it is in giving that we receive.” But it also is a dramatic example of the way neuroscience has begun to elbow its way into discussions about morality and has opened a new window on what it means to be good.
Grafman and others are using brain imaging and psychological experiments to study whether the brain has a built-in moral compass. The results — many of them published in recent months — are showing, unexpectedly, that many aspects of morality appear to be hard-wired in the brain, most likely the result of evolutionary processes that began in other species.
No one can say whether giraffes and lions experience moral qualms in the same way people do because no one has been inside a giraffe’s head, but it is known that animals can sacrifice their own interests: One experiment found that if each time a rat is given food, its neighbor receives an electric shock, the first rat will eventually forgo eating.
What the new research is showing is that morality has biological roots — such as the reward center in the brain that lit up in Grafman’s experiment — that have been around for a very long time.
The more researchers learn, the more it appears the foundation of morality is empathy. Being able to recognize — even experience vicariously — what another creature is going through was an important leap in the evolution of social behavior. And it is only a short step from this awareness to many human notions of right and wrong, says Jean Decety, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago.
The research enterprise has been viewed with interest by philosophers and theologians, but already some worry that it raises troubling questions. Reducing morality and immorality to brain chemistry — rather than free will — might diminish the importance of personal responsibility. Even more important, some wonder whether the very idea of morality is somehow degraded if it turns out to be just another evolutionary tool that nature uses to help species survive and propagate.
Moral decisions can often feel like abstract intellectual challenges, but a number of experiments such as the one by Grafman have shown that emotions are central to moral thinking. In another experiment published in March, University of Southern California neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and his colleagues showed that patients with damage to an area of the brain known as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex lack the ability to feel their way to moral answers.
When confronted with moral dilemmas, the brain-damaged patients coldly came up with “end-justifies-the-means” answers. Damasio said the point was not that they reached immoral conclusions, but when confronted by a difficult issue — such as whether to shoot down a passenger plane hijacked by terrorists before it hits a major city — these patients appear to reach decisions without the anguish that afflicts those with normally functioning brains.
Such experiments have two important implications. One is that morality is not merely about the decisions people reach but also about the process by which they get there. Another implication, said Adrian Raine, a clinical neuroscientist at the University of Southern California, is that society might have to rethink how it judges immoral people.
Psychopaths often feel no empathy or remorse. Without that awareness, people relying exclusively on reasoning seem to find it harder to sort their way through moral thickets. Does that mean they should be held to different standards of accountability?
“Eventually, you are bound to get into areas that for thousands of years we have preferred to keep mystical,” said Grafman, the chief cognitive neuroscientist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “Some of the questions that are important are not just of intellectual interest, but challenging and frightening to the ways we ground our lives. We need to step very carefully.”
Joshua Greene, a Harvard neuroscientist and philosopher, said multiple experiments suggest morality arises from basic brain activities. Morality, he said, is not a brain function elevated above our baser impulses. Greene said it is not “handed down” by philosophers and clergy, but “handed up,” an outgrowth of the brain’s basic propensities.
Moral decision-making often involves competing brain networks vying for supremacy, he said. Simple moral decisions — is killing a child right or wrong? — are simple because they activate a straightforward brain response. Difficult moral decisions, by contrast, activate multiple brain regions that conflict with one another, he said.
In one 2004 brain-imaging experiment, Greene asked volunteers to imagine they were hiding in a cellar of a village as enemy soldiers came looking to kill all the inhabitants. If a baby was crying in the cellar, Greene asked, was it right to smother the child to keep the soldiers from discovering the cellar and killing everyone?
The reason people are slow to answer such an awful question, the study indicated, is that emotion-linked circuits automatically signaling that killing a baby is wrong clash with areas of the brain that involve cooler aspects of cognition. One brain region activated when people process such difficult choices is the inferior parietal lobe, which has been shown to be active in more impersonal decision-making. This part of the brain, in essence, was “arguing” with brain networks that reacted with visceral horror.
Such studies point to a pattern, Greene said, showing “competing forces that might have come online at different points in our evolutionary history. A basic emotional response is probably much older than the ability to evaluate costs and benefits.”
While one implication of such findings is that people with certain kinds of brain damage might do bad things they cannot be held responsible for, the new research could also expand the boundaries of moral responsibility. Neuroscience research, Greene said, is finally explaining a problem that has long troubled philosophers and moral teachers: Why is it that people who are willing to help someone in front of them will ignore abstract pleas for help from those who are distant, such as a request for a charitable contribution that could save the life of a child overseas?
“We evolved in a world where people in trouble right in front of you existed, so our emotions were tuned to them, whereas we didn’t face the other kind of situation,” Greene said. “It is comforting to think your moral intuitions are reliable and you can trust them. But if my analysis is right, your intuitions are not trustworthy. Once you realize why you have the intuitions you have, it puts a burden on you” to think about morality differently.”
Scientists Solve Genome Of Promising Marine Organism
Science Daily — Scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have solved the genomic puzzle of an organism discovered in the oceans with potential for producing compounds showing promise in treating diseases such as cancer.
Daniel Udwary and Bradley Moore joined colleagues at Scripps and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Joint Genome Institute in successfully sequencing the genome of Salinispora tropica. The decoding opens the door to a range of possibilities for isolating and adapting potent molecules the marine organism naturally employs in the ocean environment for chemical defense, scavenging for nutrients and communication.
Salinispora was discovered in 1991 by Scripps Oceanography's Paul Jensen and William Fenical in shallow ocean sediment off the Bahamas. The bacterium produces compounds that have shown promising signs for treating cancers. Its product, "salinosporamide A," is currently in human clinical trials (Nereus Pharmaceuticals of San Diego) for treating multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells in bone marrow, as well as for treating solid tumors.
"By sequencing Salinispora tropica we are now able to look in greater detail at this organism and potentially pull out some of the other compounds from the gene clusters that may make highly potent anticancer agents," said Moore, a professor with Scripps' Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine and the UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "It's exciting to be able to use this genomic information to maximize the discoveries from this prolific organism."
Much of the anticipation of producing new medicines from Salinispora comes from its potential to augment the current arsenal of antibiotics, many of which are ineffective against increasingly drug-resistant bacteria. More than half of the natural antibiotics now used clinically are derived from the Streptomyces genus, the land-based relatives of Salinispora that are considered the kings of antibiotic-producing organisms.
Having achieved genome sequencing success, Moore and his colleagues can now move into genetic engineering research, such as manipulating the machinery inside the bacterium to potentially yield new derivatives of compounds such as salinosporamide A. Other possibilities include using the information to increase compound manufacturing capabilities and generating new structures based on genomic designs.
"With the genome information in hand, we now understand the molecular basis for how nature synthesizes (salinosporamide A), which is allowing us to re-engineer its biosynthetic pathway," said Moore.
Sequencing the genome revealed several previously unknown aspects of Salinispora tropica.
For example, while observations in similar bacteria revealed that typically 6- to 8-percent of the organism's genome is dedicated to producing molecules for antibiotics and anticancer agents, Salinispora tropica's genome showed an impressive 10 percent, "to our delight," said Moore.
The scientists pinpointed 17 gene clusters scattered throughout the organism's genome as responsible for producing the 10 percent.
"If we know the genetic roadmap of their potential, we can read the sequence and the DNA to predict what chemicals are being made," said Moore. "This is a way to mine the genomes for new chemical structures and new biology, with potential in a human health context."
Advances by Fenical's laboratory in deciphering the chemical structures of natural Salinispora products were key for Moore and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in solving the genome structure of Salinispora tropica. Indeed, the traditional "shotgun" approach, in which pieces of the genome are scrambled into small sections and rebuilt, failed to solve the genome puzzle. Instead, information about the natural chemistry of the organism helped close the sequencing gap, believed to be a first.
Current studies are concentrating on solving the genome of Salinispora arenicola, a related species also found in tropical sea sediment.
In addition to Udwary, Moore, Fenical and Jensen, coauthors of the research paper include Lisa Zeigler and Ratnakar Asolkar of Scripps Oceanography and Vasanth Singan and Alla Lapidus of JGI.
The results were recently released in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health and JGI.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of California - San Diego.
Atheist Arguments Can't Work with Christian Fundamentalists
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 15, 2007 6:19 AM
By John Blatt (Reposted from 2 Days ago, Poster Unknown)
I, along with many other ex-Christians, am in a rare position to speak on one of the most oppressive thought systems that has ever been subjected upon humanity and because I honestly care about our world and our spiritual and psychic evolution of humanity do I set out to help some to be free from this darkness. This HAS to come out of me. I need to know that I did all that I could with the knowledge that I have to help humanity in the best way that I can. It is a part of who I am and what I am here to do with the remaining time I have left.
Okay, why is it that Atheistic arguments cannot work against Christian Fundamentalism? Over the past three years I have read most of the major and many of the minor works on Atheism and its arguments against theism in general and fundamentalism in particular. There are some great arguments for sure, yet as a very knowledgeable ex-Christian I can logically answer 99% of all the hardest questions that can be posed to a Christian. I had (and still have) a solid answer for every question, and well-educated Christians (that is those Christians who truly know their bibles, hermeneutics, and the various disciplines of theology) also can answer such hard questions (though maybe not to the satisfaction of an Atheist). So being able to rebut Christianity through logic, science, nitpicking the contradictions of the bible, or various other means just doesn't work (on the whole). It just doesn't. If it did there would be hordes of people leaving Christianity. Certainly other religions have even less of an effect upon Christian ideology. If anything it strengthens the resolve of those who are serious Christians. If Atheism, rational thought, science, and every other religion cannot dismantle the Christian religion then is there any hope of freeing the world from this incredible darkness?
Yes. Most Atheists have never been a die-hard, living martyr for Christ and "the Faith." There are some of us Atheists who have lived that life, gave ourselves to Jesus and "his truth", sacrificed everything in our utter devotion to love and serve him, his truth and his church. "That Christ might live in us and that we might die" all for Jesus. There are ex-Christians who were as devout or deeply ingrained within it as I have been and they know, as I do, why arguments, whatever they might be, just didn't hold water. We know the passion and determination of other extremists from religions like Islam and Mormonism as well.
Ultimately, there are only two ways to break through this incredibly resilient ideology and belief system, to break into the minds of these people and help them to see. The first being: Universal Reconciliation, the third major theological system of the bible (the other two being Arminianism and Calvinism). Universal Reconciliation is the most consistent New Testament theological system and portrays god in the highest and most loving and merciful light. Universal Reconciliation is a much higher view of Christ and god than the vast majority of evangelical Christianity holds to, which falls within the confines of Arminianism or Calvinism (usually an inconsistent combination of the two). Anyone who truly knows the bible understands that the bible is broken up into covenants, mainly the new covenant and the old covenant. The new covenant was created when Jesus died on the cross (according to the bible that is). Everything before Jesus' death was under the old covenant, which was just a foreshadow or anti-type of the real, which was Christ and his new covenant. This is why knowledgeable Christians will never be moved with all the horrid and murderous quotes from the Old Testament - "that was under the old covenant and was fulfilled in Christ." The Old Testament is not the canon of the Christian, the New Testament is. Though many less knowledgeable Christians see the Old Testament quotes and try to follow them. This is why the Phelps' and other members of Westboro Baptist Cult in, Topeka, Kansas can say and do what they do. They take the Old Testament scriptures as their cannon (that is, it is authoritative to them) and use it for their own horribly deviant agendas. The new covenant puts all the duties and requirements of the Old Testament law completely fulfilled in Christ, but more than this Universal Reconciliation states that Christ died for EVERY person, past, present and future regardless whether or not they believe. Sure it is ideal to come to faith and be born-again in this life and know Jesus now, but it is not necessary for reconciliation with god. He did it all. Thus all the sins of all the people in every age, past , present and future were propitiated by christ on the cross, reconciling everyone to himself, yes, even Hitler, Dahmer, and Phelps. Some also believe that Satan will be reconciled and restored to god in the consummation of the end as well. This is a MUCH more positive and loving, (and I must say more scriptural) understanding and view of god under the new covenant. Though mainstream Christianity calls Universal Reconciliation a heresy and those who believe it are damned to hell. This blocks nearly 100% inquiry into this understanding of the New Testament. I didn't want to even look into it at first because I was so deeply programmed with the Christian status quo.
Once one also understands that 98% of English translations of the bible are translated by people who are programmed themselves with a certain theological system and that there are many places in the New Testament that are purposefully mistranslated to concur with their own theology, then you can understand that the word "hell" is never even in the New Testament. There is much to this of course, but suffice it to say that there are agendas within agendas even with translating the bible. If there is no hell in the New Testament then the current, mainstream evangelicalism and fundamentalism basically falls apart. Hell is a more generally a more treasured doctrine to Christians than redemption or reconciliation is, whether they would like to admit it or not, because without hell there is no NEED of faith in Christ.
Thus Universal Reconciliation frees the mind and heart to love Christ more or to seek other avenues of meaning in life. If I am reconciled to god whether or not I believe then I am free. Free to love Christ all the more or free to leave Christianity altogether. So this is the first way to free the minds and hearts of devout, truth seeking Christians.
The second and only other way is to expose them to the methods and means of the mind control that they are subject to. Logic and reasoning cannot penetrate their mind control and indoctrinated programming, no matter how sharp your logic is. See, knowledgeable Christians have an answer to every question that can be imagined. Their box is complete. This is why debating a devout Christian ONLY hardens them in their position. This is the nature of their control. The more you question them, the more you try to shake them from their faith, the more resolute they become. When they believe that there is an answer for EVERY question, no matter how difficult it may be, there is no way to rationally dethrone their thinking, because even though they might not have the answer - there is an answer - and thats good enough for them. This is just one part of the programmed mind of the Bible believer.
Christian mind control is based on indoctrination. Their indoctrination is, of course, based on the bible. Their understanding of the bible is based on a specific framework or system of interpretation of that bible (generally considered as theology). Their interpretation of that bible is largely based the on teaching of that interpretation by others, generally pastors, bible teachers, seminary professors, or parents, friends, or even popular Christian literature. In turn these people (pastors, teachers, seminary professors, parents, etc.) are indoctrinated by others and the cycle is continuous. This indoctrination, in order for it to be successful, must be authoritative. That is, the teaching that one receives is one of authority, either by parents or by a charismatic pastor, etc. This authoritative indoctrination, if accepted by the mind, reforms the thoughts of the person from one ideology to another or in a child's case from a blank slate. This is called Thought Reform or more generically brainwashing. Thought Reform or Brainwashing is unnoticeable in the convert since they continue to have a fully functioning free will and do not feel inadvertently coerced. They want to be taught/programmed with "the truth."
The gospel message of salvation or any other teaching by Christians that seeks to convert someone to "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" is usually a message designed to bombard the mind with the threat of eternal damnation (fear) and the reward of eternal life (joy). Evangelization, generally speaking, is psychological warfare of the mind. It is designed to confuse your current non-belief with a powerful, authoritative message of tremendous weight - eternity. Those who are in a weakened emotional or psychological state (from some inner turmoil, external stress, or even being lonely or homesick) are much easier prey to this psychological bombardment, and when it is masked with the guise of spirituality it becomes a serious burden to the Self.
When one undergoes the "born-again" experience and feels like a different person (and psychologically is) this is the mind succumbing to the psychological warfare and tremendous emotions of relief are felt and "renewal of soul" are felt because that burden, in a sense, falls through the mind of the person and is now free from it by being taken over by it. This is classic mind control. Any true research into psychological manipulation, Thought Reform and Brainwashing will reveal this very process. It is NOT a spiritual re-birth but a psychological reprogramming of the Self. There is no more powerful experience that one can undergo. Once one is programmed in this manner it is nearly impossible to be brought back or to be involuntarily deprogrammed.
The human mind is incredibly strong in many ways, yet it is weak just as much as it is strong and it is susceptible to suggestion, manipulation, and many other forms of coercion. Overt forms of control are easily thwarted, but it is the subvert or subtle forms of control that the mind is so easily turned by. If you have any question about this I recommend you watch some of the material by Derren Brown, Criss Angel, or any other talented mentalist and it is clearly evident how frightfully simple it is to control people without their knowledge. (Please see my Derren Brown videos I've uploaded to My Videos section).
When authoritative preaching is conducted, especially on a podium behind a pulpit (the elevation of the stage or podium above the congregates is a subliminal message of authority and exultation. The pulpit is also a symbol of an authoritative position) along with the "perfect and holy Word of God" this becomes an extremely powerful force upon the minds of those who are witnesses. You add the submissive rows of silent, attentive hearers and the mind is even further at risk to programming. The very sight of this kind of submissiveness and attentiveness of rows of people speaks volumes to the mind. The human mind has the tendency to "get caught up with the mob" or go along with the crowd and be swayed by what the others do. Its called the sheep mentality. You mix these powerful ingredients and you have mind control par excellence! When the preacher starts to preach the congregation goes into a specific type of hypnotism. This hypnotism keeps the congregates continually renewed in their indoctrinated programming. This is why pastors insist on members coming to worship every Sunday, because it helps to keep the sheep in line (the money flowing as well as their accolades for the ego of the pastor).
If one has a thorough understanding of this Christian mind control, what it is and how it works, one can use this knowledge to not attack their beliefs but to attack their process of mind control and help them to see the control without them feeling like their Faith is under attack. Once one comes to see the means of control and how psychological programming works then on their own they have the ability to look at the program and question it. Do you see? If one attacks their beliefs it will NEVER free them. It will in fact harden their beliefs. Though, help them to see the means of programming and they will in time question the program.
This is just a very condensed version of a book that I am currently writing on Christianity. I go into much deeper detail of the methods and means and effects of evangelical psychological programming as well as the teachings of Universal Reconciliation and the dangers and conspiracy of Dispensational theology, which is what mainstream Christianity is.
Surprise! Catholics aren't the only priests molesting kids
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 15, 2007 6:26 AM
I originally wrote this on Jun 13, 2007 08:42 AM, but I'm reposting it because I feel it needs more attention, damnit...
I found this site today and about puked, so I felt I just had to comment on it. I mean, take a minute to go there and look at those disgusting fucks on the right-hand side of the page. Bunch of baby-raping bastards.
What's really sad is that none of this gets covered in the mainstream media AT ALL. Why? Because it automatically implies that Catholic abstinence is not to blame - Christianity itself is. Any religion that is as sexually backwards and psychologically inhibitive as Christianity will inevitably lead to this kind of disturbing behavior. ("I will pray to Jesus for him to cure my lustful urges. Christ is all I need. God will give me the strength to punish myself for "thought crimes" until I drive myself into depression or psychosis, or find some secret outlet - like child abuse - for my fucked-up-ness. Never mind that psychology crap - it's of man and as such is of the Devil.")
How much longer are people going to continue to promote this two-faced religious doublethink bullshit?
How much longer are people going to support pedophilia, homophobia, sexism, racism, anti-intellectualism, and general stupidity by refusing to provide religion the strong opposition and sharp criticism it so richly deserves?!
http://stopbaptistpredators.org/
93 93/93
Hail Thyself!
Amber
What does evolution have to say about religion?
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 15, 2007 8:01 AM
"What is Darwinism? It is atheism...This would be the response of today's most ardent Darwinian scourge of the religious, Richard Dawkins...If you are a Darwinian, then you ought to be an atheist, and conversely.
Not everyone thinks this way...More common...are those who want to be both evolutionists and Christians, and yet cannot bring themselves to accept what they see as the harsh and undirected nature of Darwinism...
One is tempted to let Christians – believers of any kind – fend for themselves. If they want to accept Darwinism, then it is there to be accepted. If they want to reject it on religious ground, then that is their option. But many are genuinely puzzled and concerned, and would like an answer that is not just based on the prejudice and ignorance of one side or the other...It is traditional when talking of religious beliefs to make a distinction between revealed religion and natural religion, where the former refers to the area of faith and the latter to the area of reason. For the Christian, central faith beliefs include God as creator, humans as made in the image of God and Father, Jesus an Incarnation (son of God) and Savior through the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and the possibility of eternal life. For the Christian, central reason beliefs cover the traditional proofs of God's existence, and defense against counterattacks, especially including the problem of evil...let us confine the discussion to creation, the status of humans, and miracles (including the Resurrection); and on the natural side, to the most significant of the proofs, the argument from design, and the the problem of evil.
Creation can mean a number of things. For the Christian, God is creator of all things, from nothing. He is not just a designer of already-existing matter...Whether science has anything at all to say on these matters, it hardly seems that the Darwinian does...It does...speak to another sense of creation, namely, the Genesis story of creation in six days. It speaks to it and contradicts it. The world – inorganic and organic – cannot have been created in such a fashion, nor can it have been done in five to ten thousand years (as calculated from the biblical genealogies), and there cannot have been a worldwide flood through which Noah supposedly sailed with his ark of animals, or any of the other bits and pieces, like the Tower of Babel. So if your version of Christianity makes these events central and essential, then you cannot be a Darwinian."
Winner of a signed copy of The Science of Good and Evil will be announced on Monday!
Catholic church doing what it does best
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 15, 2007 1:38 PM
Catholic church doing what it does best
Heather, 15/06/2007 | Why Don't You Blog?
#0014 RRS Newsletter for June 14, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:30am.
Not a lot to report today. The Science and Entertainment sections were especially baren, so I dug up some videos and articles that I found interesting.
I hope you've all been enjoying these, and remember, your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
That's about all I wanted to say today, thanks for reading,
Stay rational,
Jack
and the RRS MI team
Demoted Pluto Takes Another Hit
Landmark Study Prompts DNA Rethink
Ancient Fish Fossil May Rewrite Story of Animal Evolution
Hidden Planet Pushes Star's Ring A Billion Miles Off-center
'Honour' crimes 'on rise in UK'
Now parts 5-8 of the series I started yesterday. Made possible by everyones favorite laughable theists, Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 14, 2007 7:13 AM
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From: Eddie
Date: Jun 13, 2007 8:41 PM
The A-Team and we approve this message.
#0013 RRS Newsletter for June 13, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:28am.
Things of interest today are the first post under community (great videos, until he mentions god that is, haha). Maybe not relevant, but still interesting and inspiring. Posted by now.with.50%more.smartass, thanks go to him.
There is an extensive Entertainment section today, since everyone needs to laugh.
Catch you all again tomorrow, and thanks for reading.
"Think for yourself, question authority..." -- Timothy Leary
Stay rational,
Jack
and the RRS MI team
The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party!
Hosted By:
Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where:
Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!
Click Here To View Event
Giant Bird-Like Dino Was Big As T-Rex
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 13, 2007 6:49 PM
This is a series that admits to "microevolution" (though modern science doesn't recognize a difference between micro and macro) It's hard to get through, the ignorance and spouting of cherry-picked science are disgusting. These people like to cherry-pick science as much as they like to cherry-pick the Bible...
It also features Ken Ham. It's an 8 part series, so I'll post 4 today and 4 tomorrow, so you don't have to sit through all this drivel at once.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 13, 2007 7:13 AM
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From: Way of the Master
Date: Jun 13, 2007 12:14 AM
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007 
|
"What are you doing? You're insulting my intellect. And so I am."
- Ray Comfort
We are The A-Team and how can we have a giant douche like Ray Comfort without a giant douche maker?
A douche indeed, guys!
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 13, 2007 10:55 AM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 12, 2007 10:21 PM
hazel:
I'm an atheist, a registered voter and I volunteer time at a few charities. and i also wonder if all those believers do the "nice" things they do because the really care or because they think it makes up for all the "sins" they commit, and will make their chances better when they die of getting into heaven.
Cleanhead:
Well, I suppose we could spend time arguing about whether or not atheists are nice people, but in my view they are people, and therefore some of them nice and some of them are turds. Just like theists. The larger question is this: Whether or not people vote or do volunteer work or whatever has absolutely no evidentiary bearing on the question of whether or not there is a theistic god in the universe and so cannot persuade me to believe or disbelieve anything.
As to whether there is an "evangelistic" strain to the current discourse on freethinking, well, I consider myself morally at liberty to call shenanigans on bullshit supersitions if I want to. If the mere fact that I do is interpreted as a desire on my part to draw others into sharing my world view, that's not my fault or my problem. I don't really care whether anyone else decides to join me in my disbelief, but if others want to believe that I do care, let them.
unbearable being of lightness:
If it's a scientific poll, then so be it. Atheists are probably less likely to be charitable than christians. apparently i've seen respectable poles show that liberals are also less charitable than conservatives. ya know, what're ya gonna do. start some atheist charity initiatives or something. lol.
Cameron:
I think us atheists and agnostics need to be more active in the community to show people there are non-believers that do care about there community. I'm active in some areas, but not so active in others. But showing these kind of statistics are very important to let non-believers know that it's good to be involved and be concerned for there communities. And to show believers that we are not devil worshiping criminals that don't care anything or anybody.
Jax the Ripper:
I am a strong Atheist. I have absolutely no shame in this.
I also vote. In every election. I hold my rights dear to me, and even if my vote does not count, I will continue to do so. Too many women fought for my right to vote and I intend to utilize that right.
I have volunteered at local animal shelters. I spent a certain religious holiday at a homeless shelter, dishing out trays of food. I make sure all of my pets are adoptees, getting a second chance at a good life. Do I deserve a medal? No. Absolutely not. I just do what a good human should.
If a man or woman on the street asks me for spare change I give it to them if I have it. A lot of times I don't. Sometimes I just have enough change for the bus, and on those occasions I usually feel guilty. There's always someone worse off than yourself.
But I'm an Atheist. I probably worship the Devil.
Karalyn:
Yes, there are a number of serious methodological issues here. From their website:
This report is based upon a series of nationwide telephone surveys conducted by The Barna Group with random samples of adults, age 18 and older. These surveys were conducted from January 2005 through January 2007. In total, those studies included 1055 adults who identified themselves as atheists or agnostics. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of atheists and agnostics is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The cumulative sample of active-faith adults was 3011 interviews, accurate to within +1.8 percentage points. The minimum number of active-faith adults interviewed in each study was 250 individuals (+6.5 percentage points), while each study included a minimum of 100 atheists and agnostics (+10.0 percentage points). Statistical weighting was used to calibrate the sample to known population percentages in relation to demographic variables.
First of all, they mention "studies;" are they comparing results from different researchers, different samples, or different research protocols? My guess is they are being intentionally vague here. They do not mention whether they used a computer program or other means to determine which individuals to contact, in order to be included in their sample population, or by which criteria they selected or rejected participants.
Also, will their results be submitted to any type of peer-reviewed journal such as the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion? Again, my guess is no, b/c they are aware of the reactions that their "research" will provoke from the scientific community.
I am planning to give them a call tomorrow afternoon, in order to obtain a copy of their findings. I will bring whatever they send me in to the Social Psychology lab I work in, and get some feedback from the other researchers. If this blather appears in a respected, nationally syndicated news source, I would like to be prepared. Keep your eyes peeled, and thanks for the heads-up.
Jeff:
I just talked with a Mr. Terry Gorka of the Barna Group (he works directly with David Kinnaman who wrote the main article for Baran in regards to the poll/study)
Study Sizes Up Gaps Between Christians, Atheists and Agnostics
Mr. Terry Gorka admitted to me he was the one who put up the picture of a sniper's scope taking aim at a church. He said he bounced it off a few people and said that he got no negative feedback, and then I asked him if any of them were atheists or agnostics or even secularists, and he tap danced around that answer, and basically said "no" but we don't try to purposefully exclude, or alienate atheists/agnostics.
I also remarked how overtly ambiguous the phrases were like "active in the community". I asked him what that meant, and he said those who donate or work with charitable organizations has being a criteria for active in the community...and I asked him to give me an example of one...and the first one was, guess what, Salvation Army (an evangelical organization). I immediately pointed this out to him, and he began to back track and say he meant to say "Habitat for Humanity".
Mr. Terry Gorka, seems vastly unprepared for the backlash he and Mr. Kinnaman will be receiving from this, and I detect that there was carelessness in their investigation. Mr. Gorka said that he wasn't about to remove the picture, but would have a "serious" conversation with Mr. Kinnaman about it and they would call me back either today or tomorrow.
You're welcome to call Mr. Gorka as well ...(805) 639-0000 (ext. 202).
This is what happens when you don't ask enough questions, or bounce things off the appropriate people (you know like US, atheists and agnostics)....this amounts to journalistic irresponsibility, disregard for a minority group, and lack of a sensitivity monitor.
They should be held accountable for their mistakes.
The A-Team and we approve this message.
#0012 RRS Newsletter for June 12, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:27am.
Good day all. For you Science enthusiasts, I would like to point your attention to the Documentary I posted at the top of the section. Very interesting. In the Entertainment section, I added a video of Amanda Bloom at the photo shoot for the pictures in her newest album, with, of course, one of her songs playing along.
As always, your input and feedback are always welcome. Wanna see something I haven't mentioned, let me know!
Later all,
Jack,
and the RRS MI team
Just found this awesome interactive documenary on human evolution! A must see, for sure!
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From: now.with.50%more.smartass
Date: Jun 12, 2007 10:31 AM
here you go flatlanders
holy shit 2107 called
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From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 12, 2007 10:33 AM
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From: www.pathofreason.comDate: Jun 11, 2007 7:51 PMCheck out our latest article, Simple Steps to Combat Global Warming, on Path of Reason.*Also, check out our Donate page for details on our Flying Spaghetti Monster auction!
The A-Team and we approve this message.
#0011 RRS Newsletter for June 11, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:26am.
Thanks go to LunarShadow of RRS Nor*Cal for passing on a site he heard of through one of his members. I haven't explored it much yet, but it looks promising. You can expect to see some articles from that site soon I'm betting.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
I have received some interesting feedback and will be implementing some more changes soon. Thanks to all who replied!
Not much more to say today.
Thanks for reading,
Stay rational,
Jack
and the RRS MI team
T. Rex Was Slow-Turning Plodder, Study Suggests
James Owen
for National Geographic News
June 7, 2007
Tyrannosaurus rex's fearsome reputation has taken another knock, with new research suggesting it was a slow-turning plodder.
The so-called king of dinosaurs has been buffeted in recent years by accusations of being a scavenger and a slowpoke.
Now a U.S. team suggests that T. rex also weighed considerably more than some experts had believed, took up to two seconds to turn 45 degrees, and is unlikely to have exceeded speeds of 25 miles (40 kilometers) an hour. (Related story: "Tyrannosaurus Rex Was a Slowpoke" [February 22, 2002].)
The study, led by biomechanics expert John Hutchinson while at Stanford University in California, is reported in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.
Building on previous work into the dino's biomechanics, the new findings challenge the perception that T. Rex was an athletic super-predator capable of running down fast, agile dinosaurs.
The team used a computer-modeling system to calculate the weight of a fossil specimen from the U.S. and then to estimate its running speed and turning ability, which has never been done before.
That fossil, an average-size adult, weighed between six and eight tons, and some individuals may have been as heavy as ten tons, the researchers said.
The team found the animal, hampered by a long tail and that heavy body, would have taken one to two seconds to make a quarter turn—far slower than a human.
"We now know that a T. rex would have been front-heavy, turned slowly, and could manage no more than a leisurely jog," Hutchinson, the lead study author, said.
Different Kind of Walk
Previous work by Hutchinson indicated that T. rex reached top speeds of between 10 and 25 miles (16 and 40 kilometers) an hour.
But the new study further undermines the popular notion that T. rex could reach speeds of around 45 miles an hour (72 kilometers an hour), as often depicted in movies.
Previous estimates that T. Rex weighed three to four tons were based only on the dinosaur's fossil bones, Hutchinson pointed out. But the new prediction involved over 30 different computer models.
"The method that we applied, creating a kind of computer sculpture of the body of a T. rex, takes into account the whole anatomy," he said.
Previous investigations into the biomechanics of dinosaurs have also often been based on living animals such as elephants, the research team added.
But the new research suggests T. rex walked very differently than the mammals, which use vertical, pillar-like legs. For the dinosaur to maintain its center of mass over its feet it would have needed to keep its legs bent, the team suggested.
The research team adds that its study has little bearing on the issue of whether T. rex was a scavenger or a predator.
It's a "false debate," with most experts now agreeing that the animal was both, Hutchinson said.
"If you look at living animals, pretty much anything that eats meat is both a predator and a scavenger," he added. "There's really no convincing evidence that says it was only a scavenger."
Slow Prey
Paul Barrett is a dinosaur researcher at London's Natural History Museum who was not involved with the study. He says the new research does appear to undermine the idea of T. rex as a super-predator.
"It suggests that T. rex is basically a lot slower and more lumbering than a lot of the recent views on it have been," he commented.
However, "most of the animals that T. rex would have been hunting were also large and pretty slow moving and not particularly agile. So although it wouldn't have been a particular speedy predator, that might not have been a big disadvantage," Barrett said.
"Whether or not it was running after its prey at high speeds, it would still have been pretty awesome, I think." Hutchinson's team agrees, saying its weight and speed findings may also apply to other large dinosaurs such as Triceratops and Edmontosaurus, which T. rex is known to have eaten.
"These were also big clunky animals that clearly weren't running around at 50 miles [80 kilometers] an hour," Hutchinson said. "And why would [T. rex] need to turn quickly if it was preying on other big, relatively slow things?"
Smaller two-legged dinosaurs would probably have been able to outrun T. rex, however.
"T. rex probably didn't eat those, unless it got lucky and caught one off guard," Hutchinson said.
The environment during T. rex's day was also very different from today, Hutchinson added, and probably one where animals didn't need to be built for speed.
"I think there's a bias imposed by looking at living mammals in the Serengeti and elsewhere on open grasslands where they have a lot of space," he said.
"When T. rex lived there probably weren't a lot of huge open spaces to be charging around in at massive speeds."
RE: Great Video- Carl Sagan age of the Earth
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rich Rodriguez
Date: Jun 10, 2007 9:53 PM
RE: For The 50th Time, Morality Is Hardwired In Us
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 11, 2007 4:42 PM
Much thanks to the THE ATHEIST JEW
OK, For The 50th Time, Morality Is Hardwired In Us
#0010 RRS Newsletter for June 10, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:24am.
You may (or may not) have noticed that there was no post yesterday. That would be because I only received a small handfull of things that were worth sharing, and I took that oportunity to take a day off, and that gave me an idea. From now on I will be taking Saturday nights off. So no newsletter on Saturdays, since most of you probably have lives and won't spend your Saturday nights tooling around on the internet anyway.
The feedback I've been getting on these Newsletters has been great (what little I have gotten)! If anyone has any suggestions that you feel would improve upon what I've been doing here, feel free to offer them. I'm always open to suggestion.
Okay, the last time I posted this the link didn't work right. Here is the corrected and expanded version.
The first RRS Michigan Meeting!
The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party!
Hosted By:
Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where:
Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 9, 2007 12:19 AM
By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience
posted: 08 June 2007 8:35 am ET
Chimpanzees readily learn and share techniques on how to fiddle with gadgets, new research shows, the best evidence yet that our closest living relatives pass on customs and culture just as humans do.
The new findings help shed light on the capabilities of last common ancestor of humans and chimps. And the research could also help develop better robots and artificial intelligences, the researchers say.
In the wild, chimpanzee troops are often distinct from one another, possessing collections of up to 20 traditions or customary behaviors that altogether seem to form unique cultures. Such practices include various forms of tool use, including hammers and pestles; courtship rituals such as leaf-clipping, where leaves are clipped noisily with the teeth; social behaviors such as overhead hand-clasping during mutual grooming; and methods for eradicating parasites by either stabbing or squashing them.
While observing chimpanzees, evolutionary psychologist Antoine Spiteri at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland wanted to help settle the question of whether or not the apes learned such practices by watching others like humans do, as opposed to simply knowing how to perform such behaviors innately.
Spiteri and his colleagues investigated six groups of chimpanzees, each with eight to 11 apes, living in captivity in Bastrop, Texas. The researchers taught a lone chimpanzee from one group one technique for obtaining food from a complex gadget, such as stabbing food with a tool. They next taught one chimp from another group a different technique for extracting food from the same gadget, such as pushing it out down a ramp.
The extremely hot Texas weather made it hard for researchers to work, "and because participation by the chimpanzees in each of these studies has been completely voluntary, it sometimes means that we as experimenters have had to be extremely patient," Spiteri recalled. "Considering the insights we have gathered, it has been worth the sacrifice."
Over time, the researchers found each technique for tool use and food extraction spread within each group. In essence, these groups displayed their own unique culture and local traditions.
A number of these chimpanzee groups are next-door neighbors within eyeshot of each other, and researchers found traditions proved catching, with foraging practices spreading from one group to another, findings detailed in the June 19 issue of the journal Current Biology.
"The possibility that some primates may be able to learn from others has great implications on how we treat them and how we think about ourselves," Spiteri told LiveScience. "These results indicate to us that chimps have a capacity for cultural complexity, which was likely shared by our common ancestor going back around 5 million years ago."
This work is "particularly useful to robotic development and artificial intelligence," Spiteri added. "Understanding how the mechanisms of imitation and social learning can help us develop artificial beings that can behave and evolve in the way that we do and ultimately it may help us create other brains."
Alright, I know many of you have seen the first one, at least the bit about the banana. I'm not sure how many of you have seen all three parts though. So here it is.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 9, 2007 7:37 PM
This time a link that works 
Debate with Creationist Dr. Jackson
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From: Human evolution
Date: Jun 10, 2007 6:02 AM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Tony
Date: Jun 10, 2007 2:16 AM
Big Thanks! ~
Blu222
Emanations of Love
Everyone must take the time to view this entire documentary...it touches on absolutely everything you need to know. You will not regret it....the best i have seen...EVER! Please Re-post...I appreciate it. 
Description: What does Christianity, 911 and The Federal Reserve have in common? This is the full Zeitgeist production. Please note it is an experiential work; the opening 3 min has no video- just audio, for example.
ZEITGEIST
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=928518742089256264
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Human evolution
Date: Jun 10, 2007 12:19 PM
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From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 8, 2007 8:32 PM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The One Campaign
Date: Jun 8, 2007 4:34 PM
This Monday, June 11th, ONE launches our unprecedented new initiative, ONE Vote '08, a non-partisan campaign to make global health and extreme poverty foreign policy priorities in the 2008 presidential election. ONE Vote '08 will make sure that every presidential candidate takes a clear position on the issues important to ONE supporters like you.
In order for the candidates to hear ONE's message, though, we need your voice.
That's why we are asking you join us on Monday for the ONE Vote '08 Conference Call at 7:30 pm ET.
First, the co-chairs of ONE Vote '08, former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist, and ONE CEO Susan McCue will discuss the campaign strategy, and then they will move to answering your questions. You will also be joined by actor and celebrity Ben Affleck.
While the media is already saturated with election coverage, thousands are dying every day from completely preventable diseases and other poverty-related causes. Help us launch a new era in American politics by refusing to allow the world's poor to be relegated to afterthoughts.
Sign-up for the call. And don't worry about calling us. We'll call you.
The ONE Team
The A-Team and we approve this message.
#0009 RRS Newsletter for June 8, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:23am.
Good day to you all. First I want to say thank you to LunarShadow of RRS Nor-Cal and Bumbklaatt of RRS Colorado for reposting these everyday. It's good to know ones work is appreciated. Second, I'm announcing that I am changing the format of these posts. To give them the feel of a newsletter, I will be categorizing all of the content from now on. The categories I've come up with are basic ones right now, if I need to expand upon that in the future, I will, but for now everything will be in posted in one of six categories, with editorial comments such as this always on top. The categories are as follows:
RRS News
RRS Michigan News
Science
Religion
Community
Entertainment
By doing this I hope to inspire more people to read these, since you will now be able to go straight to the content that most interests you, rather than trolling through material that you may not be interested in and just giving up to move on to your next bulletin. Original articles are also a furture possibility, more on that as it developes.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Stay rational,
Jack,
and RRS MI team
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rational Response Squad Nor*Cal
Date: Jun 8, 2007 5:44 PM
Rational Response Squad - 9pm EST
By special request from over 30 people throughout our first year, we host the owner of CARM.org on our show. Matt Slick, was as "slick" as possible in this broadcast ducking and jiving, slinging insults, and avoiding the questions. He claims to want to host Kelly on his show, we'll let you know what happens there. Don't miss this hilarious show!
Tune in HERE or on the left side of www.RationalResponders.com
Hosted By:
Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where:
Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
Jack Wynne
Click Here To View Event
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: RRS_TX
Date: Jun 8, 2007 5:08 AM
From: The Son of the Self-Aware Universe
Date: Jun 8, 2007 1:46 AM
The Mandelbrot set is a set of points in the complex plane that forms a fractal. Mathematically, the Mandelbrot set can be defined as the set of complex c-values for which the orbit of 0 under iteration of the quadratic map x2 + c remains bounded.
The Mandelbrot set has become popular outside mathematics both for its aesthetic appeal and for being a complicated structure arising from a simple definition. Benoît Mandelbrot and others worked hard to communicate this area of mathematics to the public.
An extremely deep dive into the mandelbrot zoom. If the final frame were the size of your screen, the full set would be larger than the known universe.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 7, 2007 10:18 PM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Date: Jun 7, 2007 9:33 PM
The A-Team and we approve this message.
#0008 RRS Newsletter for June 7, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:21am.
Hello everyone. First thing I would like to direct your attention to is the fact that our co-founder Rook Hawkins has started an online college level history course, of course, if you've been paying attention to my bulletins, you already know this. Enrollment has closed, but you all are still welcome stop by, and even take part in the homework, if you are interested in doing so.
To get into the chat room, just click on the magnifying glass at the lower left hand corner of the cam box. You will need a Stickam . com account to get in. Don't worry, it's free, and it only takes a minute. You can find the room here:
RRS Academy History course, presented by Rook Hawkins on Stickam
Rook Hawkins of the Rational Response Squad teaches a class on History! Come check it out in the chatroom live! Starts at 11pm EST!
#0007 RRS Newsletter for June 6, 2007
Submitted by hellfiend666 on July 22, 2007 - 2:20am.I'll start off today with a couple links to a couple cool astronomy sites I've found. This first one actually has three levels of difficulty, beginer, intermediate, and advanced for all information. The advanced setting isn't too "advanced" but the site is pretty informative, none-the-less.
A Practical Guide to Astronomy
Here's a site I found long before I joined the RRS. I have yet to see it from any of the other members, so I figured I'd share it with you all. I nearly forgot about it untill I was looking through my bookmarks.
This is a trippy link I received from a good friend in the RRS. It gives you some idea of the enormous scale that we talk about in discussions involving the galaxy and it's place in the universe. Thank you, Eva.
Now for a few videos. This first one is from another good friend in the RRS. Youtubers may know him as g0at.
A two parter from g0at.
Here's a great one from the youtuber supexcellency
...and what the hell, one more from this crazy dude!
Now, on to the most interesting bulletins I've received today. Enjoy
This was received on my personal page, and I had to share it. Thanx go to Keith, even though he's not on this freiends list, lol.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Keith Lowell Jensen
Date: Jun 6, 2007 10:27 AM
Steven Colbert is my hero.
From: Damned Goods
Richie MacCool
Rational Atheist Book Club
~PATRICIA~
ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
The A-Team
christophe
10 commandments
Add to My Profile | More Videos
We are The A-Team and thanks for keeping theh Sabbeth day holy.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rational Response Squad Colorado
Date: Jun 6, 2007 2:25 PM
old members have probably seen this.
the blasphemy challenge...
Penn Gilette's challenge video...
George Carlin on the ten comandments
rabidapes awesome video on evolution.
and goats awesome video on the for theist fallacies that flood youtube...
and now a few stupid ass arguments that make me laugh...
and here is a video that PWNS the crap out of the banana video.
thanks guys, i'll post some more in a few days or so...
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 5, 2007 7:30 AM
Stephen Lynch
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 5, 2007 10:11 AM
AtheistMommy Date: Jun 5, 2007 1:11 PM
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 5, 2007 12:41 PM
CNN becoming a willing sponsor of Theocracy (part 1)
Coalition of the Willing!!!
What utter crap...we've had to endure the RIGHT WING of the theocratic movement...NOW, here comes the LEFT WING fresh on the heels of the failure of the Right to try it "THEIR WAY".
If you didn't have a chance to watch the CNN "Faith Forum" it's still airing live right now on CNN....Edwards, Obama, and Clinton have already been interviewed.
CNN becoming a willing sponsor of Theocracy (part 2)
This should be a wake up call for all non-theists in this country,
that the religious LEFT think, and believe very strongly that they can do it "liberal, progressive theocracy" better as opposed to the current Right WING theocracy employed by the BUSH administration. INSTEAD of a James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Ted Haggard, and Fox NEWS sitting in on meetings in the White House, it will be JIM WALLIS (who?), Amy Sullivan (who?), Tony Campolo (who?), Rabbi Michael Tikkun (who?), Rev Al Sharpton (we know him), and Rev Jesse Jackson (we definitely know him) and Mara Vanderslice. OH Don't worry about the names you don't know yet...YOU WILL get to know these names in time. It will replacing of the guard of the low hanging fruit, and slow moving targets of the Right Wing Fundamentalists, with the more seductive, attractive, BIG TENT, we love everyone including gays, lesbians, immigrants, and even atheists.
CNN becoming a willing sponsor of Theocracy (part 3)
They, (the LIBERAL, PROGRESSIVE dogmatic LEFT wing of the Religious Faith) have been waiting for their chances to gain power, and do it their way.
You have been warned America...and I will continue to say that these liberals who are ultra P.C. and ultra Can't we all just get along Ideological Giants, are 1 MILLION times as dangerous and seductive as any fundamentalist like Robertson and Falwell.
I have written much about this already (mainly b/c I've seen it first hand), and was once the Northern Virginia leader for Voice of the Faithful...the leading group in "MY Way is the best way, b/c it's ultra Politically Correct"....
CNN becoming a willing sponsor of Theocracy (part 4)
Those three hours was easily the most over the top public sponsorship of judging people based on their religious practice I've EVER seen...and I've been watching Fox News for a long time...
CNN should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.
Paula Zahn to religious correspondent...
"Do you thing the fact that he prays the rosary helps or hurts him..I think it helps him certainly don't you?"
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 5, 2007 1:55 PM
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From: AtheistMommy
Date: Jun 5, 2007 10:09 AM
Introduction to the Richard Dawkins Foundation
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